Premier Mabuza gives bursaries to 105 students

Premier Mabuza gives bursaries to 105 students

Mpumalanga Premier David Mabuza has financially supported 105 students to further their tertiary education at any institution through his newly established DD Mabuza Foundation. His Foundation will be spending R5.5 million in the 2015 academic year in assisting the students who mainly come from the disadvantaged backgrounds in the rural areas.

On Wednesday 28 January 2015 the Foundation gave all 105 students their bursary contracts stating amongst others that the Bursary Fund shall be granted once the students have satisfied all conditions, having passed all courses they have registered for.  The bursary would be suspended in the event students fail their courses and should they repeat certain courses, it will be done at their personal expenses. The students were warned to behave themselves and be good ambassadors of the province especially of the Foundation.

One of the Foundation’s trustees Professor John Shongwe reiterated that the foundation stretched itself especially with the registrations in order to assist as many students.

“We have a view that the Foundation rather has no money than not assisting the people who desperately need our intervention. We even took it upon ourselves to guide the students on the choice of the courses based on what we think is demanded by the labor market. We expect the students to make the donors proud by doing well one their work. The donors are doing this out of a good heart and seeing the good results on what they have planted, will surely bring a smile on their face,” said Prof Shongwe.

The Foundation was formed in August last year after the Premier was consistently blocked and begged for financial assistance to further their studies by needy students at his Barberton residence. Besides the 105 students assisted by the Foundation, Premier Mabuza has previously and personally helped more than 300 people; some of them are occupying high profile leadership positions.

MINISTER DAVIES LAUNCHES CCI CALL CENTRES CONTACT CENTRE IN UMHLANGA, KWA-ZULU-NATAL

MINISTER DAVIES LAUNCHES CCI CALL CENTRES CONTACT CENTRE IN UMHLANGA, KWA-ZULU-NATAL

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, today launched CCI CALL CENTRES new Call Centre in Umhlanga, Kwa-Zulu Natal. The building will house 2500 employees over in their new state of the art facility in Umhlanga. The new facility demonstrates a commitment by CCI CALL CENTRES to the South African Business Process Services (BPS) sector through an investment of R200m.

CCI CALL CENTRES set-up its operation in South Africa in 2005 starting with 50 seats. Today the company has over 3000 seats operating from Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, servicing local and international clients. The new building is the company’s first custom built office.

CCI CALL CENTRES operation in South Africa offers contact centre services such as customer service interactions both inbound and outbound to a number of English speaking companies offshore such as Talk Talk, Carphone Warehouse, both from the UK and IAG Insurance, Coles and Simply Energy from Australia.

Minister Davies said that “CCI CALL CENTRES’ additional investment of R200m and the anticipated growth of the operation to house a further 2500 employees, illustrates their ability to scale their current operations whilst maintaining the high quality service that our foreign investors have come to expect from South African based companies and employees. This demonstrates their commitment to the success of the BPS sector and to South Africa as a BPS location of choice”.

CCI CALL CENTRES is a beneficiary of the dti’s BPS incentive and has participated in the Monyetla Work Readiness Programme which prepares those under 35 and previously unemployed for the workplace through training and development.

The Managing Director of CCI CALL CENTRES, Mr Mark Chana said ”the support from the South African government through the BPS incentive has made the South African Value Proposition cost competitive when bidding for international contracts against other offshore destinations such as the Philippines”.

Minister Davies stated that “the Business Process Outsourcing/Business Process Services (BPO/BPS) incentive has been hugely successful in terms of meeting the objectives of the the dti”. Minister Davies explained that over 9000 jobs have been created and that the BPS sector is a key sector for attracting investment and creating new jobs especially in the 18-35 age group, where job creation for young people is most needed. King Goodwill Zwelithini also attended the event.

KING GOODWILL ZWELITHINI LAUNCHES A R200m CALL CENTRES BUILDING IN UMHLANGA, KWA-ZULU-NATAL

KING GOODWILL ZWELITHINI LAUNCHES A R200m CALL CENTRES BUILDING IN UMHLANGA, KWA-ZULU-NATAL

King Goodwill Zwelithini says youth unemployment is a societal problem that both government and private sector should work together to address it. The King was speaking at the launch of CCI CALL CENTRES new Call Centre building in Umhlanga, Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The building will house more than 2000 employees in their new state of the art facility in Umhlanga. The new facility demonstrates a commitment by CCI CALL CENTRES to the South African Business Process Services (BPS) sector through an investment of R200m.

CCI CALL CENTRES set-up its operation in South Africa in 2005 starting with 50 seats. Today the company has over 3000 seats operating from Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, servicing local and international clients. The new building is the company’s first custom built office.

King Zwelithini has encouraged CCI CALL CENTERS management to also consider having office in rural areas, other provinces and SADC countries. He called on young people employed at the Call Centre to take their work serious as it is not a right but an opportunity and privilege. He asked them to use it for their development and that of their family and community.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies said the expansion of skills remain vital to the support which is offered by the South African government to investors. He added that the dti’s partnership with private sector companies like CCI CALL CENTERS illustrates government’s commitment   to work closely with the companies to create an enabling environment to attract investors into the sector. 

Davies also emphasised that partnership between government and private sector is important to the continuity success of the Business Process Services (BPS) sector both to the international and local markets.

CCI CALL CENTRES is a beneficiary of the dti’s BPS incentive and has participated in the Monyetla Work Readiness Programme which prepares those under 35 and previously unemployed for the workplace through training and development.

The Managing Director of CCI CALL CENTRES, Mr Mark Chana said ”the support from the South African government through the BPS incentive has made the South African Value Proposition cost competitive when bidding for international contracts against other offshore destinations such as the Philippines”.

Minister Davies stated that “the Business Process Outsourcing/Business Process Services (BPO/BPS) incentive has been hugely successful in terms of meeting the objectives of the the dti”. Minister Davies explained that over 9000 jobs have been created and that the BPS sector is a key sector for attracting investment and creating new jobs especially in the 18-35 age group, where job creation for young people is most needed.

NATIONAL FOOTWEAR LEATHER CLUSTER (NFLC) ESTABLISHED AT VAAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

NATIONAL FOOTWEAR LEATHER CLUSTER (NFLC) ESTABLISHED AT VAAL UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

The Department of Trade and Industry has forged a solid working relationship with the Footwear Design Development Institute (FDDI) of the Indian Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Textiles. The FDDI has seconded a team of six professional experts to the National Footwear Leather Cluster (NFLC) which was established by The Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) at Vaal University of Technology (VUT). The FDDI trains approximately 1500 professionals annually for the Indian footwear industry.

The FDDI team of experts will train South Africans in footwear design and manufacturing skills, curriculum development for courses, research programmes and procurement amongst others, as well as train South African lecturers and students. 

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies says the initiative is excellent and shows government commitment to develop the cluster.

“I commend Professor Irene Moutlana, The Vice-Chancellor and Principal of VUT, who has signed a R3.6 million (US$ 34 3000) Memorandum of Agreement on behalf of the National Footwear and Leather Cluster with the Indian Footwear Design Development Institute. I wish to also express my appreciation to the Indian Ministry of Commerce. This project will execute the rapid transfer of skills and knowledge to Further Education & Training Colleges (FET’s) in South Africa, in particular the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) and the national and sub-national footwear clusters. The programme will support the development of a standardised curriculum compliant with the standards of the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA),” says Davies.

Areas of collaboration will include all-round training inclusive of footwear design, footwear technology, footwear retail courses and short skills programmes such as footwear pattern making.

Minister Davies added that government has prioritized the cluster as it has the potential to create jobs.

“As part of its efforts to support the clothing, textile and leather sector, the dti approved a grant of R69.2 million for the establishment of National Footwear and Leather Cluster through the Competitiveness Improvement Programme (CIP). The work of the cluster is directly responsible for the creation of approximately 2000 sustainable jobs and the reduction in the trade deficit of R1.4 bn through import substitution by local retailers,” said Davies.

Public procurement of transversal contracts for footwear by the state has risen from R 99.4 million in 2014/15 to R 272.2 million in 2015/16. The designation of this sector for local procurement has meant that public procurement has significantly supported local manufacturers.

South African manufacturers operate in a highly competitive global environment where high levels of productivity, competitiveness, skills and innovation are essential requirements for industry. Governments in other jurisdictions play a significant part in supporting the private sector to achieve these objectives through the deployment of a wide variety of interventions. This is an excellent example of such an intervention and it is also testimony to the strong and growing relationship between South Africa and India, including with respect to economic co-operation.

AFRICAN PERCEPTION OF AVIATION SHOULD CHANGE

AFRICAN PERCEPTION OF AVIATION SHOULD CHANGE

Speakers confirmed from African and Middle East airlines already include Girma Wake, Chairman, Rwandair (formerly CEO, Ethiopian Airlines), Adel Ali, Board Member & Group Chief Executive, Air Arabia and Dr Nicklas Dahlstrom, Human Factors Manager, Emirates Airline.

There are also senior figures from aviation authorities and associations who include Dr Elijah Chingosho, Secretary General, Africa Airlines Association – AFRAA, Hussein Dabbas, VP Africa & Middle East, IATA and Dr Hamdi Chaouk, Director General, Civil Aviation Lebanon.

Aviation Africa 2015 has been launched to change the perception of African aviation. The panel sessions will deal with the opportunities and issues challenging the growth of the African aviation market, tackling Open Skies, Training, Human Factors, Finance and Business Aviation.

Alan Peaford, the Summit Chairman and show organiser said: “We are delighted that our panel sessions at the summit will include these high level speakers as their participation ensures the debates will benefit from their leadership experience and help to encourage not just discussion but decisions and real progress”.

Why Dubai?  The world’s global hub is currently the best-placed city to host this event. 

The home of “open skies” with more international routes to Africa than Africa carriers themselves plus visa regulations that make it easier for Pan-African nationals to meet in one place.

The two-day summit will also feature an associated exhibition with up to 40 companies who currently include UAS International Trip Support as Gold Sponsor, African Open Sky & Atlantic FuelEx as Silver sponsors, NEXUS & Wyvern Consulting as Gala Reception sponsors, Hadid Flight Services as Bag sponsor and exhibiting companies such as Ethiopian Airlines – the Official Carrier, Safat Aviation Group, Boeing and Jeppesen.

community struggles for health care

community struggles for health care

By BRIAN KAJENGO

The department of Health seems to have forgotten about the community of Hlalanikahle’s desperate need for their Community Health Centre (CHC) to be re-opened.  

The clinic closed last year following recommendations from the department of Labour due to problems relating to infrastructure, dysfunctional equipment and medication that had expired.

Since then, there has been no sign of any repair or maintenance work to the clinic nor has there been any indication of when it will re-open.

For those who used to use this clinic, even state health care has become a luxury because they now forced to travel to Siphosensimbi CHC which, although close by, services a population of almost 50 000. The clinic refers its critical cases to the Witbank Hospital and Impungwe Hospital which is just over 32km away.

Irrespective of its seven consulting rooms, Siphosensimbi gets overly crowded and patients have to wait for more than four hours to get help. This, while the department of health continues to underspend year after year on conditional grants allocated from the national treasury.

Last year, the department failed to spend over R223 million reserved for hospital revitalisation and lost R65 million reserved for improving health infrastructure. This money was returned to national treasury and communities such as Hlalanikahle are left battling to access even the most basic health care.

                         

The DA will put questions to the department of health asking MEC Gillion Mashego when the Hlalanikahle CHC will be reopened. We will also ask MEC Mashego to provide a detailed action plan for the communities affected by the department’s failure to spend its grants.

As the Legislature prepares to sit in eMalahleni in March, the DA hopes that this opportunity used to see first-hand how it is ordinary people who suffer when the government fails. Until then, the DA will continue fighting to ensure that the clinic is revamped, reopened and fully operational by March.

MPUMALANGA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, ROADS AND TRANSPORT ACTS ON THE DETERIORATION OF R36 ROAD BETWEEN LYDENBURG AND N4 SCHOEMANSKLOOF INTERSECTION.

MPUMALANGA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS, ROADS AND TRANSPORT ACTS ON THE DETERIORATION OF R36 ROAD BETWEEN LYDENBURG AND N4 SCHOEMANSKLOOF INTERSECTION.

The Department of Public Works, Roads and Transport has commenced with rehabilitation of Phase 1 which covers 15km and a total of R120 million has been allocated towards the rehabilitation (reconstruction). The project started in January and is expected to be completed by November 2016.

R36 (P8/1) is a road between Mashishing and Bambi Schoemanskloof intersection and is a very important road for tourism and mining activities around Mashishing area. Overtime, the road has deteriorated and Department has consistently been undated with calls to do some repairs on this road. This is one of many important roads in the province which require new investment for rehabilitation or repairs, against very limited funding.

The deterioration of the road can be attributed to the heavy trucks from the local mining companies which are using the road daily. One of the road users, Ms Lisa April from Lydenburg was all smiles when road workers were hard at work putting road signs. “We will finally drive with ease; the road has been a headache to most of us using the road daily. I am glad that the department is finally reconstructing the road and the stress will be over”, she said

Whilst the department is busy reconstructing phase 1 of the road, the routine road maintenance carried out on the other parts of the road so that road users can travel with safely. During the construction of the road, road users urged to adhere to the road signs whilst construction work is underway.