Current Edition >> Archives Section >> Spot Coverage >> 15 December - 31 January 2006
Welkom Naudévile ontwikkeling van R100 miljoen : 'n Reuse-ontwikkeling van meer as R100 miljoen gaan in twee fases in Naudéville, Welkom, gebou word. Bouwerk aan die eerste fase begin in Februarie 2006. Die ontwikkeling is besonders deurdat wooneenhede se pryse vanaf R219 000 tot R1,2 miljoen wissel. Die eenhede word van Maandag af verkoop. Dit sluit een-, twee- en drie-slaapkamerwoonstelle, meenthuise en huise in. Mnr. Ramotso Keketsi, direkteur van Mangwato Investments cc, sê hy het 'n gaping in die mark vir die soort behuising gesien. Me. Martie Kasselman van Pam Golding in Welkom sê Naudéville is die laaste ses maande baie gesog.
Koop Kroonstad-veldtog : 'n Koop Kroonstad-veldtog wat deur die Kroonstad Besigheidskamer op die dorp geloods word, toon dat uit elke R1 000 wat by 'n plaaslike Kroonstad-onderneming bestee word, steek die eienaar van daardie onderneming slegs R49,47 in sy sak. Daarenteen steek 'n kettingwinkel, waarvan die wins nie op die dorp bly nie, R345,46 in die betrokke groep se sak. Volgens mnr. Jock Relling, president van die Kamer, is dit duurder om 'n onderneming op Kroonstad te bedryf, met sowat R129,50 van elke R1 000 wat aan salarisse en indiensnemingskoste bestee word. “Aan die einde van die kooptransaksie met R49,47 netto wins, is dit darem gerusstellend dat die wins weer in die gemeenskap teruggeploeg word. Ons wil egter glad nie mense ontmoedig om kettingwinkels te ondersteun nie," sê Relling. Meer inligting by krdchamber@act.co.za.
Besware teen Harrismith naamsverandering : Inwoners het in 'n versoekskrif met 4 726 handtekeninge, verteenwoordigend van 57,9% van die totale bevolking van die dorp bo 14 jaar, hul misnoeë en teenkanting uitgespreek oor die voorgestelde naamsverandering van Harrismith na Mengkhoaneng. Hierdie naamsverandering was een van ses herbenamingsvoorstelle vir dorpe in die Vrystaat en twee riviere wat tydens 'n werksessie van die Pleknaamkomitee bespreek is. Benewens die voorstel vir Harrismith, is ook Senekal na Kuretlele, Fouriesburg na Fothane, Ficksburg na Joalabeholo, Ladybrand na Mabolela en Clocolan na Hlohlooane voorgestel. Daarby was 'n voorstel dat die Sandrivier na Tikoe en die Vetrivier na Tokoane verander word.
Ferdi Dippenaar and Rick Menell resigns from Harmony : The board of harmony Gold has announced the resignation of two key directors, Ferdi Dippenaar and Rick Menell. Both are to pursue future careers as chief executive officers of junior mining companies in Canada. Dippenaar joined Harmony in 1998 and served the company in various roles, most recently as marketing director. Under his leadership Harmony won numerous awards for investor relations, established its own commercial gold refinery and actively supported jewelry training and manufacturing. Menell joined Harmony's board in 2004 and served as deputy chairman.
Matjhabeng investigates R24 million : It has been announced in a media release by the office of the executive mayor of Matjhabeng Local Municipality, Mr. Serake Leeuw, that an official internal investigation has been launched into allegations that various projects totaling some R24 million might have been awarded to contractors and consultants apparently without proper procedures and processes. Such projects were apparently allocated without Council's approval and were not budgeted for. No government funding was available for or allocated towards these projects, which means the taxpayers are paying for them. Some of the projects are currently running, whilst others were allocated months ago without any work been done on record. The investigation is part of the transparency policy of the Council and the mayor.
Planned SA infrastructure spent : The public sector will invest R320-billion in the next five years, South Africa's largest investment programme ever, Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin told the Metal and Engineering Industries Bargaining Council gala dinner last month. If he took only the initial current capital-expenditure of Eskom and Transnet, the capital programme would involve expenditure of R27 billion in the construction industry, particularly civil engineering; R11 billion on metal products; R11 billion on transport equipment; R9 billion on electrical machinery; and R8 billion on non-electrical machinery.
Suid-Afrikaanse vaardigheid in buiteland : 'n Onlangse Internet-peiling van die Homecoming Revolution toon dat bykans 70% van Suid-Afrikaners wat in die buiteland woon, het een of ander vorm van naskoolse kwalifikasie, terwyl 23% oor nagraadse kwalifikasies beskik. 81% van die respondente het aangedui dat hulle in een of ander stadium gaan terugkeer na Suid-Afrika. Waarskynlik meer beduidend is dat 'n derde van dié wat wil terugkeer, beplan om plaaslik hul onderneming te begin. Hulle voel die entrepreneuriese klimaat in die land het verbeter, maar 44% sê misdaad verhinder dat hulle terugkeer, terwyl 'n gebrek aan werksgeleenthede en die regering se SEB beleid ook ontmoedigend is.
Web business exploding, but digital gap widening : According to Intel chairperson Craig Barrett addressing an audience in Sandton, the global Internet population is set to reach 1,35 billion by 2007, while there will be 2,14 billion wireless subscribers in the near future. E-commerce will grow 10 times over, with personal computer sales doubling by 2010. With 3 billion people - around 50% of the world's population - being online, the possibilities are endless. However, the digital divide is also widening, with wealthy nations comprising some 16% of the world's population, but commanding 90% of Internet-host computers. One in two Americans are online, compared with only one in 250 Africans.
At a year-end media briefing on 13 December 2005 and also reporting on the Economic Cluster Committee of the FS Executive Council, MEC for Tourism, Economic and Environmental Affairs Neo Masithela indicated that fast-tracked black economic empowerment in the property industry in the Free State is one of the top priorities of the Free State Provincial Government. Masithela said the property industry is currently concentrated in less than 5% of hands and that must be changed soon.
Some other points mentioned by Masithela were :
• Development of the Harrismith Logistical Hub is regarded as a flagship project.
• The Free State is to participate in the Matka International Travel Fair in Finland in January 2006, seen as a potential tourism and investment market for the province.
• The recently established FS Tourism Authority is to submit its business plan in January / February 2006 for approval.
The Economic Cluster is to investigate the large scale procurement and purchasing of goods and services, such as stationary, etc., from the Free State outside the province and to see whether the same can perhaps rather be obtained competitively within the province.
According to a media statement by the ACDP in the Free State, it is disconcerting to learn, just before the festive period traffic is unleashed on Free State roads, that the province has the biggest backlog as far as repair of tarred roads is concerned.
“The Free State, taking the size of the population into account, has more fatal accidents than the other provinces. It is therefore a matter of concern to learn that the Minister of Transport, Mr. Jeff Radebe, indicates that only 30% of funds needed, are availed to address roads in the province.
“Whilst most road accident fatalities are pedestrians, this does not apply to the Free State and Northern Cape. In these two provinces fatal accidents are mostly related to the passing of other vehicles, making it clear that the province, as a driving through province, has insufficient free ways. The fact that many heavy vehicles shy away from toll gates and use secondary roads, places an even larger burden on the provincial budget.
“To complicate matters even more, the Free State is the province with the highest average vehicle age, namely approximately 12 years. The overloaded bad roads, hastily passing through traffic and the many old vehicles is a recipe for a high number of road accidents and it is therefore not surprisingly that the annual death toll on our province's roads is approximately a thousand,” the media release states.
In reply to a Parliamentary question the Minister for Provincial and Local Government, Sydney Mufamadi, said that the Retshedisitswe textile project at Senekal, the building for which was erected three years ago at a cost of R1 million and funded by taxpayers' money (on photo on top), has been terminated as a result of political infighting within the Setsoto Local Municipality.
The building was erected to accommodate a textile job-creating project flowing from a partnership between the KMD Social Service at Senekal and the municipality. The project was to have provided work to 35 women from the previously disadvantaged community. The KMD subsequently withdrew because of continuous divergent views within the ranks of the municipality.
It is reported that the municipality is currently looking for a partner from the private sector, but has as yet not been successful in this regard. In the meantime the building stands empty and is but a white elephant.
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