Current Edition >> Archives Section >> Spot Coverage >> 31 July 2007
Absa beplan nog kitsbanke: Absa beplan om binne die volgende twee jaar nog 1 000 banke teen 'n koste van R400 mijoen in werking te stel, word berig. Die projek word in samewerking met Bytes Specialised aangepak en sal hoofsaaklik in voorheen benadeelde gemeenskappe geskied. Absa beskik met 600 tellers reeds oor die grootste aantal kitsbanke in die land en saam met takgeriewe is daar meer as 7 000 toegangspunte in Suid-Afrika.
Strong rise in trademark: According to Engineering News, South Africa is still lacking a clear national strategy on combating counterfeit goods which are infringing local intellectual property. It would, however, seem that companies are intensifying efforts to register their trademarks and other intellectual property. Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) CEO Keith Sendwe said that trademark registration had risen to 31 800 for the financial year ending 31 March. This compares with about 27 000 trademarks registered for the financial year ending March 2006 and an average of around 24 000 trademark registrations in previous
years.
Proudly SA an orphan: Once the proud stamp on South African products and services and flying high in both national and international trading, it would now appear from various news accounts that the Proudly South African concept and logo is being treated as an orphan, with no particular institution willing to accept parental responsibility for it. Since 2004 when the Dept. of Trade and Industry indicated that Proudly South African is not regarded as one of its agencies and thus not eligible for state financial support, the concept has begun drifting. It is nevertheless reported that Proudly South African still has 1 184 subscribed members, of which only 68 are large corporations.
Eskom – better service, more jobs: According to a doctoral thesis by Solidarity's deputy general secretary, Dirk Hermann, for Eskom to roll-out its R150 billion expansion programme over the next five years, it would have to increase its full-time staff by some 30%, or 100 000 workers comprising inter alia 940 engineers, 1 400 technicians, 180 quantity surveyors and 1 200 buyers.
Taxi recap starts slowly: To date only 4 271 old taxi vehicles (about 4,2% of the current fleet) have been scrapped as part of the taxi recapitalisation programme (TRP). In March this year, the figure stood at 1 400 minibus taxis, out of a fleet of more than 100 000 vehicles. The R7,7 billion programme – first announced in 1999 – kicked off in October last year. Under the TRP, taxi operators receive a R50 000 scrapping allowance for their old vehicles, in order to exit the business, or to help them acquire a new vehicle complying with stricter safety specifications.
SAA restructuring: Loss-making SA Airways is to seek to achieve a R2,7 billion turnaround over the next 12 to 18 months as it implements its “fundamental restructuring” plan, which involves a range of cost and revenue improvements. The airline plans to reduce its headcount, renegotiate working conditions with employees, ground some aircraft, cut unprofitable routes and restructure the business into seven units. SAA has also grounded its fleet of B747-400 aircraft, of which it owned one aircraft and leased an additional five, while it has cut certain routes, including the abandoning of flights to Paris as from October this year.
Oil-bearing tree investigated for bio-fuels: Engineering News is reporting that the SA government's moratorium on the planting of the vegetable-oil-producing Jatropha curcas tree is still in place while the cultivation of the species is subject to lengthy environmental-impact studies (EISs). The Department of Agriculture (DoA) has not reached a final conclusion on the suitability of planting Jatropha curcas in South Africa. While the cultivation of the tree provides an alternative source of bio-diesel feedstock to commercial food crops, its seed are toxic and the tree is considered an invader by the DoA. Jatropha curcas is still the subject of comprehensive studies worldwide.
FS Premier's trips abroad in 2006: According to an official reply provided by the Office of the Premier in response to a question posed by the Democratic Alliance in the Free State Legislature, Premier Marshoff in 2006 went on eight trips abroad, costing her department some R2,2 million. The reply also indicates that Marshoff in 2006 spent only in two months no time abroad.
Senwes goeie finansiële jaar: Senwes, wat jaarliks nagenoeg 'n derde van die mielies en 'n kwart van die koring in SA hanteer, het in die afgelope boekjaar tot einde April sy teenwoordigheid uitgebrei deur graanbemarkingskantore in Mpumalanga, die Wes-Kaap en die Suid-Vrystaat te open. Senwes se wins in die jaar het met bykans 19% tot R127 miljoen gestyg. 'n Positiewe kontantvloei is vir die vyfde opeenvolgende jaar gehandhaaf. Notering word eers in 2008 oorweeg.
Kimberley to get glitter back: Kimberley is set to get its glitter back following the announcement by Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica that the State Diamond Trader (SDT) would be launched in Johannesburg and later be moved to Kimberley. The SDT is to buy 10% of all diamonds produced locally and sell them to the country's diamond cutters and polishers and is expected to create 2 000 jobs in Kimberley. Considerable other economic and business spin-offs are also expected from the move.
Vragkern nog nie van grond af nie: Hoewel luidens 'n lewensvatbaarheidstudie wat verlede jaar teen bykans R500 000 voltooi is, dit lonend sal wees om Upington vir internasionale lugvrag te gebruik, word berig dat die SAL nog nie oortuig is dat vragvlugte wel winsgewend gaan wees nie en is hulle tans steeds besig om kosteberekeninge te doen. Intussen is plaaslik te Upington reeds verwagtinge geskep vir 'n ekonomiese opbloei en word die jongste verwikkelinge uiteraard met belangstelling dopgehou.
A milestone event will be reached when the Free State and Bloemfontein / Mangaung will be the guest province and city at the annual ACCENTA Trade Fair in Ghent, Belgium, in September this year.
This honour is normally reserved for countries, but because of the excellent working relationship between East Vlaanders and the Free State, an exception was made and the Free State as a province was chosen to represent South Africa. As the financial hub and capital of the province, a part of the exhibition at the fair will be devoted to Bloemfontein / Mangaung in particular.
ACCENTA 2007 is one of three fairs to be held in Belgium, but as the only dedicated trade fair, it promotes business, trade, entrepreneurship and other investment opportunities on a direct level. During the one and a half week between 15 and 23 September over 200 000 people are expected to visit the show in Ghent, while Premier Beatrice Marshoff is to be afforded an opportunity to address the business sector on investment.
The Free State will be represented by 70 businesses from the province who will showcase their wares on 1 090 m˛ of floor space. Some of the businesses include the Free State Tourism Authority, the FDC, PACOFS, Sasol and Harmony Gold. Bloemfontein / Mangaung will have a small separate stall in the centre of the exhibitions as Bloemfontein / Mangaung and Ghent are twin cities.
Apart from the 70 businesses that will partake in the exhibition, other Free State businesses will also be invited to attend the various business to business seminars and roundtable discussions covering 11 topics. Some of these include a live virtual discussion between the University of Ghent and the University of the Free State, a study of Sasol and the real estate market in both cities.
ACCENTA coincides with a cultural festival in Ghent on 18 September and the Free State will also send some performers along. PACOFS and the theatre company Vooruijt are considering an exchange program so that artist and knowledge could be swapped. The cultural exchange between Ghent and Bloemfontein / Mangaung will also include poetry, books and film and there is even negotiations with a restaurant in Ghent to serve traditional South African dishes such as bobotie and wors for the duration of the fair.
The co-operation is not limited to ACCENTA alone and the economic departments of both cities will mutually develop a monitoring instrument, able to measure and follow up the effects of the actions taken.
The Voka (Vlaams Economische Verbond) Chamber of Commerce in East Flanders and the Bloemfontein Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) are also working on the Plato project, funded by the Flemish government. This project focuses on the professional coaching of SME-owners by managers from major companies with a view to it creating a multi-sectorial, economic and international network.
However, mutual co-operation is not one way only and both cities stand to benefit from the interchange. For instance, Ghent recently started its own version of community-based planning and is eager to learn from Bloemfontein / Mangaung experiences.
From the Free State's side, the main organising roleplayers are the Dept. of the Premier, seda Free State, seda Mangaung, the Mangaung Local Municipality, the FDC, PACOFS and the BCCI.
Reeds in Januarie vanjaar het die Vrystaat Sake Bulletin berig oor die treurige toestand van die Bethulie Oord aan die oewer van die Bethulie-dam in die Patrick Mynhardt Natuurreservaat.
Die 480 ha oord wat in 1926 gestig is, het tot en met 2003 aan die Kopanong Plaaslike Munisipaliteit behoort. Dit het uit 22 chalets, 90 karavaanstaanplekke en geriewe soos 'n kiosk, swembad, braaiplekke en bootvasmeerplekke bestaan voordat dit in 1998 gesluit is en toe onder vandale begin deurloop het.
Sedert 2003 behoort die oord aan Ikhwezi Holiday Resort en Green Belt Developers. Volgens die kontrak wat met die Kopanong Munisipaliteit aangegaan is, sou Ikhwezi die oord bestuur, terwyl Green Belt Developers vir die finansiering verantwoordelik sou wees. Ikhwezi het onderneem om die oord te herstel en sou dan die oord vir 50 jaar op 'n huurkontrak besit. Die huur is vasgestel op R1 800 per maand en hoewel die oord steeds aan Ikhwezi toegesę is, betaal hulle geen huur nie.
Die Vrystaat Sake Bulletin het by plaaslike inwoners vasgestel dat die toestand van die eens sprankelende oord geensins verbeter het nie. Die oord is steeds erg verwaarloos en onlangs is mense wat op die dam wou seil afgejaag deur verteenwoordigers van Ikhwezi. Besoekers word nie meer op die gronde van die oord toegelaat nie.
Mnr. Phakamile Kulumane een van die direkteure van Ikhwezi, het aan Vrystaat Sake Bulletin gesę dat hulle nog nie met die opgraderings van die oord kon begin nie aangesien hulle nog op die munisipaliteit wag vir 'n brief om magtiging vir die bestuur van die oord te verleen. As gevolg hiervan het hulle nou besluit om die die munisipaliteit hof toe te neem.
Kulumane sę dat hulle al met die kantoor van LUR Neo Masithela van die Dept. Toerisme Omgewings- en Ekonomiese Sake geskakel het, maar nog vir terugvoer wag.
Kulumane beklemtoon dat dit nie as gevolg van finansiële oorwegings is dat die opknappingswerk aan die oord nog nie begin het nie en dat daar heelwat beleggers is wat in die projek belangstel. Skade is o.m. aan elektriese drade en geysers aangerig asook aan die geboue by die oord. 'n Assessor is ingeroep het om die skade te bereken en volgens Kulumane gaan dit ongeveer R15 miljoen kos om die oord tot op internasionale standaard te herstel. Hy verduidelik dat inwoners nie op die terrein toegelaat word nie as gevolg van wilde diere in die omgewing wat 'n gevaar vir die publiek inhou.
Intussen duur die skaakmaatsituasie rondom die oord voort – met die plaaslike gemeenskap as grootste verloorder.
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