Incentives could give factories relief

There is a need “to talk the economy up” while the high exchange rate remains a challenge, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (dti).

The government must also send “appropriate signals” like new tax incentives to bolster greenfield industrial investments in the current difficult economic environment, director-general Tshediso Matona told the trade and industry portfolio committee yesterday.

The government on Monday announced the tax incentives in the context of what Matona described as “the greatest challenge” to the economy at present – the high rand exchange rate which, he said, was facing “a short-term crisis”.

He told MPs the incentives were needed to promote and support manufacturing.

He said that the department had held talks with manufacturers last week and they were unanimous in the view that the exchange rate was a key challenge to the sustainability of their businesses.

Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies announced that investors in greenfield projects – new projects that use manufacturing assets with a capital investment of R200 million up to R1.6 billion – would be able to apply for a tax allowance of between 35 percent and 55 percent of the project’s value.

The incentive, which will also apply to brownfield projects where there are expansions and upgrades, will run until December 2015.

Business Unity SA economist Simi Siwisa welcomed the tax incentive. She said it built on industrial policy action plan objectives and could “further stimulate” domestic manufacturing sectors. “Indeed it is supportive of a new growth path,” she said.

Asked if the department had the capacity to carry out the programme, Siwisa said business would be meeting with the department next week to find out how to assist it in implementing the programme.

“This will require a partnership between dti and business in general.” Siwisa added that the tax incentives to spur industrial development had to be supported by “non-direct” measures, including beefing up transport infrastructure.

Responding to concerns from DA trade and industry spokesman Tim Harris, Davies acknowledged that there were certain incentives where uptake had been slow. However, the motor industry incentive programme had worked well, largely, Harris believed, because it has been carefully planned with the industry.

Investec investment strategist Brian Kantor said he was “all for low business taxes… investment allowances are one way to do that”. Kantor added that whether it would work would depend on how it was implemented.

ANC MP Joan Fubbs, the committee chairwoman, said it was important the currency issue be resolved at this week’s Group of 20 meeting in Seoul.

Nedbank group economist Dennis Dykes said the green economy was something the government was looking “to bolster” through tax incentives and possibly even subsidies. - Donwald Pressly(Business Report)

R5 billion skills fund untapped

The bloated National Skills Fund, which is meant to be one of the main drivers of the training lay-off scheme to ameliorate the impact of the recession at affected companies, has hardly been touched, according to the Department of Higher Education.

Announcing the scrapping of three sector education and training authorities (Setas) that were not financially sustainable, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande yesterday referred questions to his deputy director-general Percy Moleke. Moleke said about R1 billion of the fund – which now stands at about R5bn – had been earmarked for the amelioration effort.

Nzimande said a further R1bn had also been earmarked by the Unemployment Insurance Fund for this purpose

The money has accumulated since 2005 in the skills fund.

It was key that the skills fund was “not treated like an ATM” and that its resources were directed properly at raising skills levels, Moleke said. It was particularly important that money flowed for the training of engineers, where the numbers of graduates were lagging.

When Nzimande was asked whether the investment of public money by the transport education training authority (Teta) – one of the 20 Setas to survive the shake-up – would be prevented in the future, he appeared not to know about the investments made in J Arthur Brown’s failed firm Fidentia Asset Management.

But Moleke said the matter was still before the courts and the department could not comment further at this stage.

The case against Brown and others will be held in January in the Western Cape High Court. Teta originally invested R250 million in Fidentia.

Nzimande then commented that it would “not be business as usual” for the Setas – which are meant to drive the country’s learnership programmes in various sectors. He pledged that his ministry would be working closely with the Setas “to ensure that there is minimal wastage or no wastage at all in terms of these funds”.

The minister also said that it was important to co-ordinate the work – and have in-depth access to the skills database – by co-ordinating the information technology systems for the universities, further education and training colleges and Setas.

Meanwhile, Nzimande said it would be incorrect to say that the Setas had generally failed. “What everyone accepts (is that) there has been unevenness overall… we could have made a much better impact.”

He pledged that a ministerial task team would be looking at co-ordinating the work of the Setas. In “a couple of months” they would be able to tell his ministry “how better to align and improve the capacity of the Setas to respond to the challenge of skills development”.

The minister announced that from April next year to March 2016, 12 Setas would continue without change. Six Setas would be re-established with minor changes to their mandates, while two would receive sub-sectors from other Setas and three would be abolished.

The clothing, textile, footwear and leather Seta, the media, advertising, publishing, printing and packaging Seta and the forestry industries Seta would be abolished. - Donwald Pressly(Business Report)

Redplan vir maatskappye misluk

Die regering se reddingsplan om maatskappye in die resessie te help, het misluk.

Dié plan het onder meer die heropleiding van werkers behels om afleggings te voorkom.

Uit verskeie voorleggings gister in die parlement is dit duidelik dat burokratiese rompslomp die plan gekelder het.

Net ’n deel van die beskikbare R8,5 miljard van die reddingspakket wat in Augustus verlede jaar deur pres. Jacob Zuma aangekondig is, is benut.

Hiervan sou R6,1 miljard se hulp na ondernemings gaan wat kwaai deur die resessie getref is en R2,4 miljard aan die heropleiding van werkers.

Besigheidseenheid Suid-Afrika (Busa) het gister die siening van die Nywerheidsontwikkelingskorporasie (NOK) beaam dat die regering se resessie-hulpplan geen verskil gemaak nie.

Me. Bev Jack, Busa se verteenwoordiger vir behoorlike werk, het aan die portefeuljekomitee vir arbeid gesê sy is teleurgesteld dat die opleidingskema “nie geslaag het nie”.

Teen die tyd dat die skema in (September 2009) in werking getree het, was meer as 750 000 poste reeds verlore. Dié werkers kon nie ingesluit word by die opleidingsprojek nie omdat hulle reeds die maatskappye verlaat het, het sy gesê.

Vroeër vanjaar is net sowat R10 miljoen van die geld vir die opleidingsprojek benut. Die reddingsfonds moet voor April 2011 al die geld toeken.

Afgevaardigdes van die NOK het onlangs in die parlement gesê slegs R1,4 miljard van die beskikbare R6,1 miljard wat aan die NOK toegewys is, is benut om maatskappye te help wat weens die resessie op die punt was om ten gronde te gaan. Dit is omdat die sakesektore nie geweet het hoe om die geld betyds te benut nie.

By die bekendstelling van die fonds het mnr. Ebrahim Patel, minister van ekonomiese ontwikkeling, gesê: “Die behoefte sal altyd groter wees as die geld wat ons beskikbaar het.” Destyds is gesê aansoeke van 47 maatskappye ter waarde van R1,1 miljard is reeds ontvang en meer as 20 aansoeke om hulp ter waarde van R2,6 miljard word oorweeg.

Klem is gelê op hulp aan die motorbedryf en ’n reddingsplan vir die klere-en-tekstielbedryf. Dié bedrag moes verhoog word met geld uit die sektorale opleidingsowerhede (setas), want hulle is gevra om bykomende geld vir dié opleidingsprogramme opsy te sit.

Dr. Blade Nzimande, minister van hoër onderwys, het gister gesê dié seta-geld is amper glad nie benut nie. Die geld uit die nasionale opleidingsfonds moes die heropleidingsprojek aanvul.

Die nasionale opleidingsfonds staan nou op ’n onbe­nutte R5 miljard waarvan R1 miljard vir die heropleidingsprojek bedoel was.

Volgens mnr. Kaizer Thibedi, projekbestuurder by die Kommissie vir Versoening, Bemiddeling en Arbitrasie (KVBA), het die administrateurs van die heropleidingsprojek 9 444 gevalle by 66 maatskappye tot op hede verwerk.

Dit sluit sake in wat nie suksesvol was nie asook sake wat onttrek is.

Tot Maart vanjaar het minstens 2 700 maatskappye om hulp aansoek gedoen. 

Bron: Sake24

Companies Act inaccuracies cleaned up

Cape Town – The companies amendment bill was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday and is aimed at tidying up the slack wording and inaccuracies in the original Companies Act which was first passed in 2008 and assented to by the president in 2009.
 
A memorandum attached to the bill explained the need for it and said that during consultations on regulations, it became apparent that there were sections containing technical errors, incorrect referencing, omissions and grammatical errors.

"Furthermore, it became apparent that some of the regulations would be ultra vires for lack of empowering provisions in the act empowering the minister to issue them," the memorandum said. 
"As a result … some of the policies and principles of the act are adversely affected," it said.

"In addition, some of the policies are expressed in language that creates undesirable doubt about the intent, and an equally undesirable degree of uncertainty as to their meaning and effect. Considering the nature of the errors, it is probable that in its
present form, the Companies Act, 2008, will result in doubt and uncertainty that could lead to litigation."
The bill says that the uncertainty, and the cost of resolving it through costly legal disputes, may act as a drag on the economy which would have been "fundamentally inimical to the goals of the act itself."

The amendment bill now hopes to provide a proper statutory foundation for the regulations that will be needed to administer and enforce the act.
Amendments are inserted to address uncertainty resulting from lacunae in the act, none of which can properly be resolved by the regulations.
Technical deficiencies are tackled to remove inconsistencies and disharmony among provisions of the act itself and to avoid  conflicts with other legislation or regulations and to remove ambiguities as to how certain provisions were to be applied to give full effect to the policy of the act.

According to the memorandum the proposals contained in the amendment bill aimed at rectifying errors in the principal Act, should be seen against the magnitude and nature of the new act.
"The Act embodies a comprehensive and modernised legal regime providing for the incorporation, registration, organisation and management of juristic persons," the memorandum said.

"It is in nature and extent one of the most extensive laws to be passed by our democratic Parliament, covering almost 400 pages."

Source: INet Bridge

Minister concerned about lack of skills among the youth

The Minister said that nearly two million young people have not completed their secondary school training, making them unfit for employment.

This is of course a huge problem for business as increasingly more job entrants have to be trained on the job, making our uncompetitive industry even more so.

However, the Minister intends fixing the problem with assistance from some of his colleagues

You can read all about it here

Another Regulatory Mess From the DTI

The Securities Regulation Panel has become a thoroughly dysfunctional white elephant. It actually does have a seriously important series of duties to discharge, most of which are concerned with Mergers and Acquisitions (read takeovers).

The term of office of the SRP’s panel members expired on August 16 – a little more than two months ago. No replacements have been named or appointed by Trade & Industry Minister Rob Davies. Why not? Because he was waiting for the new Companies Act to go live this month. It hasn’t because so many issues have been raised around the Act that substantial amendments had to be drafted. That’s what happens when you toss the work on a really critical matter like this to external lawyers. It’s water under the bridge now but the question remains: why use Canadian lawyers when this country has many eminently qualified men and women who could have done a better job? 

Meanwhile, back at the SRP ranch a mess has been created. Back in April this year South African Coal Mine Holdings was the subject of takeover bids from three companies. SA Coal’s board said at the time that it wouldn’t recommend JSW’s offer which was priced at 25 cents compared with an offer by Cyril Ramaphosa’s Shanduka Coal which had bid 28 cents per share. 

Now a SENS announcement reveals that JSW is going to proceed with an offer to shareholders of 30 cents a share – “…subject to the approval of the SRP.” But I don’t see how the SRP can give its approval in the absence of its properly constituted Panel – unless the intention is to get the SRP executive to give it the nod subject to the Panel’s agreement when it is subsequently reconstituted. 

JSW has given an undertaking that, if the SRP later rules that the offer price should have been pitched higher, it will pay the difference between the 30 cents and whatever the SRP reckons to be equitable. I have to presume that Shanduka will have something pretty sharp to say about all this – when the SRP is finally cobbled together again.

That’s all very well, but it’s easy to see what a muddle and mess has been made of this – and all because bright sparks somewhere in government decided SA’s own lawyers couldn’t be trusted. The ramifications have spread rapidly – the affair has had the effect of worrying international investors. Not only do they have to contend with the rants of Julius (the mouth) Malema with his threats to nationalise the mining industry but they now see an inability on the part of regulatory authorities to arrive at quick and reasonable decisions. 


Holding back the tide

What is a Tobin Tax? It was first proposed by James Tobin, a Nobel Laureate economist back in 1972 and it was intended to place a penalty on short-term financial round tripping between currencies. As expressed later by the representative of an NGO, its intention was “…to throw some sand in the wheels of speculative flows.” That wasn’t Tobin’s own interpretation. He told Der Spiegel in 2001 that: “The tax on foreign exchange transactions was devised to cushion exchange rate fluctuations.”

Of course what has raised the Tobin Tax here is the manner in which the rand has galloped down the strengthening straight. It is headed, believes economist Chris Hart, for R6.50 = $1. Let me add that Hart was, to my knowledge, one of the very few economists, if not the only one, to call the rand in that way and to that extent. 

A strong rand has a range of benefits and disadvantages. It makes it effectively cheaper to buy imports and that helps to keep inflation on the deck. But it also means that exporters earn fewer rand unless they push up the price of their products in dollars – which could make them uncompetitive in a tough market. I have always personally thought an important job of any government is to defend the currency – and successive South African governments haven’t discharged that duty with much good effect. 

In South Africa’s case the conventional wisdom is that the flow of foreign money into the country represents investors seeking better interest rate yields than those available in the industrialised “hard” currency countries. This holds that, once rates in those countries improve, the ‘hot’ money will immediately be withdrawn and that will send the rand into another of its favourite spiral dives. There is a counter-argument to this which was touched on the other day by National Treasury director-general Lesetja Kganyago when he put the idea that not all the money flowing into the country was necessarily ‘hot’ (meaning speculative) and that at least some of it was for long-term investment purposes. If that’s the case – and I hope it is – it implies that, when interest rates abroad turn, the flood of money out of South Africa may not be as substantial as many fear.

The issue, though and for the purpose of this column, is does the Tobin Tax work? As Brait economist Colen Garrow noted in Business Report (August 26), Indonesia and Brazil were able to scare off speculators without deterring investors and those countries applied variations of the Tobin Tax idea. But the problem that attends a tax of that kind is that it must be administratively easy and it must work swiftly. These are not attributes for which this country is exactly famous. 

I doubt a Tobin Tax will be introduced here – though it is certainly interesting to note Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus’s latest comment when she told investors in Cape Town that South Africa “…needed to consider special support measures for affected industries.” (Reuters) “These are extraordinary times which call for extraordinary measures,” she said. 

A last comment. Writing about Tobin in 2009, London School of Economics Professor Willem Buiter said: “Tobin was a genius…but the Tobin tax was probably his one daft idea.” (Financial Times) 

Banks lobby DTI

The Banking Association SA is liaising with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) over the new Companies Act, as the sector cannot comply with some requirements that necessitate IT system overhauls.
The legislation – an upgrade to a three-decade-old law – will allow businesses to register names that contain symbols such as +, &, #, @ and %, as well as longer entity names. It was initially meant to come into force this month, but has now been delayed until next April.

Nicky Lala Mohan, the association's GM for legal and regulatory affairs, says the banking sector in SA has had some difficulty with the name changes, which the association has brought to the DTI's attention.
The Banking Association SA is an industry body representing all registered local banks. It is the mandated representative of the sector. It addresses industry issues through lobbying, policy influence, research and development, and engaging with stakeholders.
Lala Mohan explains that the banks' IT systems cannot cope with the new characters. “We are most definitely unable to process those characters.”
However, the Companies and Intellectual Property Office, which will be relaunched as the Company and Intellectual Property Commission when the Act comes into effect, needs to be able to register names with characters before the banks can open accounts with the new style names, says Lala Mohan.
With the postponement of the implementation of the Act, he says there has been a “bit of a lull” in the engagement process. The association had been meeting with the DTI before the Act was delayed.
The association hopes the banking sector will be granted sufficient time to upgrade IT systems, says Lala Mohan. He did not know what costs could be involved.
The DTI did not respond to a request for comment on the issue yesterday.
Source: ITweb.co.za

Why can't SA government take a page out of SriLanka's book?

"The truth is that free trade and limited government have pulled more people out of poverty than any other system — and certainly more than any well-intentioned welfare state program"

SriLanka is booming after quelling many years of terrorism and civil unrest. True, their economy is much smaller than that of South Africa, but that does not diminish the truth of the statement above. 

In almost any area where government  became involved in business, the 'dead hand' is felt: CIPRO,the SETAs, the late Umsobomvu, Dept of Labour vs the Newcastle clothing factories..... the list of bungling is endless. And lest I am accused of just  whinging, I can only say: 'look at the scoreboard' in terms of our growth record where we do not seem to be able to break through the sound barrier of a 3,5% GDP growth rate.


And the country, you and me, are paying the price in terms of jobs lost, poor service delivery etc. Somehing radical must be done.This is a time where decisive leadership is needed by getting ego's out of the way. Rope in the private sector to assist at the operational level to get things moving.
                           Read more

DTI slaps down DA spokesman for attack on Cipro

The Department of Trade and Industry has slapped down a junior spokesman for the Democratic Alliance, Jacques Smalle, for demanding that the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office be criminally investigated and put under administration.

"The statement reflects opportunistic obsession with events of the past which Cipro has been responding to for a while now, and is successfully transcending through series of interventions to strengthen administrative controls and close loopholes that are being identified," the DTI said on Wednesday.

The department said it is "puzzled and dismayed by the DA's alarmist statement, and can only attribute it to the fact that the new Shadow Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Jacques Smalle is not properly briefed."

The DTI explained that the latest intervention by Cipro is the recent call on companies to reconfirm their directors on the Cipro database, to which the response is encouraging.

"All of this work, including data-cleansing exercise being conducted with the support of Statistics SA, the results of which will be released shortly - is part of the ground work for the establishment of Company and Intellectual Property Commission in terms of the new 2008 Companies Act," the DTI said.

"The Commission will take over all the functions currently residing with Cipro, and will be under an overhauled management and leadership structure which will be directly accountable to parliament. Cipro will consequently cease to exist."

"The DA has been engaging the DTI and is fully apprised of these matters and the DTI's modernisation agenda for this area." - I-Net Bridge

Cipro heads for implosion

Source: www.itweb.co.za

The Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) will implode if the Department of Trade and Industry does not take decisive action to clean it up, warn market commentators.
Cipro is funded by the South African business community, which is charged fees and levies for services, such as name reservations and registrations, annual returns and sales of data on its database.
In the last financial year, fees paid directly to Cipro amounted to R854 million, which was a decline on 2009's figure of R954.8 million. The drop was the result of a slowdown in economic activity in SA due to the global recession.
However, Cipro has been slammed after being hit by several incidences of fraud perpetrated on its database, including the recent well-publicised hijacking of Kalahari Resources.
The state of its database has also been questioned after a recent wide-ranging clean-up resulted in 750 000 companies being deregistered in one day.
There are also ongoing questions as to whether Cipro will be ready in time for when the new Companies Act comes into force next April. Its ability to implement new electronic requirements under the Act hinges on the implementation of an enterprise content management (ECM) system, which stalled after the department canned ValorIT's R153 million deal.
Implementation is unlikely to go ahead until ValorIT has had its day in court, where it wants the deal to be reinstated. As a result, the whole issue may go back to tender stage, delaying the IT overhaul for many more months.

Economic explosion

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Cipro's custodian department, must intervene as a matter of urgency, or the office will die a “slow and painful death”.

Jacques Smalle, DA shadow deputy minister of trade and industry, says the slew of troubles at the office are “indicative of a deepening malaise at the heart of Cipro, and continue to do serious damage to the reputation of the department”.
PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed last month that Cipro's database had been used to create fake companies and divert tax returns to those companies, says Smalle. Other aspects indicating Cipro is in dire straits include the fact that trade and industry minister Rob Davies has not made public the results of a forensic investigation into the tender irregularities around the ECM system. The investigation was completed in March.
Smalle also points to the fact that Cipro officials failed to pitch in Parliament in April to answer questions on issues of corruption involving senior officials. “If left unchecked, this endless trickle of scandals, examples of maladministration and poor leadership will lead to the slow and painful death of Cipro, and the DTI itself will not escape unscathed,” says Smalle.
“If the DTI is set on fixing the problem once and for all, it needs to adopt a more drastic position,” says Smalle. He calls on the department to conduct a forensic audit, and then place Cipro under administration.
Chris Gilmour, Absa Investments analyst, says the situation at Cipro does not seem to be getting any better. He says a complete cleanup is required at the office, “otherwise the whole thing will implode”.
Gilmour questions why South African companies are not up in arms over the quandaries Cipro faces. He says they should stand up and provoke a response from the department and Cipro to get the situation sorted out. “He who pays the piper calls the tune.”
Business Unity SA has also reiterated its calls for the trade and industry minister to act decisively to address challenges with Cipro. CEO Jerry Vilakazi says: “A fully-functional Cipro is critical.”

Confused

However, the department is shocked at Smalle's statements, suggesting that the deputy shadow minister has not been properly briefed.
Sidwell Medupe, DTI director of media and public relations, is “puzzled and dismayed” that Smalle wants Cipro placed under administration.
Medupe says Smalle's utterances reflect “opportunistic obsession with events of the past which Cipro has been responding to for a while now”. He says the office is busy strengthening administrative controls and closing loopholes that are being identified.
In addition, adds Medupe, the office is gearing up for when the Company and Intellectual Property Commission is established in terms of the new Companies Act. He explains that the commission will take over Cipro's functions, and management will be “overhauled”.
Cipro head of communications Elsabie Conradie says the office cleans up its database on a continual basis. She concedes, however, that Cipro does sometimes have backlogs, and recently there was a backlog of name reservations. She was not immediately able to provide a list of all current backlogs.

Mdladlana putting 9,500 jobs at risk - Tim Harris

Tim Harris

13 October 2010

DA MP says labour minister's attack on Newcastle employers was divisive and unhelpful

Textile sector: Minister should reassure vulnerable workers
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies should urgently reassure South Africa that the government is serious about introducing flexibility into the Clothing and Textile Sector wage model. If he does not, the battle line drawn yesterday by the Labour Minister, the sector bargaining council and the labour union could lead to the destruction of 9 500 jobs before the end of government's three-month reprieve to the clothing sector.
Earlier this month government offered a lifeline to 385 clothing manufacturers in Newcastle, Kwa-Zulu Natal who are not compliant with bargaining council provisions by blocking their prosecution until a "stakeholder engagement" in December. I imagine that this news was received with great relief by the factory workers the Democratic Alliance met with two weeks ago in Newcastle. Earlier, when the Sherriff was sent to shut down several factories, he was hounded away by the workers who want to keep their jobs.
But yesterday, Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana weighed in with a bitter attack against the employers, calling them "thieves". This draws an unhelpful and divisive battle line two-and-a-half months before a government-brokered summit to resolve the issue.
On the one side you now have an "anti-jobs triad" of the National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry (NBCCMI), the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu) and the Minister of Labour, who are looking to urgently shut down 385 factories and eliminate 9 500 jobs in Newcastle.  On the other, you have the workers currently employed in those factories who told us that they are desperate to keep their jobs, and the factory owners who have created thousands of jobs in a deep rural area.
The Democratic Alliance believes that the only way out of this standoff is to strictly enforce minimum standards for working conditions, but amend the wage model to take account of differing conditions across South Africa. The Leather and Footwear sector implemented such a model in 2005 by introducing numerous grades that take into account the size and location of a factory - this saved jobs and reversed disinvestment in that sector and could be replicated in the clothing sector.
By picking a fight with employers two-and-a-half months before the "stakeholder engagement", the anti-jobs triad risks scuppering the whole process. Minister Davies needs to reassure the thousands of rural workers in Newcastle, many of whom are single mothers with 4 or more dependents, that government is serious about finding a way to save their jobs, and that he will not allow inflammatory statements to drive factory owners into the welcoming arms of Lesotho, Mozambique and Botswana - all of whom are working hard to persuade the factories to relocate.
Statement issued by Tim Harris MP, Democratic Alliance Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry, October 13 2010

Templates

On this page you will find basic templates that you can download for free.

1.  Cashflow Template
2.  Basic business plan template
3.  General business letters
4.  Link to Freelegaldocs.co.za

Gauteng now SA's cash cow

Gauteng has moved from being a net importer - importing about 58% of all South Africa's imports in 2002 - to becoming a net exporter, shipping about 66.7% of all the country's exports in the past year.

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Launching the Provincial Economic Review Outlook at the Gauteng Legislature yesterday, finance MEC Mandla Nkomfe said the province has reversed its trade deficit from R39.7-billion in 2007 to a surplus of R21.3-billion in 2009.
Nkomfe attributed this to favourable rand-dollar exchange rates.
The outlook is compiled by the Gauteng Department of Finance to analyse trends that drive economic activity in the province.
Nkomfe said the province was still the biggest contributor to the national economy, contributing about 35% a year.
"This is set to continue to 2014 and, we hope, beyond," he said.
"Sectoral analysis shows that the financial and business services sectors to be the propellers of growth in the province, followed by the government, social and personal services, and manufacturing.
"The metros contribute most to the gross domestic product last year: Johannesburg contributing 47.6%, Tshwane 26% and Ekurhuleni 19%."
Nkomfe said the province wanted to strengthen its manufacturing sector.
To this end, its Economic Development Department will soon release the province's industrial strategy, which will have a strong bias towards manufacturing.
"Manufacturing is very important, taking into consideration its linkages with other sectors of the economy.
"Furthermore, this sub-sector is labour intensive, though it tends to use more capital and technology.
"It is estimated to have contributed a total of more than 19% to the provincial economy in 2009," he said.
Manufacturing will be positioned to lead economic growth in Gauteng in the wake of the recession.
But Nkomfe said: "We remain worried about the unemployment rate, which increased for the first time last year after consistently declining since 2002.
"Unemployment in Gauteng stands at 24%, with the African [black] population the most affected."

Source: www.timeslive.co.za

DTI Commends EU Contribution to Economy

Pretoria — The European Union programme, established to support South African SMMEs, has largely been hailed as a success by the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) as it wraps its operations.
The Sector Wide Enterprise, Employment and Equity Programme (SWEEEP), which helped with the implementation of South Africa's overall macroeconomic reform strategic objectives, is said to have distributed R477 million to over 40 projects since it began in 2003.

 

The programme aimed at promoting the growth of SMMEs and Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) businesses, with job creation being a fundamental objective.

Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Maria Ntuli and the head of the EU delegation to South Africa, Lodewijk Bri%t, yesterday celebrated the successes of SWEEEP at the conclusion of the programme.
SWEEEP was commended for raising the level of exports and promoting equitable global trade, while also contributing towards Africa's development and regional integration of the New Partnership for Africa's Development.Some of the achievements of the programme include supporting the fruit canning industry by the creation of partnerships between government and industry.

The initiative also supported government's Industrial Policy Action Plan, which includes the Centurion Aerospace Village to support South Africa's innovative manufacturing sector.
SWEEEP also funded the production of the movie, Blood Diamond, which resulted in a R 149.239 million capital inflow to the economy.
"The European Union has since donated an additional R1 billion to the South African government for the next three years for the new Employment Creation Programme, which seeks to support the Economic and Employment Cluster's Plan of action," said the dti.

Source: www.allafrica.com

South Africa to restrict gambling advertisements

SA government to follow 'nights only' English lead

With the future of online gambling regulation still unclear in South Africa  the government's latest move is designed to restrict gambling advertisements in general on television and movie screens to night time viewing. In doing so the Department of Trade and Industry appears to be following the British example.

The DTI this week proposed changes to the National Gambling Act that impose restrictions similar to those governing liquor advertising. It is not clear how print media will be addressed.

DTI spokesperson Zodwa Ntuli said one of the proposals is for gambling advertising on television only to be broadcast at night between 8pm and 6am. She revealed that there are also provisions that will impose restraints on sports and other sponsorships by gambling companies.

“We have published this [proposed] regulation for public comment and we would like the stakeholders, especially in the industry, to give us their views,” she said, adding that interested parties have a month to make submissions or object to the government’s proposals.

The South African government has spent years mulling over the pros and cons of legalising and regulating online gambling in a project that has involved extensive research, political debate and consultation with a wide range of parties. The results of the most recent review are currently awaited, but in the meantime a Gauteng high court has ruled that internet gambling is presently illegal, a finding challenged on appeal by Casino Enterprises, an operator in neighbouring wazilad the Swaziland.

Source: www.recentpoker.com

South Africa lobbies G20

When the leaders of the world's 20 largest economies meet next month in the Republic of Korea (ROK) for economic policy coordination, South African officials will be lobbying hard for the views of developing countries to be taken more seriously by the nations of the developed world. It will be a move strongly backed by China, the new economic strongman on the block.

Both countries were powerful advocates of the Group of 20, which largely replaces the role of the existing Group of Eight (G8), a forum for the industrialized nations that has long dominated the world economy.

The shift from G8 to G20 is designed to reflect the changing global economy with emerging economies such as China, India and Brazil as well as the ROK.

While the Group of Eight will continue their consultations on matters of common importance such as security, global economic issues will largely be handled by the G20, which currently accounts for nearly 85 percent of the world's gross domestic product.

It was a theme close to South African President Jacob Zuma's heart when he paid a formal State visit to China in August, meeting President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao. The African also lobbied hard to join BRIC, the quartet of emerging economies made up of Brazil, Russia, India and China, to form BRICSA. He has visited all the four countries over the past year and says his supplications were well-met.

President Zuma was accompanied by a delegation of government leaders and more than 300 senior corporate executives from South African employment sectors including agro-processing, energy, mining, financial services, manufacturing, construction, health, hospitality, technology and transport.

During a speech at Renmin University of China in Beijing, he said: "Ten years ago, the countries in the developed world were South Africa's largest trading partners. Last year, China became South Africa's largest trading partner. Twenty years ago it would have been unthinkable. Twenty years ago, it would have been unthinkable for Africa to host the FIFA 2010 soccer World Cup. South Africa has just completed hosting one of the most successful soccer World Cup tournaments ever, thereby demonstrating that our country can compete with the best in the world. These developments show emerging economies succeeding against predictions and odds. That the world is changing is not in dispute. It is an irrefutable fact that economic power is in a process of shifting from North to South and West to East. China, for example, is once again assuming its historic position as a major power in the world."

President Zuma told China Daily that there were dramatic changes afoot in the world order. He said: "The objective reality is that today no major decision on issues of global governance, such as reforms of the United Nations, the WTO (World Trade Organization) Doha development rounds, climate change, global financial issues related to G20, rebalancing the world economy and addressing the global financial crisis can be taken without the consent of the developing world.

"The OECD Development Center estimates that measured in terms of real domestic buying power, the developing countries will have a larger share of the world economy than the OECD countries by the year 2012. By the year 2030, developing countries will have 57 percent of the world economy and the current OECD countries 43 percent. If we measure the contribution of different parts of the world to economic growth, the developing world contributed almost 70 percent of world growth last decade, measured in terms of domestic buying power. China alone contributed nearly 30 percent. Although countries like China, Brazil, India and South Africa have an increasingly important role, it cannot be forgotten that they are still developing countries that have not yet overcome the challenges of poverty and inequality. As the leaders here have recently pointed out, it is unrealistic to expect a country like China to attempt to take over as the locomotive of the world economy."

President Zuma said China and South Africa were disappointed in the lack of urgency in bringing international institutions in line with the newly-emerged character of the world economy. "For example, the International Monetary Fund, which has had to play a central role in addressing the global financial crisis, has not yet been allowed to restructure itself better to represent the realities of the international system today. We hope that the G20 meeting in South Korea will show very significant progress in the reform of the IMF. So, while the replacement of the G8 by the G20 is the key focus for global economic cooperation and was an important step in the right direction, there is still a lot more to do to bring the international system in line with current global economic realities."

During President Zuma's visit the two sides signed seven inter-governmental agreements regarding mineral resources, energy, environmental management and transportation. Sixteen business deals were also signed. Currently, the number of Chinese enterprises investing in Africa as a whole exceeds 1,600. In 2000, China-Africa trade surpassed $10 billion. It is expected to exceed $110 billion this year and grow by 20 percent in the next three years. By the end of 2008, China's investment in Africa reached $26 billion, with most funds going to South Africa, Sudan, Zambia and Algeria.

As President Zuma told anyone who would listen while he was in China: "No serious organization can ignore a continent with a population of 1 billion."

Source:China Daily

Government wants to relax biofuels ban

Government seeks to relax maize biofuels ban  
October 11, 2010

By Asha Speckman (BusinessReport)

The government is in talks with the Competition Commission to relax a policy that forbids farmers from selling surplus maize crops for biofuels production.

The government wanted farmers to be allowed to pool their maize and sell it in international markets, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tina Joemat-Pettersson said at the conclusion of the annual Agri SA congress over the weekend.

Joemat-Pettersson said that the agricultural industry was burdened with surplus maize in excess of 3 million tons, which had driven down grain prices and threatened job security in the sector. She said her department had assisted in lobbying the Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, and the Minister of Economic Development, Ebrahim Patel.

"The softening of the approach of the Competition Commission towards the maize industry is an indication of the fact that we have presented a solid argument for the pooling of maize. The industry is not on its own. We need to do everything as government to assist with moving maize. We could have shrugged our shoulders.

"I support the idea that food crops should not be used for biofuels. However, we are now faced with a situation where we have a surplus of maize. It now becomes necessary for us as a country to reposition our decision," she said.

Joemat-Pettersson said her department was also arguing for a change of South Africa's biofuels strategy.

"It needs to be modified to the current reality. We could make the argument for future use of maize for biofuel and future use of sugar for ethanol."

She said this matter would be brought before Dipuo Peters, the Minister of Energy, as soon as possible. "It isn't an instant solution. It's not going to happen within this year. It would require revision of the biofuels strategy."

The DA said it regarded this reconsideration as a victory. The DA's David Ross, a member of parliament and the deputy spokesman for energy, said in a statement that Joemat-Pettersson was to be "commended for putting aside party differences" and adopting proposals the DA had mooted last month.

The party, together with Grain SA, would meet the Department of Energy on October 12 to "look at the nuts and bolts of bringing the ban to an end", Ross said.

Johan Pienaar, the deputy executive director of Agri SA, said that in addition to maize concerns, the organisation would approach the Department of Trade and Industry to review the grain import policy. "We see the production of wheat declining because an import tariff is not in place. We will take this up further with the department in collaboration with the minister."

Joemat-Pettersson said her department was also engaging banks to be sympathetic to the debt situation of farmers, particularly maize farmers while also searching for appropriate vehicles, nationally and internationally, for developmental finance for smallholder and emerging farmers. Agri SA's three-day congress, which closed at the weekend, |focused on land reform, social and labour issues and competitiveness.

Pienaar said among the resolutions made at the congress was one to lobby for implementation of an import tariff on wheat, the absence of which was the cause for declining local production of wheat.

The forum is also developing its own code of conduct with regard to labour issues. This is in the process of being finalised and will be subjected to legal input.

WSA forecasts 13% increase in global steel demand

World Steel Association forecasts 13% increase in global steel demand

Foreign media, according to World Steel Association, 4, global steel demand is forecast released report shows that will reach 1.2722 billion tons in 2010

 

PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 10, 2010 – Foreign media, according to World Steel Association, 4, global steel demand is forecast released report shows that will reach 1.2722 billion tons in 2010, compared with 13.1% in 2009, also before the outbreak of the financial crisis over the demand for 1222000000 07 tons.

Strong demand in emerging market countries has pushed up the total global demand, with China reached 578.7 million tons, accounting for 45%. 11 years of global steel demand is expected to be higher than the predicted 10-year increase of 5.3% to 1,339,700,000 tons.

4 at the Association annual meeting in Tokyo, Japan steel giant JFE was announced that a president Martin became the next president of the Chinese steel giant, Zhang Xiaogang, general manager of Anshan Iron and Steel as vice president, he is likely to be replaced after Martin became president.

If you assume his Zhang Xiaogang,bronze powder ( FCu 663) wholesaler, Chinese enterprises will become the first from the World Steel Association chairman. Global crude steel production in the top ten companies, Chinese companies accounted for 5 seats. Zhang's appointment will be confirmed once again the Chinese Steel Industry in the important position.

Current president of the World Steel Association Mr Rocca said: "The most serious since the Great Depression the world economic crisis has in the past year, the steel industry has begun to return to growth after bottoming out."

International Iron and Steel Association Chairman Paolo Rocca in a briefing session for further recovery in steel demand in 2011 expressed a cautious view of prospects,bronze powder ( FCu 663), as demand in developed countries still significantly below the 2008 level before the global economic downturn. At the same time, China's market outlook difficult to predict.

The association expects growth in China's steel demand in 2010 by 6.7% to 5.79 million tonnes. China's steel consumption in 2009 a substantial increase of 24.8%. However, due to the Government to take measures for the real estate market cooling, while continuing to exercise control of steel production is expected the remainder of 2010,bronze powder ( FCu 663) supplier, the world's largest steel market in China's consumption growth will slow down significantly.
Source: http://www.mhcmp.com

NEF Invests R2 billion to harvest waste

NEF invests R2bn to harvest waste from SA’s disused mine dumps

The National Empowerment Fund (NEF), an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, is to invest in a R2,5bn project that will harvest material from disused mine dumps

Published: 2010/10/08 06:59:49 AM

BETH SHIRLEY

The National Empowerment Fund (NEF), an agency of the Department of Trade and Industry, is to invest in a R2,5bn project that will harvest material from disused mine dumps.

The project should bring in about 300m in foreign direct investment, NEF strategy head Donovan Chimhandamba said yesterday.
The project, known as SA Metals Equity, will take advantage of SA’s estimated 1,5-billion tons of iron-ore reserves embedded in disused mine dumps and other waste sites. It will also benefit poor communities and increase pure metal production in SA, Mr Chimhandamba said.
SA suffers from high unemployment, estimated at about 25%. About 400 jobs will be created in the North West and Mpumalanga.
“We are very excited about this project not only because of its strong commercial merit, but also its high developmental effect and environmental cleaning aspect,” he said.
The NEF investment of R10m will allow for a bankable feasibility study to be concluded so that construction and roll-out of the project could begin by June 2012. Already, R25m has been spent on the project’s pre feasibility and feasibility studies.



SA Metals Equity will be developed in conjunction with Metmar , Global R3 (GR3), V-Projects and Outotec Ausmelt. These companies deal with metals recovery in waste stockpiles (such as mine dumps) and mining technology.
Mr Chimhandama said the plant will produce about 500000 tons of pure metal or pig iron a year, which could be used in the construction industry, housing, cars and industrial projects.



The plant will be commissioned in 2013 and will process about 1,1-million tons of material from mine dumps .



“A project of this magnitude is groundbreaking and offers the project an opportunity to be at the forefront of cutting-edge mining innovation with strong broad-based black economic empowerment,” Mr Chimhandamba said.
Andre Jooste, GR3 director, said that the venture capital to finance feasibility studies is very important to create new industrial capacity and NEF’s involvement secures black equity participation.



The fund will warehouse about 26% for black economic empowerment and will identify beneficiaries, such as employees of SA Metals Equity and the communities around the plants.
“This project will be a leader in terms of environmental cleaning as it uses material from waste dumps that are of huge environmental concern created by the historical mining activities,” said Mr Jooste.



The NEF ’s mandate is to provide venture capital for projects that are at an early stage within sectors identified by the South African government. The fund also provides project finance and private equity in these projects once they are regarded as bankable.

shirleyb@bdfm.co.za

Companies Act of 2008 postponed till April 2011

Minister Rob Davies extended the implementation date of the new Companies act of 2008 to April 2011. The new Consumer Protection Act was also affected by this.