*EPF414 01/17/2002
U.S. Firms in South Africa, Vietnam Receive Good Citizenship Awards
(State Department recognizes "corporate excellence") (1050)

By Jim Fisher-Thompson
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Two American companies with subsidiary operations in South Africa and Vietnam received awards from the U.S. government January 16 for their efforts in advancing good corporate governance and democratic principles worldwide.

The State Department presented its third annual Awards for Corporate Excellence to the Ford Motor Company and Solar Electric Light Company (SELCO) of Chevy Chase, Maryland, at a special ceremony hosted by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman and Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Anthony Wayne.

The two officials were representing Secretary of State Colin Powell and Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs Alan Larson, who had planned to present the awards but were both traveling on a diplomatic mission to South Asia and then to Japan for an international donors conference on aid to Afghanistan.

South African Ambassador Sheila Sisulu and Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Tam Chien also attended the ceremony, which was broadcast simultaneously to Pretoria and Ho Chi Minh City via a digital video link that is part of the State Department's American Embassy Television Service.

In presenting the awards to Ford executive Lewis Booth and SELCO Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Neville Williams, Under Secretary Grossman said, "I would like to thank the members of the American business community who invest, take risks, and bring greater prosperity and a share of the American dream to the four corners of the globe."

Grossman explained that the corporate excellence award "was established to recognize the role American companies play as responsible corporate citizens throughout the world. The values and practices of American companies, as they conduct their business, serve as a powerful model for leaders working to build the democratic societies and market-based economies that provide the best hope for peace and prosperity for the peoples of the world."

Noting that 62 companies were nominated for the award, the official presented the Department's Award for Corporate Excellence in the multinational category to Ford Motor Company for "the impressive record of its Ford South Africa subsidiary, especially Ford South Africa's innovative HIV/AIDS program."

Ford Motor Company has operated in South Africa since 1923 and its more than 3,000 employees currently manufacture cars and trucks for the subregion's growing transportation market.

Ford South Africa, Grossman said, "is aggressively addressing the threat of HIV/AIDS. Its comprehensive HIV/AIDS program, established in 1999, has had a dramatic impact on the health of Ford employees, their families, and the broader community. Ford's initiative includes an extensive education program, voluntary on-site testing and counseling, upgraded treatment and insurance coverage, and sponsorship of community outreach programs. It has been recognized as a model by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and many international organizations."

Lewis Booth, president of Ford's Asia-Pacific and Africa Division, accepted the award, saying the company's HIV/AIDS program is not just "a business issue." The people involved "are not distant statistics, not distant assets. They are much, much more. They are our friends and colleagues who share our dreams and our needs. Any company that aspires to be a great company puts the health and safety of employees at the top of its agenda, and that's what we've done at Ford."

Speaking from Pretoria, U.S. Ambassador Cameron Hume said, "I have a fairly simple message: Ford came back here in force [after the apartheid era] as a good corporate citizen. That has been evident in all their activities. It is particularly noteworthy the programs they [Ford] have undertaken to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS. Ford is here to stay."

In addition, Hume pointed out that "what Ford has been able to do is a great asset for our official [U.S.] presence here. We want to be able to get across [to South Africans] American values and we want to do it in a pragmatic way. And what Ford is doing on the ground -- Ford's employees, their families, and the community in which it operates -- is something that we can all be justifiably proud of."

The Award for Corporate Excellence in the small- to medium-size enterprise category went to SELCO in recognition of the work its subsidiary, SELCO-Vietnam, has done "to improve the lives of thousands of Vietnamese," according to Grossman.

SELCO has electrified more than 15,000 homes in villages in Vietnam, India, and Sri Lanka using photovoltaic cells that are easily assembled and maintained, as well as being friendly to the environment.

Grossman said SELCO "has helped reduce poverty and spur economic development in Vietnam's countryside by supplying household electricity to families who lack access to a power grid." He added, "Among its many programs, SELCO-Vietnam worked with local women's groups to persuade Vietnam's Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development to provide low-interest loans and repayment schedules geared to crop cycles."

Accepting the award, SELCO CEO Williams said: "We all feel blessed to be part of this mission and to have the opportunity to put responsible capitalism to work, knowing that besides generating revenues and profits we are also achieving five other objectives: improving the lives of rural families; eliminating their need to use dirty, dangerous kerosene for lighting; reducing carbon emissions; lessening the dependence on Mideastern oil; and helping stem migration to the cities."

Speaking via the digital video link from Ho Chi Minh City, U.S. Ambassador Raymond Burghardt thanked SELCO for "helping to build U.S. economic trade relationships with Vietnam and illustrating by example that opening the country to the world economy brings real benefits to the people of Vietnam."

Assistant Secretary Wayne concluded the ceremony, saying: "These awards and what they represent are a recognition of the strong link between America's prosperity and security and the business practices of our companies overseas. U.S. companies are not just engines of economic growth and profit. They are also integral members of overseas communities, positive forces for change, and role models for good corporate leadership."

Turning to the business representatives, Wayne declared: "We value our partnership with you. And we pledge -- here in the Department, at our overseas missions, and throughout government -- to work with you to promote what is an unbeatable combination: sound economic growth and good business practices."

(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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