AMENDED B-BBEE CODES OF GOOD PRACTICE CONTAIN SIGNIFICANT CHANGES AND SEEK TO ALIGN POLICY TO GOVERNMENT’S ACTION PLAN

AMENDED B-BBEE CODES OF GOOD PRACTICE CONTAIN SIGNIFICANT CHANGES AND SEEK TO ALIGN POLICY TO GOVERNMENT’S ACTION PLAN

The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) hosted a stakeholder engagement on the Revised Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Codes of Good Practice at the National Empowerment Fund in Johannesburg yesterday.The aim of the engagement was to ensure that business chambers and their members understand their role in the implementation of the Revised B-BBEE Codes.

According to the Acting Chief Director of Black Economic Empowerment at Trade and Industry, Mr Liso Steto, the objectives of the stakeholder engagement on the Revised B-BEE Codes are to get an understanding of the challenges and concerns of business regarding the Revised B-BEE Codes and also to address the concerns.

“This is an opportunity to provide business with a practical understanding of applying the revised codes and explaining what these codes mean for business. The amended B-BBEE Codes contain significant changes and seek to give effect to Section 9 of the Constitution by providing opportunities to those who were marginalized,” said Steto.

The context within which the B-BBEE legislative framework was revised was Government’s top agenda of economic transformation and its expression in the National Development Plan (NDP), and the drive for supplier development, localization, industrialization, job creation and skills development.

This being said, the revised codes are more focused and constructive. The seven elements have been reduced to five, by merging employment equity with management control, and enterprise development with preferential procurement, retaining ownership, skills development and socio-economic development.

“The emphasis has shifted from only ownership to include priority elements of enterprise and supplier development as well as skills development. Of the hundred and nine available points on the scorecard, twenty five are for ownership, twenty for skills development and forty for enterprise and supplier development,” Steto said.

To promote localization and industrial policy, the codes require that suppliers for preferential procurement must be B-BBEE compliant and fulfill regulatory requirements, meet at least three of the local procurement, job creation, raw material transformation/beneficiation and skills transfer requirements. Furthermore, the targeted beneficiaries for enterprise supplier development have to be fifty one black-owned and black-women owned enterprises.

“The thresholds have been adjusted, giving enhanced recognition to black-owned small medium enterprises and to promote access to markets. Fifty one percent black-owned automatically qualifies for level two, and those that are hundred percent black owned qualify for level one,” added Steto.

The revised codes came into effect on 1 May 2015. The implementation of the Codes is supported by the amended B-BBEE Act 53 of 2003 as amended by the B-BBEE Amendment Act 46 of 2013, which came into operation on 24 October 2014.

SA SHOULD PROMOTE INCLUSIVE GROWTH, MINISTER DAVIES

SA SHOULD PROMOTE INCLUSIVE GROWTH, MINISTER DAVIES

South Africa will not win its battle against poverty, inequality and unemployment if it is not raising the level of economic growth and promote inclusive growth. This was said by the Minister of Trade and Industry Dr Rob Davies.  He was addressing a two-day Export Strategy Conference of China's electronics manufacturer Hisense in Cape Town. 

Hisense head offices are based in Midrand, Johannesburg, and its manufacturing factory was launched in 2013 in Atlantis, Cape Town.  The conference was attended by dealers and agents from around the world. Speaking at the conference, Minister Davies said government has come up with various instruments that will promote inclusive growth.  He said that industrialisation and infrastructures development are critical elements of achieving this.

“For us as a country, Industrialisation is fundamental and we need to move-up the value chain. Infrastructure is necessary to support and underpin industrialisation.  roll-outroll-outIt can also be a basis to support industrial development, because infrastructure rollout programmes create demand for news factories.  We also need to support new innovative technology coming to our country and transferring those technologies to our people. I believe that these elements will enable us to reach an inclusive growth,” said Minister Davies.

He added that South Africa can learn from the Chinese by promoting investment both domestic and foreign.

“One of the things that are interesting about Hisense in particular, it is one of the 1st Chinese investments that came to South Africa and located itself in value added industries. The People's Republic of China changed from being the net recipients of Foreign Direct Investment to becoming net investors outside of the boarders of china,” further said Minister Davies

The Minister also defended government’s policy on Black Industrialists, saying it is important for government to promote a much more inclusive pattern of economic growth.

“We need to include more historically disadvantaged people in the manufacturing sector. It is for this reason that we have taken a decision to support black industrialists on top of the BEE programmes, so that we actually assist to create many more black people who are in fact leaders of the industrial enterprises in the country,” stated Minister Davies.

The minister highlighted that South Africa has the capacity to produce quality products and the company’s General Manager Youbo Li, indicated that Hisense SA was voted amongst the top five performing companies.

According to Mr Li Hisense SA is ranked 2nd globally after the United States in terms of Hisense standards. Mr Li said that Hisense SA aims to produce 270,000 TV sets and 210,000 fridges in 2015. According to Li, their export strategy will use South Africa to expand to Africa and this will lead to job-creation. The company's made-in-South-Africa productions are exported to more than 10 African countries.

Hisense received funding from the dti to tune of more than R28-million. Hisense has since expanded and increased

Mpumalanga to sign a memorandum of understanding with an Angolan province

Mpumalanga to sign a memorandum of understanding with an Angolan province

Mpumalanga province will soon be signing a memorandum of understanding with one of the provinces of Angola, Cuando Cubango, in an effort to have start the working relations.

The commitment was made yesterday, [Sunday, 02 August 2015] in Mbombela, by Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza and his counterpart from the Province of Cuando Cubango in Angola, General Higino Carneiro, who is in the province since Saturday on a three-day fact finding mission on investment opportunities.

Both Premier Mabuza and General Carneiro held discussions at the provincial government offices, and later met with business people, and today [03 August 2015] they will be visiting various provincial government’s infrastructure investment projects; such as the site for International Convention Centre, Cultural Hub, skywalk, cable way as well as the Manyeleti Nature Reserve.

Speaking at a meeting, Premier Mabuza explained that he personally visited the Province of Cuando Cubango in honour of the invitation from the Governor, who enticed him with various business opportunities, which Mpumalanga business people could tap into especially in the mining and agricultural sectors.

“The General, took me around his province, I was fascinated by lots and lots of water and huge space, which I believe our business people can go and do business on stock and plant farming there. There is potential in the continent provided we work together in boosting our economies.

“As South Africans, we must also remember that the Angolans, just like other countries, the Angolans sacrificed their lives for our liberation, the least we can do in appreciation is to work together and empower ourselves.

“The Province of Cuando Cubango hosted our comrades, gave them food during the struggle, we can only strengthen our long friendship because we cannot be separated, we are one family.

“I agree that we need to sign a memorandum of understanding that will detail how we will work together going forward. The General’s visit in our province to see for himself what we can offer them, is the beginning of the long road that we must travel,” said Mabuza.

The Premier encouraged Mpumalanga business people to start having business interests and starting partnerships with the Angolan business people.
“As a government, we are relying on business people to work hard and change our face in the world. In their quest of making money, they are also making us look good to the world. We want to see long lasting friendships between our provinces as we are now all working for peace and development in our countries,” said Mabuza.

Meanwhile speaking through an interpreter, General Carneiro said in Portuguese language, that there were various business opportunities in his province and they had decided to go all out and start relations with other partners out of their country.

He said they had enough space for farming and there were also business opportunities on mining and tourism.

“Our province was destroyed by the war, therefore we have a little infrastructure, but we have many opportunities for the investors since we are in the process of reconstruction in our country.

“Given the economic situation we have in our country, we have realized that we need to make priorities and make partnerships. We hope we can cooperate with Mpumalanga province and strengthen the relations between our two countries,” said General Carneiro.

He has since invited the Mpumalanga business people to attend the expo, which will be hosted by his province in Angola to learn about many business opportunities available.

He added that he was looking forward to sign a memorandum of understanding with Mpumalanga province at least by September this year.

Land claim to be investigated

One of the gifts Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza gave to the Governor of Cuando Cubango of Angola General Higino Carneiro at a send-off dinner in Hazyview

Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza holds a meeting with Mshengu-Tshabalala Cooperative Mhlongamvula Clan and CPA

Premier Mabuza instructs Committee on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims to investigate the Mshengu-Tshabalala Cooperative Mhlongamvula Clan land dispute

Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza has instructed the Committee on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims to investigate a land dispute involving the Mshengu-Tshabalala Cooperative Mhlongamvula Clan, which demands to be recognized by the Community Property Association [CPA] and the government.

This follows a meeting Premier Mabuza had with the Mshengu-Tshabalala Cooperative Mhlongamvula Clan and the CPA in Mbombela on Tuesday, 04 August 2015, in an attempt to resolve the dispute dating back as early as year 2000.

The meeting was also attended by Agriculture Rural Development and Environmental Affairs MEC Andries Gamede, as well as some officials from the national Department of Rural Development and Land Reform.

The Mshengu-Tshabalala Cooperative Mhlongamvula Clan told the Premier that ever since the land was restituted to the CPA, they had not been involved in any activities as the chieftaincy of the area, and that since the term of the CPA had expired last year there were delays in electing a new one.

They further told the Premier that their chieftaincy was not recognized by the provincial government regardless of many efforts they had made to engage the relevant authorities.

At the same time, the CPA committee told the Premier that they were working the land productively and appreciated government’s intervention by assisting them to be able to work the land.

The Premier explained that as a practice he would refer the matter to the provincial Committee on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims to investigate before he could give an opinion on the matter.

“I am hearing about this matter for the first time, although we publicly called on people who feel they have issues with their chieftaincy to appear to make submission to this committee [Committee on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims].

“While the committee is still busy with this matter, I want to warn the CPA to stay away from issues relating to the traditional leadership, as this could cause the unnecessary conflict. The CPA should continue to work the land and fight poverty,” said Mabuza.


He explained that out of 183 cases received by the Committee on Traditional Leadership Disputes and Claims of people claiming to be the traditional leaders, only two were successful, and that the two have since been issued with the certificates as rightful traditional leaders and inauguarated.

The Premier has further given a deadline to the election of the new committee for the CPA saying it was unacceptable to extend without the necessary explanation

EARLY BIRDS TO THE KNP SECURE ENTRY DURING WOMEN’S DAY LONG WEEKEND

EARLY BIRDS TO THE KNP SECURE ENTRY DURING WOMEN’S DAY LONG WEEKEND

Day Visitors to the Kruger National Park (KNP) are requested to take note of gate quotas when planning their visit, during this long weekend, as these will strictly be enforced as from today until Monday, 10 August 2015.

Visitors are advised to either arrive at the gate very early in the morning because the service is on a “first come first served” basis or pre-book their entrance with central reservations office on 012 428 9111; to gain access.

“Daily quotas are always in place all year round though we turn to emphasize during long weekends/holidays due to the volume of visitors who come to the Park during such periods. We anticipate a busy weekend as gates such as Crocodile Bridge have already reached a quota of its pre-bookings. Only a limited number of vehicles will be allowed to enter without a pre-booking throughout this period, as long as they arrive early at the gates,” said the General Manager: Communications and Marketing in the KNP, William Mabasa.

Pre-booking for entrance comes with a non-refundable deposit of R34 per adult and R17 per child, paid in advance. Day visitors with advanced bookings are expected to arrive before 13:00 after which the booking lapses. A pre-booking also does not exempt the day visitor from paying the normal conservation fees.All visitors should bring along their identity documents (IDs) or alternative form of identity to avoid problems at the gates.

Mabasa also reminded Day Visitors not to bring liquor with them as the alcohol ban on public areas in the Park is a permanent rule which is enforced at all times. Other Park rules must also be adhered to at all times whilst in the Park. Visitors can report any rules and regulations infringement which they witness, to the Emergency Call Centre numbers 013 735 4325/013 735 0197 or 076 801 9679.

“We request visitors to plan their trip by observing gate opening and closing times so that they do not find themselves either speeding or arriving late at the camps/gates on their way in/out of the park. People must please read their permits which they receive at the gates because all the rules and regulations of the park are clearly stipulated in those documents”, concluded Mabasa.

KNP has 10 entrance gates i.e. Pafuri, Punda Maria, Phalaborwa, Giriyondo, Orpen, Paul Kruger, Phabeni, Numbi, Malelane and Crocodile Bridge.

Mabuza says relations with Angolans will benefit generations

Mabuza says relations with Angolans will benefit generations

Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza says the relations between Mpumalanga and the Angolan province of Cuando Cubango will benefit future generations from both countries.

Premier Mabuza was speaking at a send-off dinner of the Governor of the Province of Cuando Cubango from Angola, General Higino Carneiro, after his three-day fact-finding mission last night [Monday, 03 August 2015 in Hazyview.

Premier Mabuza said the Mpumalanga Provincial Government would soon send a delegation to formalize the content of the memorandum of intention, which is likely to be signed in September.

“It is going to be a difficult journey to start our relations, but the pain will certainly fade away as the time goes on, generations from our countries will surely be happy at the end of it all, therefore ours is nothing but to lay this foundation.

“We will be preparing ourselves to send a team to Angola, everyone that must work must do so because we have opened the doors. We encourage our business people to explore business opportunities in order for our relations to work,” said Mabuza.

The delegation spent the whole day yesterday visiting various provincial governments’ infrastructure development projects in Ehlanzeni District.

Again, speaking through an interpreter, the Governor of Cuando Cubango Province in Angola, General Carneiro, said they were looking forward to sign the memorandum of intention with Mpumalanga Provincial Government to establish the relations which could see the two provinces change experience on many aspects in developing their economies.

“We appreciate the sympathy showed to us, we were able to see many projects presented to us, given an opportunity to evaluate what we saw, we will respond shortly.

“Since some of our countries in Africa have reached their capacity to raise their economies, we have realized that we are only left with the opportunity to diversify as we cannot be dependent on one project. We would therefore like to diversify in your province.

“We hope your business people will come to our country and identify some business opportunities. We should receive the memorandum of intention as soon as possible to speed up this process,” said General Carneiro.

DARING GANG COMMITTED CASH IN TRANSIT

DARING GANG COMMITTED CASH IN TRANSIT

TWEEFONTEIN – On Sunday, 02 August 2015, a group of armed men accosted guards from G4S Security while they were loading money in an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) at Tweefontein.

One of the guards was busy loading the money when he was held at gunpoint, disarmed and instructed by the suspect to remove the cash canisters out of the ATM. After the guard has obeyed the instruction, the suspect forced him to the truck were he (suspect) was joined by other two miscreants with money bags containing an undisclosed amount of cash.

The suspects managed to disarm the guards of an R5 rifle LM5, as well as two pistols and all three guards were forced to the ground at gunpoint. They then flee the scene in a silver grey Hyundai with registration number CX 03 MN GP. The same vehicle was later found abandoned at Tweefontein and it has since been discovered that it was reported stolen at Garsfontein during the month of June 2015.

Further investigation revealed that the suspects were approximately seven in number during this incident. The police are therefore requesting people with information to come forward and assist by calling Colonel Obed Ngwenya at 082 565 6417.

R2.55 MILLION RAND FINE IMPOSED ON BOSVELD PHOSPHATES PTY LTD FOR WATER POLLUTION

R2.55 MILLION RAND FINE IMPOSED ON BOSVELD PHOSPHATES PTY LTD FOR WATER POLLUTION

South African National Parks (SANParks) welcomed the sentencing on 30 July 2015 of Bosveld Phosphates PTY Ltd to a fine of R1, 450 million cash and a suspended sentence of R1, 1 million for water spillage at the Ga-Selati River in 2014. The spillage caused significant pollution of the environment, including the Kruger National Park (KNP)’s Olifants River during the summer of 2013/14. The ruling took place at the Phalaborwa Regional Court.

Bosveld Phosphates Pty Ltd pleaded guilty to contravening sections of both the National Environmental Management Act and the National Water Act through their unlawful discharge of hazardous waste water. The sentence comes at a time when increasing climatic variability is expected to result in more frequent incidences of uncontrolled surface and sub-surface pollution events into water courses from industrial activities such as these.

“While SANParks welcomes the judgement by Magistrate Nkuna in this case, changing climatic conditions are an on-going cause for concern around environmental pollution events and their effects on national water security and biodiversity.  Much of the real cost of remediation of such pollution events is externalised and carried by the environment. This judgement sends a strong message that compliance to South Africa’s environmental and water management legislation is non-negotiable and management strategies must be put in place by the investors to deal with the changing climate”, said Dr Stefanie Freitag-Ronaldson, GM: Savanna & Arid Research Unit: Scientific Services.

SANParks commits to on-going and long-term monitoring and evaluation of pollution events into KNP’s rivers, which are the lifeblood of this iconic national heritage and international treasure

THE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF INVESTMENT BILL PROTECTS INVESTORS- MINISTER DAVIES

THE PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF INVESTMENT BILL PROTECTS INVESTORS- MINISTER DAVIES

The Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill has been tabled in Parliament on following an extensive public consultation process.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies says the Bill seeks to promote investments and clarify the level of protection that an investor may expect in South Africa and ensure that the country remains open to foreign investment.

“The Bill also aims to confirm Government’s right to pursue constitutionally-driven national development objectives and recognises the right of governments to regulate in the public interest. In addition, it promotes a balance between the rights and obligations of investors, ensures the equal treatment between foreign investors and domestic investors. It also provides clarity for the standards of protection applied to investment,” says Davies.

He added that South Africa offers extensive protection to investment, both domestic and foreign, through the Constitution, and other pieces of legislation that affect investment. Minister Davies stated that the Bill builds on the already robust investor protection by clarifying - and bringing into alignment - standards of protection routinely found in international investment treaties with South Africa’s legal framework.

According to Minister Davies, there is a growing global discussion on the approach to investment regulation.

“In the 2015 World Investment Report (WIR), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) argues that the process of reform of international investment agreements needs to be synchronised at national, bilateral, regional and multilateral levels,” explained Davies.

. The 2015 WIR presents various policy options which include the followings:

•           Safeguarding the right to regulate in the public interest so that limits on state sovereignty imposed by international investments agreements do not constrain public policy making;

•           Reforming investment dispute settlement to address the crisis in legitimacy of the current system;

•           Expanding investment promotion and facilitation in international investment agreements;

•           Ensuring responsible investment to maximise the positive impact on minimising the negative effects of foreign investment; and

•           Enhancing the systemic consistency of the international investment agreement regime to overcome gaps and overlaps, and establish coherent investment relationships.

Minister Davies also highlighted that the draft Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill defines international investment law concepts such as national treatment, protection and security, and the transfer of funds in line with constitutional principles and applicable norms. It further confirms the right to property.

“The provision on ‘national treatment’ ensures non-discrimination between domestic and foreign investors that are in ‘like circumstances’. This further clarifies that government may undertake certain measures for inter alia, purposes of economic transformation and the advancement of certain categories of persons. Foreign investors can further expect a level of security as may be generally provided for to domestic investors under the provision on ‘security of investment’. Investors further have their right to property reaffirmed in terms of section 25 of the Constitution. The Bill in no way interferes with the protection afforded to investors under the existing Bilateral Investment Treaties,” indicated Minister Davies.

Furthermore, the Bill outlines the policy perspectives and objectives through core substantive provisions that express South Africa’s commitment to maintaining an open and transparent environment for foreign investors, while recognising the importance of ensuring sufficient scope for the government to regulate all investments, whether domestic or foreign, in order to fulfil legitimate national policy objectives.

Minister Davies emphasised that the rights of investors are entrenched in the Bill.

“With regards to the ‘dispute resolution’, any government action that affects the rights of investors can be raised with the dti or any competent authority playing a facilitatory role in the resolution of the matter. All investors will be able to submit disputes before national courts or relevant authorities, and subject to the exhaustion of domestic remedies, the Government may consent to international arbitration in respect of investments covered by this Act, once promulgated,” stated Minister Davies.

The Parliamentary Committee will conduct a public process during which interested stakeholders may submit comments on the Promotion and Protection of Investment Bill.

SA COMPANY SCORES BIG IN ANGOLAN TRADE FAIR

SA COMPANY SCORES BIG IN ANGOLAN TRADE FAIR

Weatherhaven Africa, a South African business that participated at the Feira Internacional de Angola, a week-long trade fair that ended on Sunday, was excited to share that they have received orders amounting to more than R150 million.Weatherhaven is one of the 24 South African companies that showcased their products and services at the fair.

Mr Serge Tonkeu, Director of Central and West Africa at Weatherhaven, said the trade fair showed that opportunities were abundant across the Angolan economy.  They received an order from Angolan army to manufacture camp tents to house 1 500 army personnel, which amounts to R150 million.

Another order is from the Angolan prison services, for four kitchen containers amounting to R2.5 million and manufacturing of six thousand special raincoats for prison warders to an amount of R1 million.

“I am confident that we will be able to deliver on these huge orders, and we are fully taking advantage of the numerous investment opportunities that the Angolan industry has presented to us,” said Tonkeu.

Tonkeu also mentioned that he will not be returning to South Africa with the rest of the business delegation as planned, but will stay in Angola for another week because he will be attending meetings that will materialise into big projects within the next six months.

“I have several scheduled meetings with a mining company, an oil and gas company and Angolan Military Services, who all require camps tents for personnel based in remote areas. I’m also meeting a representative of a mining company, Catoca Mine, to conclude details of a deal that will amount to R20 million for camp tents accommodating 100 people. I am also meeting with Geokinetics Oil, a United States of America-based oil company that requires camp tents to accommodate fifty men and will amount to R10 million ” said Tonkeu.

Tonkeu added that these orders would in turn secure temporary employment for South Africans back home.

 “As the orders come in, it means that our company will have to employ people to ensure speedy manufacturing and delivery to our clients, and that will be our small contribution towards alleviating unemployment at home,” added Tonkeu.

Also, Weatherhaven Africa has received a lot of attention and interest for their leisure equipment from the Angolan leisure, safari and adventure industry.

SA SHOULD MAINTAIN MOMENTUM TO INCREASE TRADE AND INVESTMENT WITH ANGOLA

SA SHOULD MAINTAIN MOMENTUM TO INCREASE TRADE AND INVESTMENT WITH ANGOLA

The South African Foreign Economic Representative in Angola, Mr Madileke Ramushu says SA needs to maintain the momentum in deepening the bilateral trade and investment relations with Angola.

In his assessment of the participation of over 24 South African companies in the 32^nd Angolan international trade fair, FILDA (the Feira Internacional de Luanda) which ended in the capital Luanda yesterday, Ramushu said he had seen bilateral economic relations between SA and Angola expanding significantly during his four years as an economic representative in Angola. But he reckons there is still unlimited amount of groundwork that needs to be covered by businesspeople from the two countries working together to explore the myriad opportunities that the two major Southern African Development Community economies offer.

“South Africa’s participation in FILDA has been growing in importance since we first participated in 2012. This was after the two governments have realised that the popular international trade show was one of the perfect platforms that we could utilise to increase trade between the two countries.  The kind of attention that the companies that exhibited this year attracted is evident that as a country we need to maintain or increase the momentum. I am confident that the huge number of people who visited our pavilion and witnessed what our companies can offer will translate into concrete deals, orders, partnerships and joint ventures,” says Ramushu.

He added that his office, which is part of the SA Embassy in Angola, worked tirelessly with the national Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) to market the participation of SA in FILDA.

“Our participation was marketed well through the Angolan media this year. We also approached the Angolan industry association, the Luanda business association and the chamber of commerce and provided them with information on our companies and the sectors they operate in. The results of these efforts were reflected in the throngs of trade fair visitors who flocked to our pavilion throughout the duration of the fair. Our exhibitors reciprocated well as they were good ambassadors of the country throughout exhibition,” said Ramushu.

He identified construction, automotive, energy, rail transportation and agri-business as some of the most viable sectors that offer unlimited opportunities for the SA companies in Angola.

“At the moment, everybody who is in Luanda can bear testimony to the fact that the area resembles a construction site. There are developments everywhere. Residential estates, roads, offices and apartments are being constructed in many areas of Luanda. The country is also hard at work with the development of the Lobido Corridor where the construction of a railway line connecting the port of Benguela in the south of the country with the port of Maputo in Mozambique is being constructed in order to facilitate trade in the region. Opportunities beckon in this major infrastructure development project for companies like Valo Tech who were exhibiting here,” said Ramushu

He said Angola’s efforts to diversify the country’s economy have opened myriad opportunities in manufacturing, agriculture and agro-processing sectors and related industries.

 “As part of the diversification process, Angolans have also embarked on the localization drive and are amenable to joint-ventures and partnerships with companies from other parts of Africa to come and invest in Angola, set up operations and contribute in the manufacturing of goods and products for local consumption. As a result they have also urged us to bring along potential investors from SA,” said Ramushu.

Bilateral trade between SA and Angola stood at almost R25 billion in 2014.

MPUMALANGA COMPANY TO PENETRATE ANGOLAN MARKET

MPUMALANGA COMPANY TO PENETRATE ANGOLAN MARKET 

An Mbombela-based Mpumalanga beauty and personal care company, Magetz Guest Amenities is on the verge of breaking into the Angolan market after its products caught the attention of many Angolans.  Magetz is one of the 24 South African companies that showcased their products and services at the Angolan international trade fair which ended in Luanda at the weekend.

The participation of the companies in the week-long popular exhibition was funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) with the aim of increasing exports of the South African manufactured goods to various countries.

Magetz manufactures a range of personal care products including body lotion, bath salts, shower gel, bubble bath, tissue oil and body butter. These are distributed under the brand name Velvet.

“The trade fair was really a success for our company. I travelled to Angola with one mission in mind, and that was to find a distributor for our products. But the show visitors fell head over heels in love with our products and by the end of the exhibition our stock had been cleaned out,” says a delighted Ms Makgethwa Mashiane, the Managing Director of Magetz.

She added that more importantly her mission to find a distributor for her products in Angola looked like it would be accomplished as there were numerous Angolan businesspeople who visited her stand and expressed interest in doing business with her.

“The trade leads emanating from people who showed interest in distributing our products are innumerable. But I can confidently say about six businesspeople are potential clients that require serious follow-ups soon. They are already having registered and operational companies and are currently sourcing cosmetic products from various countries such as Brazil and Portugal. They are keen to order these products from South Africa due to the cost implications. These people are already asking about the pricing and other import-related information such as container sizes and customs issues,” said a delighted Mashiane.

She added that there was also quite a significant number of people who were interested in natural hair products which she had not planned to market at the show.

“People here want real natural oils for the hair instead of the creams and sprays. We do produce the products for the hair but we have not been marketing them so much because our target is body products. But the demand here was an eye-opener and it means that we need to look into that kind of a potential market here in Angola and service it,” said Makgethwa adding that the tissue oil and body butter were two of her products that were a hit with the Angolan women.

She would be working hard in the next few weeks to ensure that the trade leads she obtained in Angola translate into actual business that should result in her company exporting its products to that country in the near future. This would go a long way in assisting her contribute to creating employment in Mpumalanga in particular and South Africa in general.

At the moment Magetz employs five permanent and two temporary workers at their Rocky Drift industrial area premises. Accessing the market in Angola means that her production of her products will increase in order to supply the new market, and this result in her employing more people.

SANPARKS RECEIVES A HANGAR FOR ANTI-POACHING FROM AIRLINK

SANPARKS RECEIVES A HANGAR FOR ANTI-POACHING FROM AIRLINK

South African National Parks (SANParks) received a Hangar from South African Airlink meant for anti-poaching operations in the north of the world famous Kruger National Park (KNP). The event to mark the official handover was held at the Phalaborwa Gateway to Kruger Airport yesterday, July 23, 2015.

Speaking at the handover, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Airlink Rodger Foster said the company responded to a call for assistance from the SANParks Honorary Rangers and had to respond positively because of the importance of the relationship between the two organisations both on a business level and in promoting tourism in the area.

In response, the CEO of SANParks Fundisile Mketeni expressed his gratitude to Airlink and other sponsors on the building of this facility. “The existence of this hangar which will accommodate some of our anti-poaching assets from the air wing is going to cut the response time by almost an hour. This is important in our anti-poaching drive as it means the luxury of time will not be on the side of the poachers. We owe it to our forefathers and future generations to preserve this natural heritage. I am inspired by this gesture and many other, that we will overcome this scourge of poaching” concluded Mketeni.

The facility is already housing the helicopter, bantam and a Cessna fixed wing. In a strange twist of fate yesterday, the helicopter and poaching reaction team at the hangar responded to a poaching incident outside the KNP and managed to assist in the arrest of a suspect and recovery of ivory from a poached elephant.