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Economy News

Rand softer, market looks to policy meeting

By: Reuters 7th January 2013 South Africa's rand softened against the dollar on Monday and could remain on the back foot as prospects of less monetary stimulus in the United States boosts the greenback. At 0657 GMT the local currency was 0.27% weaker at 8.5885 to the dollar after closing Friday's session at 8.5651. →

New BEE codes ‘unachievable’ for industry – Seifsa

By: Natasha Odendaal 14th December 2012 The Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (Seifsa) has raised a series of objections to the proposed revised broad-based black economic-empowerment (BBBEE) codes that have been tabled by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), saying that many of the provisions were... →

ANCYL plans nationalisation proposal at conference

By: Sapa 14th December 2012 The African National Congress (ANC) Youth League will propose resolutions on the nationalisation of certain minerals and strategic mining companies at the party's 53rd national conference in Mangaung, it said on Friday. "...We shall be proposing nationalisation of the following minerals: iron... →

Lack of spectrum, high prices affecting broadband access

By: Schalk Burger 14th December 2012 A lack of spectrum allocation means that many mobile network operators had to ‘refarm’ their spectrum of frequencies to supply the increasing demand for broadband, said mobile operator Vodacom group CEO Shameel Joosub at a Gordon Institute of Business Science seminar, in November. Vodacom’s... →

New initiative aims to equip school principals with managerial skills

By: Joanne Taylor 14th December 2012 According to engineering company Haw & Inglis co-founder Rick Haw, the cause of poorly performing schools is poor management and leadership from its principals. →

Engineering group sets up training infrastructure to draw on local talent

By: Schalk Burger 14th December 2012 Heavy engineering manufacturer DCD sponsors several local schools in the Vereeniging area and is also drawing apprentices for its newly opened training centre from local communities. This enables the company to use its training to bring learners from local communities into the formal sector of... →

Strained ANC relations predicted

By: Sapa 13th December 2012 President Jacob Zuma and Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe would probably find it difficult to work together should they retain their positions, an expert said on Thursday. Political analyst Ebrahim Fakir said the contest for the African National Congress' (ANC's) top job could result in... →

Denel Aviation confirms retrenchments but hopes for 'amicable solution' with SAAF

By: Keith Campbell 13th December 2012 Aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul company Denel Aviation, part of the State-owned Denel defence industrial group, is trying to avoid retrenching all the 538 employees of its Aero Manpower Group (AMG), whose current jobs are destined to end on March 31 as the result of the decision by the... →

Foodcorp fined R88.5m for collusion

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 13th December 2012 South African food manufacturer Foodcorp has been fined an administrative penalty of R88.5-million, or 10% of the affected turnover of its 2010 milling division, the Competition Commission reported on Thursday. The commission has reached a settlement with the company in two separate cartel cases... →

New Seta grant regulations may hurt investment in training, Seifsa warns

By: Idéle Esterhuizen 12th December 2012 The new sector education and training authority (Seta) grant regulations, which proposed further reduction in the mandatory grant paid to employers, could impact on companies’ ability to invest in training, Steel and Engineering Industries Federation of South Africa (Seifsa) skills development... →

Freedom Charter as basis for nationalisation questioned

By: Natasha Odendaal 12th December 2012 As the African National Congress’s (ANC’s) national elective conference, in Mangaung, nears, Free Market Foundation (FMF) executive director Leon Louw questioned the ANC Youth League’s (ANCYL’s) use of the 1955 Freedom Charter as a basis for the call to nationalise South Africa’s assets.... →

Trade activity increased in November – Sacci

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 11th December 2012 South African trade conditions experienced improvements in activity in the second half of the year, which was sustained over and above seasonal performance, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) reported on Tuesday. The Sacci non-seasonally adjusted Trade Activity Index... →

South African employment prospects remain weak

11th December 2012 South African job prospects are set to remain downbeat in the first three months of 2013, with employers reporting one of their weakest first-quarter forecasts on record. This is according to the Manpower Group’s latest Employment Outlook Survey, which found that 9% of employers expected to... →

Third-quarter formal employment up 0.1%

By: Natasha Odendaal 11th December 2012 South Africa’s formal, nonagricultural employment rose by 0.1% in the third quarter of the year, with 10 000 jobs added, taking employment in the sector to 8.44-million during the period under review, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported on Tuesday. Compared with the second quarter, a... →

G20 too ‘Eurocentric’, says expert

By: Idéle Esterhuizen 10th December 2012 University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business professor Mills Soko has expressed concern over the G20 group of industrialised countries’ ability to assist Africa in achieving growth and overcoming its challenges, deeming it to be too ‘Eurocentric’. Speaking at the first yearly African G20... →

Corruption battle is everyone’s responsibility – Deputy Minister

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 10th December 2012 The battle against corruption is not only the responsibly of government, and should be supported by civil society and private sector, Public Services and Administration Deputy Minister Ayanda Dlodlo said at an International Anti-corruption Day summit, in Pretoria on Monday. She said the entire... →

Business seeks policy certainty and predictability from Mangaung

By: Natasha Odendaal 10th December 2012 Business Unity South Africa (Busa) echoed the sentiments of many individual businesspeople on Monday when it formally appealed for the emergence of policy certainty and predictability at the Africa National Congress’s (ANC’s) upcoming elective conference, which will be held in Mangaung, in the... →

Vavi appointed chair of anti-corruption forum

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 10th December 2012 The National Anti-Corruption Forum has appointed Congress of South Africa Trade Unions general-secretary Zwelinzima Vavi as its new chairperson, taking over from former Business Unity South Africa chief Futhi Mtoba. Speaking at an anti-corruption summit, Vavi said that it was an honour to be... →

Public Works commits to resolve State property fraud

By: Natasha Odendaal 10th December 2012 The Public Works Minister and the nine Public Works Members of Executive Councils (Minmec) renewed their commitment to complete the immovable asset register (IAR) of State-owned properties and combat fraud and corruption. Minmec, the Department of Public Works (DPW) and provincial public works... →

Busa rejects new Seta grant regulations

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 7th December 2012 Business Unity South Africa (Busa) said on Friday that it did not support the new Sector Education And Training Authority (SETA) grant regulations, which proposed further reduction of mandatory grants. “This goes against the spirit of the Skills Development Act, which advocates work place... →

Sacci finds ‘procedural missteps’ in BBBEE codes consultation

By: Idéle Esterhuizen 6th December 2012 The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) has identified various “procedural missteps” by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in the stakeholder consultation phase for the revised broad-based black economic-empowerment (BBBEE) codes of good practice. Most notably were the... →

Business confidence remains gloomy as strikes hurt

By: Idéle Esterhuizen 6th December 2012 Business confidence in South Africa remained depressed in November, weighed down by the high level of strike action in the country, the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) reported on Thursday. The organisation’s Business Confidence Index for November fell marginally to 91.7... →

Doubt over local government capacity to deliver – survey

By: Shannon de Ryhove 6th December 2012 Twenty-eight per cent of South Africans say local government cannot be trusted to deliver the services that citizens expect – a figure that has not improved in recent years, the South African Reconciliation Barometer survey, conducted annually by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation... →

Black investors own 21% of JSE’s top 100 firms

By: Natasha Odendaal 6th December 2012 Black investors hold at least 21% of the top 100 companies listed on the JSE, while the white participation level is 22%, research has revealed. Chandler & Associates research team head Trevor Chandler on Thursday said that the 21% includes 9% held directly, mostly through empowerment stakes, up... →

Employment in November rises, says Adcorp

By: Natasha Odendaal 6th December 2012 A total of 70 502 new jobs were created in South Africa during November, recording an annualised growth of 4.4%, the Adcorp November Employment Index, released on Thursday, revealed. The JSE-listed company said that the past three months had seen the economy add about 112 473 jobs – reversing... →

High Commissioner wants to double tourism numbers between India and SA

By: Idéle Esterhuizen 5th December 2012 India's High Commissioner to South Africa Virendra Gupta on Wednesday said he aspired to double tourism between South Africa and India over the next five years. Tourism between the two Brics countries almost doubled over the past five years, he said at a seminar in Sandton, adding that there... →

SA drops further in corruption perception survey

By: Natasha Odendaal 5th December 2012 The perception of the prevalence of corruption in South Africa’s public sector is worsening, with the country slipping further in Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). The lower ranking, which places South Africa on par with its Brics counterpart Brazil, did not... →

Denel Aviation technicians face uncertain future as SAAF contract lapses

By: Keith Campbell 5th December 2012 South African trade union Solidarity has called for the Minister of Defence, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, to act to ensure the futures of 523 aircraft maintenance and repair specialists whose jobs have been imperilled by the decision of the South African Air Force (SAAF) to allow its contract with... →

SA slides in WEC’s Energy Sustainability Index

By: Idéle Esterhuizen 4th December 2012 South Africa’s energy sustainability has decreased, weighed down by a sharp drop in energy security, the World Energy Council's (WEC’s) 2012 World Energy Trilemma report has shown. Impacted by a decline in the wholesale margin on liquid fuel and weak performance on the diversification of... →

PIC CEO appointed as UNGC-SA chair

By: Idéle Esterhuizen 4th December 2012 The United Nations Global Compact Local Network (UNGC) South Africa has appointed Public Investment Corporation CEO Elias Masilela as its chairperson to replace Futhi Mtoba. Mtoba served at the global board of the UNGC in New York until early 2012. →

October says industrialisation requires back-to-basics approach

By: Natasha Odendaal 4th December 2012 Africa’s regional economic integration could be achieved through industrialisation, but a “back-to-basics” approach was required, particularly for South Africa, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) director-general Lionel October said. He said that Africa’s underdevelopment was partly owing to... →

Rand steady as Zuma closes in on re-election

By: Reuters 4th December 2012 South Africa's rand is expected to remain range-bound as the ruling African National Congress moves closer to reappointing President Jacob Zuma as its leader, reducing the uncertainty hanging over this month's internal party election. The rand was at 8.8680 to the dollar, largely in line with... →

Next Jobs Fund bidding round opens as 54 projects move ahead

By: Terence Creamer 3rd December 2012 The third bidding round for employment-rich initiatives seeking to access funding from the South African government’s R9-billion Jobs Fund has officially opened, with 54 projects having been approved after two earlier bidding rounds – these projects will collectively receive funding worth... →

SA manufacturing remains under pressure as input costs rise

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 3rd December 2012 The seasonally adjusted Kagiso Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) increased by 2.4 points in November to reach a level of 49.5, but it remained in contraction for the third consecutive month – once again highlighting the domestic and global pressures on the sector. Input costs continued to... →

Gauteng dealt with problems – Mokonyane

By: Sapa 30th November 2012 The Gauteng government has dealt with all the problems it encountered in 2012, premier Nomvula Mokonyane said on Friday. "As we move towards the twilight of our term of office, we look back with amazement at what initially looked like insurmountable challenges akin to David facing Goliath," she... →

Gauteng municipalities outperform W Cape on productivity index

By: Idéle Esterhuizen 30th November 2012 Cape Town is South Africa’s most productive metro, while Overstrand, also in the Western Cape, is the top local municipality, but, on average, Gauteng’s municipalities are the country’s top performers. This is according to local government data intelligence service provider Municipal IQ’s latest... →

ECDC looks to quality loan book for sustained recovery and growth

By: Joanne Taylor 30th November 2012 Development financier, the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) will focus more on self-sustainable revenue for the future, said ECDC CEO Sitembele Mase at its 2012 financial results presentation earlier this month. →

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