Pretoria News 2022-07-14

As social restrictions are lifted, the South African economy has an opportunity to apply key disruption learnings to small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs). As South Africa returns to a new-normal, Simone Cooper Head of Business Clients at Standard Bank South Africa (winner of the 2021 Efma SME Banker of the Year Award) discusses how women entrepreneurs are key to turning our economy around by creating sustainable, inclusive jobs growth. At the inaugural 2021 Women’s Economic Assembly, President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his dissatisfaction with the level of participation of women-owned businesses in key sectors like steel, energy, mining and agriculture. The President vowed to prioritise female entrepreneurs in state procurement, especially since women are disproportionately impacted by the current unemployment crisis. As the full economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic…

ESKOM yesterday welcomed the arrests of two former employees of former contractor, the ABB Group (ABB), as well as their spouses, for corruption linked to Eskom contracts of R2.2 billion, following action by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), which claims to be much rejuvenated. “Eskom also hopes this is just the beginning and that more arrests will follow on this matter, and on the more than 100 other criminal cases lodged with the law enforcement agencies over the years,” the power utility, which is struggling operationally and financially, due in part to large-scale corruption in previous years, said in a statement yesterday. The four were arrested on Tuesday by the Investigating Directorate (ID) of the NPA, in a joint operation with the Hawks and the South African Revenue Service,…

CONSUMERS are steering clear of committing to big-ticket items such as furniture and appliances as higher food, fuel, and energy prices have started weighing on household incomes amid prevailing weak economic conditions. Data from Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) yesterday showed that retail trade sales rose by just 0.1 percent year-on-year in May, slowing down substantially from an upwardly revised 4.3 percent in April. This retail sales print markedly missed market forecasts of a 1.5 percent growth, and was the smallest gain in retail activity since February. StatsSA said sales increased only in 2 out of 7 retail divisions, namely general dealers which include supermarkets, and all other retailers which include online stores and retailers specialising in jewellery, stationery and sports goods. StatsSA’s deputy director for distri- butive…

THE POLITICAL economy of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s foreign currency loans and foreign climate finance deals can be traced to the Department of Finance’s first version of the economic policy document released in August 2019. As a policy tour de force for the control of money, and therefore the control of the government and demo- cracy by non-state actors (private capital), the document is revolutionary! Its effects on society, however, as were those of colonialism and apartheid, are callous. It is perhaps the most appalling hijacking of government by money since democracy. At its production helm, it could only have been peopled by those with highly loosened moral restraints. Vella Pillay, ANC/SACP economist, would not have been surprised. The document, which morphed into the government’s 2020 Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan,…

THE STATE-run South Africa Special Risk Insurance Association (Sasria) has urged clients affected by last year’s civil unrest, and who have outstanding information or paperwork, to submit their claims so they can be finalised, as there remains about R7 billion of outstanding cases. According to Sasria, out of the 21 000 claims lodged, there are a few outstanding, hence the call to clients to submit claims for finalisation. “Currently, there are 6 800 outstanding claims, totalling R7bn. Some of these are complex as clients are still rebuilding, and in some cases they need to submit the exact amounts of claims,” Sasria said. Sasria is the only non-life insurer that provides cover for damage to property caused by special risks such as politically motivated malicious acts, riots, strikes,…

LOGISTICS firm Imperial Holdings’ market access business has acquired a controlling stake in Africa FMCG Distribution (AFMCG), which is part of the Chanrai Group of companies. Imperial is owned by Dubai-based DP World, one of the world’s biggest opera- tors of marine ports and inland cargo terminals, with gateways from London to Antwerp as well as hubs in Africa, India, Russia and the Americas. AFMCG is a multi-faceted business, distributing products that positively impact the lives of consumers in Africa every day. Repre- senting some of the world’s leading multi- national FMCG compa- nies and their brands, AFMCG has a wide-rang- ing roduct portfolio and is managed by an exper- ienced and professional team, supported by robust technology and infrastructure, it said. | Dieketseng Maleke…