Minister Nomakhosazana Meth: Keynote address at 2025 Productivity and Africa Kaizen Awards Ceremony

Honourable guests,
Esteemed international delegates joining us (virtually and physically) from across the world,
Representatives of government, business and labour,
Members of the Board and Executive of Productivity South Africa,
Finalists, winners, partners, and colleagues,
Good Afternoon.

It is a distinct honour to address you at this landmark occasion - the 2025 Productivity and Africa Kaizen Awards, proudly hosted by Productivity South Africa, now in its 46th year of service to the Republic and the continent.

Today, we are celebrating productivity and reaffirming a national and continental mission - to institutionalise excellence, drive innovation, and embed the culture of continuous improvement that will secure Africa's place in the global economy.

This year's event carries extraordinary significance. It comes on the heels of the Africa Kaizen Annual Conference (AKAC) - where Africa's foremost thinkers, policymakers, and practitioners convened right here in South Africa to deliberate on how to make our industries leaner, smarter, and globally competitive.

As we close October - Productivity Month - we do so by celebrating not just individual or enterprise excellence, but the collective determination of a continent refusing to be defined by stagnation or mediocrity.

For 46 years, these awards have represented the highest recognition of SMMEs that have broken barriers and redefined what productive excellence means.

But this year stands apart. For the first time ever, the National Productivity Awards merge with the Africa Kaizen Awards, aligning two powerful streams of thought - our local productivity movement and the global Kaizen philosophy - into one unified force.

This convergence is no coincidence. It signals a bold declaration by Productivity SA and our partners that :Kaizen is not an imported concept. It is an African necessity - a mindset of discipline, accountability, and progress. It is how nations transform from potential to performance.

As I said yesterday at the Africa Kaizen Annual Conference, South Africa cannot afford low productivity - not when we are fighting unemployment, battling inequality, and striving for inclusive growth.

Productivity is the heartbeat of competitiveness. It is the bridge between effort and impact, between investment and outcomes. It determines whether our factories expand or close, whether our workers upskill or remain trapped in cycles of low-wage work.

Our mission as government is to:

• To align productivity with industrial policy, skills development, and localisation.
• To embed Kaizen principles across the public and private sectors.
• To redefine efficiency as a patriotic duty.

The Medium-Term Strategic Framework (2024-2029) identifies productivity improvement as a key lever for job creation and economic transformation.

His Excellency, President Ramaphosa's SONA 2025 commitments further call on us to build a high-performance state and economy. These awards are a testament to that commitment in action.

This morning during the conference, four countries were newly designated as Centres of Excellence for Kaizen: the Kaizen Excellence Center (KEC) in Ethiopia; the National Productivity and Competitiveness Council (NPCC) in Mauritius; the General Directorate of Innovation and Technological Development and Industrial Technical Centers (DGIDT-CTI) in Tunisia; and Productivity South Africa here at home.

The establishment of Centres of Excellence across the continent is a key pillar in sustaining the Africa Kaizen movement. These Centres serve as vital hubs for collaboration, learning, and innovation-working closely with industry and professional associations to embed Kaizen practices within enterprises. Through the CoEs, Africa is building strong networks of local and international institutions dedicated to capacity building and productivity enhancement. They play a crucial role in spreading a productivity-conscious mindset, delivering standardised and tailor-made training, and supporting firms in strengthening their managerial and technical capabilities. In doing so, the CoEs are cultivating a new generation of productivity champions who are driving efficiency, competitiveness, and sustainable industrial growth across the continent.

Allow me to acknowledge Productivity South Africa - under the leadership of its Board and Executive - for consistently positioning productivity as both an economic and a moral imperative.

This month, Productivity SA welcomed its new Board, under the leadership of Ms. Baba Tshefu. To Ms. Tshefu and the entire Board, congratulations on your appointment and thank you for availing yourselves to serve the nation through this critical institution. Your stewardship comes at a time when South Africa, and indeed Africa, is redefining productivity as a strategic lever for inclusive growth, industrial competitiveness, and sustainable employment.

My message to you is simple, yet profound: Lead with courage, govern with integrity, and inspire with vision.

May your collective wisdom and foresight guide Productivity SA into a new era, one that strengthens partnerships with business, labour, and government, and positions productivity as a national culture, not just an economic goal.

To the winners and finalists, you stand as proof that excellence is not the privilege of the few - it is a discipline accessible to all who dare to improve, innovate, and sustain change.

To our social partners - business, labour, and government - I say this candidly: our productivity revolution will fail if we each operate in silos. Collaboration must be our competitive edge. The social compact must not be a slogan; it must be a living instrument that drives workplace innovation, inclusive growth, and sustainable employment.

It is no longer enough to speak about potential. The time for talk has expired. The global marketplace does not reward intentions; it rewards execution.

We must demand productivity not only from firms but from ourselves as public servants. We must measure performance rigorously, embrace digital tools, and reward innovation over compliance.

If Kaizen teaches us anything, it is that greatness is built in small, consistent acts of improvement - every day, everywhere, by everyone.

As we stand at the intersection of Africa's industrial renaissance, the call for productivity is a call for sovereignty - economic sovereignty.

Across the continent, from Egypt's renewable energy zones to Morocco's automotive hubs, from Ethiopia's industrial parks to South Africa's Special Economic Zones - Africa is building capacity, resilience, and global relevance.

South Africa must lead this transformation - through skills, technology, and relentless productivity improvement. We must prove that African industries can compete on quality, not on charity; on innovation, not on imitation.

As we celebrate our winners today, let us remember: productivity is not a once-off achievement; it is a way of life.

Each one of us - whether in the boardroom, on the shop floor, or in public service - carries a responsibility to work smarter, produce better, and lead stronger.

Let these awards ignite a national productivity revolution.

Let us transform Kaizen from a philosophy into a movement, and let that movement propel our economy toward the promise of decent work, industrial growth, and inclusive prosperity.

To all our winners-congratulations. You have not only made your organisations proud - you have strengthened the Republic's competitiveness. May your example inspire every South African enterprise to say with confidence:

We are not waiting for the world to change - we are changing how the world sees us.

Thank you.

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