PMR.africa Awards pay tribute to excellence

The business community of Polokwane on Monday morning celebrated excellence when the PMR.africa Awards honoured Limpopo’s best at a function held at Bolivia Lodge. The exuberance over Limpopo’s golden girl, Caster Semenya’s gold medal at the Olympics spilled over into the festivities and Johan Hattingh, CEO of PMR.africa made special mention of her achievement during his welcome address.
PMR.africa is an operating unit of CJ Hattingh & Sons, operating in all Southern Africa Development Community countries. The magazine linked to the awards is independent and not part of any other media group.
Hattingh said it was the culmination of a research process whereby companies and institutions are rated based on respondents’ perceptions, with a strong focus on evaluating and measuring customer service and customer satisfaction.
“The awards are indicators of a company, department or institution’s competencies. PMR.africa wants the companies to utilise the award, not as a marketing tool only, but also to thank the personnel and staff for creating the perception and reality out there that this company, department or institution is an undisputed leader in the industry,” he said.
To win a Diamond Arrow, a company or institution must rank best overall and score at least 4,1 out of a possible 5 points. Winners of the Golden Arrow must score at least 3,75 and to win a Silver Arrow winners must score at least 3,4.
Hattingh introduced Polokwane Executive Mayor, Thembi Nkadimeng as keynote speaker. Nkadimeng opened her speech with a remark about how many women were representing businesses that excelled during the past year, linking this phenomenon to Women’s Month and praising women for the way they are changing the world.
She thanked all business owners present for their contribution to the city’s economic growth and said it was the municipality’s duty to support business by providing proper infrastructure. Conceding that Polokwane’s infrastructure is currently under pressure, Nkadimeng explained how the Commercialisation Programme and related projects would improve the city’s roads, water, transport, and energy infrastructure.
“The work being done leads to a lot of frustration at the moment, but we ask you to bear with us. We will reap the fruit of this programme for many years to come,” she said.
Polokwane Observer is proud to have been awarded our eighth Diamond Arrow for being the best community newspaper in Limpopo.

Accounting and Auditing Firms:
>> KPMG (Diamond)
>> Diemont, Zimmerman & Bolink (Gold)
Tax Advisors and Consultants:
>> KPMG (Diamond)
Agriculture – Dairy:
>> Limpopo Dairy (Diamond)
Architects:
>> Prism Architects (Diamond)
Auctioneers:
>> Suduco Asset Auctioneers (Diamond)
Building Material Suppliers:
>> E.H. Hassim Builders World (Diamond)
Muslim owned business doing most to develop and enhance economic growth in the province:
>> E.H. Hassim Builders World
(Diamond)
Business Consultants:
>> RENS Business Consulting (Diamond)
Companies/institutions conducting business in the most ethical way:
>> RENS Business Consulting (Diamond)
Butcheries:
>> Vleislapa (Diamond)
Casinos and Entertainment Centres
>> Sun Meropa (Diamond)
Cleaning Companies:
>> Bidvest Prestige (Diamond)
Commercial Vehicle Dealerships
>> Limpopo Hino (Diamond)
Conference and Convention Centres:
>> Bolivia Lodge (Diamond)
>> Protea Hotel Ranch Resort (Gold)
Wedding Venues:
>> Tzaneen Country Lodge (Diamond)
>> Bolivia Lodge (Gold)
>> Protea Hotel Ranch Resort (Gold)
Executive Hotels:
>> Protea Hotel Ranch Resort (Diamond)
Construction Companies:
>> Hillary Construction (Diamond)
Courier Companies:
>> DHL Express Limpopo (Diamond)
>> Aramex (Gold)
Development Agencies:
>> Small Enterprise Development Agency (Diamond)
Food Manufacturers/Processors:
>> Samco Foods (Diamond)
Guesthouses:
>> Limpopo Guest Manor (Diamond)
Institutions for Higher Learning and Tertiary Institutions:
>> University of Venda (Diamond)
>> University of Limpopo (Gold)
Insurance Brokers:
>> Etkeila Insurance Brokers (Diamond)
Insurance Companies – short term:
>> Mutual & Federal (Diamond)
IT Sales and Service Companies:
>> CHM Vuwani (Diamond)
IT Training Institutions:
>> CTU Training Solutions (Diamond)
Law Firms:
>> DDKK Incorporated (Diamond)
>> Henstock van den Heever (Gold)
Local Newspapers:
>> Polokwane Observer (Diamond)
>> Northern Review (Gold)
Local Radio Stations – general entertainment and music:
>> Capricorn FM (Diamond)
Local Radio Stations – news and current affairs:
>> Capricorn FM (Gold)
Local Transport Companies:
>> Kopano Bus Service (Diamond)
>> Limpopo Coaches (Gold)
Companies and institutions doing most to enhance the interests of women:
>> Kopano Bus Service (Diamond)
Lodges:
>> Tzaneen Country Lodge (Diamond)
Spas:
>> Tzaneen Country Lodge (Diamond)
>> House of Asante Spa (Gold)
Office Automation Companies:
>> Nashua Limpopo (Diamond)
>> BCM Didgisol (Gold)
Personnel Recruitment Agencies:
>> Boss Recruitment (Diamond)
Pest Control Companies:
>> Pest Control Specialists (Diamond)
Pharmaceutical Retailers:
>> Dis-Chem Polokwane North (Diamond)
Private Schools:
>> Stanford Lake College (Diamond)
>> Pepps Preparatory School (Gold)
Property Management Companies:
>> Moolman Group Property Management (Diamond)
Real Estate Agents:
>> Aïda Polokwane (Diamond)
>> Seeff Polokwane (Joint Gold)
>> Remax Northland Realty (Joint Gold)
Recycling Companies:
>> Anti Waste (Diamond)
Retail Stores – food:
>> Spar North Rand (Diamond)
Security Companies:
>> Chubb Security (Diamond)
>> G4S Cash Solutions (Gold)
Companies/Institutions doing most to fight crime:
>> Chubb Security (Diamond)
Shopping Centres:
Mall of the North (Diamond)
Stationery Suppliers:
>> Bidvest Waltons (Diamond)
Suppliers of Agricultural Equipment and Products:
>> NTK (Diamond)
Tractor and Farming Implement Dealerships:
>> NTK (Diamond)
Suppliers of Hygiene Equipment and Products:
>> Polokwane Chemical Suppliers (Diamond)
Transport companies – removal:
>> RSA Removals (Diamond)
Travel Agents:
>> Reatswelela Travel and Tours (Gold)
Tyre Retailers:
>> Limpopo Tyres Polokwane (Diamond)
Waste Management Companies:
>> Ingwe Waste Management (Diamond)
Provincial Government departments doing most to accelerate service delivery:
>> Coghsta (Diamond)
Municipalities doing most for social upliftment:
>> Polokwane Municipality (Diamond)
Municipalities doing most to attract foreign investment:
>> Polokwane Municipality (Gold)
Municipalities doing most to attract local investment:
>> Polokwane Municipality (Diamond)
Municipalities doing most to attract tourism:
>> Polokwane Municipality (Silver)
Municipalities doing most for job creation:
>> Polokwane Municipality (Diamond)
Municipalities doing most to fight crime:
Polokwane Municipality (Diamond)
Municipalities doing most to clean the environment:
>> Polokwane Municipality (Gold)
Pro-active Mayors
>> Executive Mayor of Polokwane, Thembi Nkadimeng (Diamond)

Story: MARKI FRANKEN
>>marki.observer@gmail.com

Featured photo: Polokwane Observer Sales Representatives, Melany Espach and Cathrine Robberts receive the newspaper’s eighth Diamond Arrow at the PMR.africa Awards at Bolivia Lodge on Monday.