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Economy News

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. →

Govt, high costs hampering fire protection training

By: Chantelle Kotze 30th November 2012 Fixed fire protection systems inspection service provider Automatic Sprinkler Inspection Bureau (ASIB) MD John Goring says the sprinkler fire protection industry would like to provide recognised training within the confines of its own industry expertise and not within a peripheral trade or industry. →

Support for small farmers yielding sweet rewards

By: Schalk Burger 30th November 2012 A focus on ensuring the sustainability of sugar cane supply for sugar miller TSB’s mill in Malalane, in Mpumalanga, has led to the development of small-scale commercial farmers and provided sustainable development for local communities, says TSB CEO John du Plessis. The miller is in a 50:50... →

Global legal practice sees SA as key to African aspirations

By: Schalk Burger 30th November 2012 Lawyers worldwide must gain much greater insight into their clients’ industries and businesses to provide the nuanced advice necessary for clients to reduce risks to their businesses and investments in diverse countries, says law firm Baker & McKenzie global chairman Eduardo Leite. This... →

Compliance toolkit launched for small SA firms

30th November 2012 South Africa’s pre-eminent accountancy body the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) has launched an electronic guide for applying the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). →

Mixed capex performance from provinces in fiscal H1

By: Terence Creamer 29th November 2012 By the end of September, South Africa’s nine provinces had collectively spent R12.5-billion, or 46%, of their combined R27.2-billion capital budgets for 2012/13 – an increase of 12.5% on the capital expenditure (capex) levels achieved during the corresponding period in 2011/12. However, capex... →

Manufacturing confidence ticks up, but remains at low level

By: Megan van Wyngaardt 29th November 2012 While domestic demand for manufacturing came in much stronger than anticipated, with the indicators for sales and order volumes improving significantly, fourth-quarter manufacturing confidence remains low. The Bureau for Economic Research’s (BER’s) latest survey showed on Thursday that... →

Obama follows up Africa strategy with ‘doing business’ campaign

By: Terence Creamer 28th November 2012 Newly re-elected US President Barack Obama, who has been criticised for having had too little engagement with Africa during his first term, has followed up on the June release of his administration’s ‘US Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa’ with a new Department of Commerce-led campaign, dubbed... →

Group Five supports construction sector collective bargaining council

By: Idéle Esterhuizen 28th November 2012 JSE-listed construction group Group Five supported the establishment of a collective bargaining council for South Africa’s construction sector, human resources director Junaid Allie said Wednesday. He told a media briefing, in Johannesburg, that although Group Five had a low level of unionisation... →

Marcus cautions on high wage deals

By: Sapa 28th November 2012 Unions must realise that getting higher wages for workers could be at the cost of jobs, South African Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus told National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) delegates on Wednesday. She was speaking in Randburg, Johannesburg, at a Numsa conference to decide... →

Mining drags down SA’s third-quarter growth

By: Natasha Odendaal 27th November 2012 South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed in the third quarter, dragged down by a sharp contraction in the mining sector. Statistics South Africa’s (Stats SA’s) latest quarterly GDP report showed third-quarter growth of 1.2%, compared with 3.4% in the prior quarter. →

Nedlac chief sees 2013 as chance for SA to forge new five-year social contract

By: Terence Creamer 27th November 2012 The head of the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac) believes that 2013 offers a narrow window of opportunity to re-established the credibility of the organisation and to re-assert the role of social dialogue as a vital tool for dealing with some of South Africa’s most... →

Outcry over tariffs, not tolls, High Court hears

By: Sapa 27th November 2012 The public outcry against the tolling of Gauteng's highways was related to the tariffs, the High Court in Pretoria heard on Tuesday. "I think we should make it clear that the public outcry is not because of tolls but the tariffs," Vincent Maleka, senior council for the transport department said. →

Industry leaders sign ‘Buying Local Pledge’

By: Idéle Esterhuizen 26th November 2012 Industry bodies, government and labour on Monday signed a “Buying Local Pledge” in an effort to promote procurement of locally manufactured goods and services. The signing took place at Proudly South African’s (Proudly SA’s) second Buy Local Summit, in Johannesburg, which also marked the launch... →

ANC believes in state capitalism – DA

By: Sapa 26th November 2012 The dominant faction of the African National Congress (ANC) believes in state capitalism, Democratic Alliane (DA) MP Tim Harris said on Sunday. "... the state acts as the dominant player, and uses markets for their own political gain," he told delegates on the second day of the party's federal... →

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