By Ntombi Mhlongo
About five companies and business entities lifted the Eswatini flag high at the 2023 SADC Quality Awards held on Wednesday.
These awards aim to recognise and appreciate organizations and individuals who are contributing to quality advancement in all sectors of SADC, by having measurement and quality systems, procedures and processes that are in line with local, regional, and international practices and that use quality advancement to support national and regional economic development and growth.
First to be announced as a winner was the Municipal Council of Mbabane which took home the Company of the Year under the Large Enterprise Category. Next was Stefanutti Stocks Eswatini which took home the Service of the Year award under the Large Enterprise.
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Also winning was MA Dlamini Consulting Engineering which won the SME Service of the Year award. As if to prove that the local companies mean business, Eswatini Meat Industries was announced as the ultimate winner of the Export of the Year award.
Not to be outdone, Khombisile Dlamini was announced as the Individual of the Year award winner and first runner-up. Commenting on behalf of the Municipal Council of Mbabane was the entity’s Public and Information Officer Lucky Tsabedze who said, “The SADC award is a true yardstick for any reputable organisation in terms of commitment to quality management systems. Winning the prestigious awards gives Mbabane residents and the country at large confidence that the council management systems are among the best in the SADC region”.
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The process of selecting the deserving companies is structured in such a way that the SADC Member States have a responsibility to hold annual national awards.
Each Member State is responsible for the implementation of this procedure in the first level of the competition which is at the national level after which the winners are forwarded to SADC for the regional stage.