SALTA COLUMN

SPOTONG SEALS DEAL WITH SALTA

The South African Liquor Traders Association (Salta) and Spotong Magazine are very proud to announce their new partnership – an agreement that was reached on March 31, 2016, and which sees Salta members receiving Spotong Magazine on a regular basis, and in return, contributing to the strength of the magazine’s editorial content. Salta, which was established in the late 1970s, represents a large number of traders that exist in the townships across South Africa. The organisation has joined other Spotong partners, namely the Gauteng Liquor Forum and the National Tourism and Hospitality Association, in adding their voice and members to the Spotong voice and community to ensure traders are heard in the larger business communities.

“When I received a call from Sean Press, the CEO of Contact Media and Publisher of Spotong Magazine, I wasn’t sure if I was awake or asleep – it was a case of the mountain coming to Mohammed because we always wanted to have a magazine as a mouthpiece! We believe Spotong will offer us exactly what we’ve been seeking in terms of reaching our members more effectively wherever they are. We like that the magazine has been created for traders, and for us, this partnership is a great achievement and something that we are very passionate about,“ said Salta president Mish Hlophe.

As an organisation Salta seeks to explore innovative ways to develop the community while engaging with its members, community members, government institutions and businesses. Through their efforts, Salta looks to uplift the lives of the community and their members as a whole through engaging with various stakeholders to ensure that traders in the townships always adopt the fundamentals of “best business practice”, such as responsible trading and community upliftment. Salta was, in fact, one of the first organisations to suggest a change in the legal age of alcohol consumption from 18 to 21.

Didi Okoro from Spotong Magazine and Mish Hlophe from SALTA

Salta’s focus areas, include:

Community Safety

Salta views community safety as not only one of their roles but also their responsibility. They understand that the community needs to benefit from their involvement, and as such, are constantly engaging with their members and the community as a whole to make a difference.

Education

Salta has taken it upon themselves to engage with all their members around trading bylaws and liquor licensing to ensure that their industry and members are aware of the benefits of compliance.

Responsible Trading

While being the voice of their members, Salta understands the importance of responsible trading and is always working with their members to ensure they contribute positively to their community and the economy in a responsible manner.

Speaking about the new partnership, Sean Press of Spotong magazine said, “It is a very proud day indeed. We at Spotong magazine would like to welcome Salta to the Spotong family and we are looking forward to working with their members to make a difference to township traders. With Salta being an organisation that has assisted in developing entrepreneurs for more than 40 years, we take pride in forging this solid partnership and only hope that we can continue to make a real difference in the not-too-distant future. We are also very excited about working with the very passionate Mr Mish Hlophe and we regard this partnership as a huge success, one of many, for both parties and the industry as a whole.” The latter half of 2016 will see Salta and Spotong magazine discussing the future and putting into place some concrete plans to make a significant difference to traders in the future.