In a collaborative effort initiated in 2017, the SIZA Social and WIETA standards, recognising their shared objectives, have synergised their approaches to offer South African producers a streamlined and efficient means to fulfil market demands necessitating certification against both standards. This strategic alignment entails a consolidated audit process, enabling dual members of SIZA and WIETA to undergo a singular social audit while retaining the flexibility to obtain separate audit reports and certificates, facilitating accreditation by both programmes.
What’s new from June 1st, 2024?
To streamline processes even further and reduce some of the duplication, SIZA and WIETA investigated the compatibility of the respective Self Assessment Questionnaires (SAQs) on both platforms. There are currently differences in SAQs, largely dictated by standards and market requirements. The team agreed to provide an option from June 1st, 2024, where SIZA can transfer the required SAQ data onto the WIETA platform on behalf of the producer, thus saving the member additional time and avoiding duplication.
This would mean that producers would only be required to complete the SAQ on the SIZA platform and respond to additional WIETA questions as indicated on the SIZA SAQ on the MySIZA platform. The SIZA staff would then upload the necessary data onto the SAQ tab on the WIETA platform. This could be done at the producer’s request and would require that the producer provide WIETA with permission to allow the SIZA team access to the WIETA member’s online profile as an authorised user.
For more detailed information, view it here: SIZA and WIETA Combined Audit Information Sheet or contact Ger-Mari Tesselaar at 021 852 8184 / germari@siza.co.za.
