"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.
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Friday, October 15, 2010
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
"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
Thursday, October 14, 2010
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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.”
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
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
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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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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