| 简介： |
The Swaziland Chamber of Commerce and Industry can trace its origin back as far as 1916. The Chamber is a voluntary association and its aim is to represent the interest of its members.
Today the Chamber has a membership of over 300 ranging from the largest companies within Swaziland to small and medium enterprises. Its members represent the full spectrum of the Swaziland economy. The Chamber is run by a President, Vice-President and a Board of 16 Directors all of whom are elected by the membership on an annual basis. A full-time secretariat consists of an Executive Director, and two administrative assistants.
The main objectives of the Chamber are:
To Promote and defend the interests of its members in any way as may be considered necessary.
To promote and foster trade, commerce and industry of all descriptions whatsoever in and outside Swaziland.
To promote, support and or make representations in relation to legislative or other measures affecting the interests of Chamber members.
To collect, clarify and disseminate statistical and other information of relevance and interest to its members.
The Chamber is consulted on a variety of issues by Government and is recognized as the leading business organisation within the Kingdom of Swaziland. The Chamber is represented on a number of Boards and committees such as The Taxation Advisory Committee, The Swaziland Environmental Authority, The Industrial and Vocational Training Board, the Central Tender Board, the Swaziland National Provident Fund and the Customs and Excise Advisory Committee to name a few.
As a Chamber of Commerce we are a non-profit institution brought into existence to serve certain prescribed ends. As a result of a decision by the board to undergo strategic review of the Chamber, we are seeking input from our members on the services they require. We are also updating our members profiles so as to improve communication and create a better database on the Internet. By February 2001 we will be distributing new membership forms which are designed for increased public information and to assist the office to better understand individual members businesses.
We are seeking to define and concentrate on our core sevices. Services which are common to Chambers of Commerce, include:
Dialogue with the government on the likely impact on the business sector of existing and envisaged government policies;
Representation to the government and the authorities on problems faced by business with a view to seeking redress for grievances;
Provision of information related to the promotion of trade, investment and technology transfer;
Publicising the capabilities of members and their areas of business;
Promoting interaction amongst members;
Receiving or mounting business missions; and
Creating the machinery to deal with trade disputes.
As a Chamber of Commerce in a market economy, we aim to represent the full spectrum of business and industry and be able to speak authoritatively and independently for the whole business community.
Our members have specific demands for services and probably the most sought after is information on a wide variety of business matters, including such subjects as tax legislation, list of suppliers, and how to start exporting, impending legislation, etc.
Over the past several years we have been building a library containing works of reference, directories, trade journals and government publications, which are at the disposal of our members.
In addition, we are reinforcing our links in the world-wide network of chambers of commerce. Recently we became Charter members of the Association of SADC Chambers of Commerce & Industry.
We as a Chamber of commerce are unique in this respect compared with other associations and with governmental trade promotion organisations. |
