Cape Argus 2022-01-11

RICHARD TOMES THE GOVERNMENT’S plan to spend R791.2 billion in the next three years, coupled with private sector commitments, is important to push initiatives to jump-start this economy back to life. However, the government will need to unblock infrastructure bottle- necks, a technical skills shortage and a funding crunch that has been undermining infrastructure delivery. Infrastructure development has been on the government’s plate for several years, but with little to no progress. South Africa has identified more than 50 Strategic Integrated Projects (Sips) with huge potential to create jobs on a large scale, attract investment and lay a foundation for sustainable economic expansion. The Sips have potential to create 300 000 job opportunities in the next few years through projects in human settlement, water and sanitation, agro-processing, and…

Edward West AN OPPORTUNITY exists in 2022 to reduce policy uncertainty and implement a wide range of half-forged policies and shovel-ready infra- structure projects, Professor Raymond Parsons of the NWU Business School said yesterday. He was commenting at the release of NWU’s Policy Uncertainty Index (PUI) for the fourth quarter of 2021, which declined to 53.2 points from 58.2 points in the third quarter, and was still well in negative territory. Negative factors that caused the big spike in the third quarter PUI, such as civil unrest in July, diminished in the fourth quarter, but structural impediments to a strong economic recovery remain unless economic reforms are prioritised, he said. A positive element in the fourth quarter was the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in November that delivered a…

Edward West edward.west@inl.co.za COMMERCIAL tenant rental payment recovery stalled in the third quarter and the percentage of tenants in good standing declined, the TPN Credit Bureau’s Commercial Rental Monitor for the third quarter of 2021 showed. This followed four prior quarters of strong recovery out of 2020’s hard lockdowns and deep recession. TPN’s data showed that in the second quarter of 2020, only 50.36 percent of commercial tenants were in good standing with their landlords. The percentage of tenants in good standing – those that were either fully paid up, paid late or in a grace period – decreased slightly from 67.12 percent in the second quarter of 2021 to 66.69 percent in the third quarter. The percentage remained well below the pre-lockdown level of 77.85…

Emily Yahr Bob Saget, the comedian and actor best known for his starring role in Full House and hosting the original America’s Funniest Home Videos in the 1980s and ’90s, died on Sunday at age 65. According to the sheriff’s office in Orange County, Florida, he was found in a hotel room in Orlando. “Earlier today, deputies were called to the Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes for a call about an unresponsive man in a hotel room,” the sheriff’s office account posted on Twitter. “The man was identified as Robert Saget and pronounced deceased on scene. Detectives found no signs of foul play or drug use in this case.” TMZ first reported that Saget was found in his room by hotel security on Sunday afternoon. The comedian had recently launched a…

Dark Western The Power of the Dog and a remake of West Side Story won the biggest awards on Sunday at a diminished Golden Globes ceremony held privately without the usual glitzy line-up of Hollywood’s top stars. Actors, directors and film studios largely ignored the Globes this year after criticism in 2021 that its organisers, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), operated with questionable ethics policies and no black members. Long-time broadcaster NBC opted not to air this year’s awards. The HFPA, which has expanded and diversified its membership and overhauled its practices, announced its picks at a Beverly Hills ceremony behind closed doors. Recipients of HFPA philanthropic grants sat in the audience and announced winners. Honourees were revealed via social media and a live blog. Steven Spielberg’s West Side…

Alyssia Birjalal Now that local music producer Prince Kaybee is a dad, he has come to realise the importance of it and says he wishes he could apologise to his dad for being ungrateful as a child. The producer tweeted about how sorry he was for thinking that his dad purposely chose not to be present most of the time when he was growing up. But how now he realises that his father always worked to make sure his family were well looked after. “I’d like to apologise to my dad for thinking he was sometimes not present in my life by choice, He was an incredible man that made sure we are stable as a family financially and worked his ass off. RIP DAD,” he posted. In response, a…