Alacrity Forms Financial Services Company With Pow
Unions
Alacrity Financial Services Limited
Isin Code : ZAE000023966
Share Code : ALY
Johannesburg - Alacrity Financial Services, the JSE Securities Exchange
listed insurance broking group, has joined forces with the three most
powerful trade unions in Namibia to form Nam-mic Financial Services
Holdings, a financial services and insurance broking company.
Alacrity will hold a 35% stake in the company, while the balance will be
controlled by the people of Namibia through the shareholdings of Nam-mic
Investment Holding Company (35%), Namibian Public Worker's Union (20%) and
Namibian Food and Allied Worker's Union (10%).
Jan Erasmus, group chief executive of Alacrity, said the venture was
expected to have a positive effect on Alacrity's earnings as early as the
2002 financial year.
"Nam-mic Financial Services has acquired the sole rights to provide
financial services to the 70 000 union members. The company has ambitious
growth plans and aims to be the leading insurance broking and financial
services intermediary in Namibia by 2003. A listing on the Namibian Stock
Exchange will also be considered in the next five years," he said.
Nam-mic Financial Services has three operating companies, namely Nam-mic
Financial Solutions, Nam-mic Risk Solutions and Nam-mic Brokers.
In launching the company Namibian president, Sam Nujoma, said the Namibian
financial services industry was being perceived as a mere extension of South
Africa's more powerful financial services industry. "As a result,
approximately N$100 million is paid in commissions and fees to foreign-
controlled financial services companies each year."
"These companies have not made a significant contribution to the development
and transfer of skills to Namibians in this industry."
He said he was heartened that three of Namibia's most prominent trade unions
had joined forces to establish Nam-mic Financial Services to take control of
their own future destiny through economic empowerment.
Alacrity and Nam-mic Financial Services have entered into an agreement to
enhance the capacity of the Namibian management and staff through a skills
transfer programme. They have committed themselves to an exit strategy by
undertaking to complete the transfer of skills within three years and
ensuring that 80% of the directors and management will be Namibians within a
further three years.
The two parties have also agreed to training and development programmes for
Namibians, exchange programmes for staff to gain experience and exposure
within Alacrity's offices in South Africa and the sharing of world-class
information technology systems.
President Nujoma said the "smart partnership between Namibian and South
African companies will lead to the economic empowerment and the upliftment
of the standard of living of the people of the two countries."
"It is also my hope that this joint venture will lead to the creation of
many job opportunities for our people and spin-offs to other companies in
the banking and financial services industry," he added.
Ndaba Ntsele, chairman of Alacrity and chief executive of Pamodzi
Investments, Alacrity's strategic shareholding partner, said the recipe
followed by Pamodzi and Alacrity in SA could be applied successfully in the
rest of Africa.
"In comparison with the rest of the African continent we have an abundance
of skills. These skills could be deployed in true partnerships based on the
transfer of skills to our fellow citizens of the continent. Owing to our
past suffering this would take place without the label of neo-colonialism by
South Africa that is often feared in the rest of Africa," said Ntsele.
Ends
Issued by Investor Connexion on behalf of Alacrity Financial Services
For further information kindly contact
Jan Erasmus
Group Chief Executive
Alacrity Financial Services
Tel (011) 336-3634
Cell 082 450 7530
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