Author: Midcham Newsletters

Exciting Times Are Here

Exciting Times Are Here

Tired of visiting Middelburg and not know where to go and what to do for fun, well worry no more.

The Middelburg Information Centre is developing a substantial visitor’s guide, which will benefit the people of Middelburg and tourists visiting us.

The visitor’s guide will contain insightful tourist information and in-depth history of the town. This project aims not only to return the tourism sector’s

performance to levels it reached before the outbreak of COVID-19 but to make sure that Middelburg becomes the No1 tourist destination in our area.

 

Tourism is a vital contributor to the South African economy. Its extensive value chain and labour absorption capacity are seen as a tool for economic development.

Tourism potential is vast and is yet to be fully unlocked. Our objective with this project is to create awareness and grow the market rate in Middelburg.

 

Should you want your establishment to be listed in the visitor’s guide, forward your information to

Mmabatho Phathakge on 013 243 2253 or email her at info@middelburginfo.com

MCCI and the future?

MCCI and the future?

Long gone are the days when joining your neighbourhood chamber of commerce was considered an essential step in doing business. Why?

Some chambers have been slow to innovate and respond to member needs, creating little value proposition to fulfil their ever-evolving stakeholder expectations.

Whether membership is mandatory or not, chambers must offer significant value to all their constituents, whether they are a start-up or a large company, to demonstrate relevance.

Now more than ever, because of the global pandemic, chambers must take an active role in shaping the economic health of their communities.

How are we changing in these challenging times? How are we staying relevant? We, as MCCI, are a service provider to you, and we care about your business.

 

We want our community to enjoy the ease of access to MCCI. We want to be an engaged Chamber, and we can only be that if we are getting your feedback.

  • We stand for local economic development, and our pioneering projects ensure increasing job creation to enhance local economies.
  • We initiated and developed projects that support bold action to tackle climate change and help their members and community face and adapt to today’s climate change challenges.
  • We provide innovative tech solutions for any services, including members retention programmes, certificates of origin, etc., that have disrupted the traditional way of doing business for themselves and or their community.
  • We provide digital transformation support to advertise your business on all social media platforms. Innovative resilience initiatives to combat the economic and health consequences associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, including but not limited to technology programmes, digital platforms, risk and crisis management support, and business continuity guidelines that are designated for the benefit of their communities.
  • We are offering key resources, advocates, and connectors for business.
  • We have a mission centred on supporting and protecting the interests of Middelburg’s business community.
  • We have powerful network opportunities and marketing solutions.
  • We also work to raise Middelburg’s profile as an attractive trade and investment hub.
  • We represent 400 members.
  • MCCI is pro-active and is recognized as one of the best Chambers globally and competed against the best of the best we got recognized internationally for our projects.
  • We want to make the business work for everyone, every day and everywhere. Being part of the ICC and attending webinars of best practice, we attend 300 delegates from 83 countries.
  • We connect to international peers, exchange best practices, share knowledge, explore trade opportunities, and influence economic success.

Chambers of Commerce are the most substantial and most comprehensive world business network found in every community and country worldwide. 12 000 Chambers worldwide.

We will be representing MCCI in November 2021 at the World Chambers Congress in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosts the 2021 congress.

Survival and Productivity in the Post-COVID economy

Survival and Productivity in the Post-COVID economy

Gideon Slabbert from Turnaround Resque Solutions and Sinqobile Shoba, Regional Manager from Productivity SA met with Anna-Marth Ott at the

Middelburg Chamber of Commerce & Industry to discuss opportunities to assist the businesses in Middelburg.

During the past year, the exchange rate fluctuations, in conjunction with the unexpected reduction in demand and growing inflation,

have left many South African industries financially distressed.

The question is, how should we address this financial shock within our businesses?

Manufacturing statistics indicate that the COVID Pandemic has set some manufacturing and mining industries as far back as 2013.

If identified early, companies experiencing an economic decline can participate in the Business Turnaround & Recovery Programme.

The programme focuses on preventing job losses and upskilling employment to drive efficiency. The BT&R program seeks to upskill a company’s

existing management by training a company’s core skills and competencies and improving manufacturing processes, ultimately increasing productivity and profitability while retaining employment.

 

Once approved, the duration of the programme is 9-12 months and includes the following;

  • Customer acceptance to the programme;
  • Establishment of the company champions;
  • Training/Capacity Building of the champions;
  • In-depth assessment and Workplan development;
  • Turnaround strategy and implementation;
  • Project close-out;
  • Post-Implementation monitoring and evaluation.

Depending on the company’s size, the BT&R Programme could make funding available for the programme,

valued at R282 800 to R624 800.00 per company. Terms and Conditions Apply.

For more information on the programme, kindly contact CEO Anna-Marth Ott at ceo@middelburginfo.com for more information.

Status of Our Water – Upper Olifants River Catchment?

Status of Our Water – Upper Olifants River Catchment?

A meeting was held on 30 March 2021 via Microsoft Teams to discuss the various issues that affect the catchment area of the upper Olifants River.

The meeting aims to discuss water management issues, collaborations, and any other issues during the year.  No other meetings were held in 2020 after the 26 February 2020 meeting.

Many of the deliverables discussed in the February 2020 meeting were not achieved as DWS has not worked at total capacity.

According to the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency’s environmental department, opencast coal mining covers approximately 4% of the surface area of the

Upper Olifants within the Mpumalanga Province landcover datasets produced in 2017.  Since then, the extent of opencast mining would have increased,

and the 4% would have likewise increased as well.  Middelburg Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) notes the application by Sing Consulting

in last week’s Middelburg Observer with concern.

If DWS has been working at Lockdown capacity since April 2020, MCCI notes with concern about the operational decisions made that will affect our livelihood and quality of life.

A questionable decision was Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s decision to employ Cuban engineers. MCCI has had many successful collaborations with universities over the years;

one of our more long-standing collaborations is with Wits Business School.  Why is DWS not utilising our universities with the environmental,

institutional and academic knowledge to deal with our specific water issues?

Water is a human right and essential for our businesses to thrive; we expect the DWS officials that manage our water to be well informed, knowledgeable and working at full capacity.

Let’s Get Golfing!

Let’s Get Golfing!

It is that time of year again. On 7 May 2021, our annual Middelburg Chamber of Commerce & Industry Golf Day will tee off at 10 am; the format is a 2-ball scramble with a shotgun start.

Fanie De Villiers will be joining in on the fun and entertaining the teams and businesses participating. Our Golf Day is one of our popular annual networking events for business.

Last year we showed that the game must go on, within the Covid-19 rules. In 2021 we want to strengthen the relationships and business networking imperative for the survival of SSME’s and larger companies.

We have also set aside a presentation area for participating businesses to host a short 10min verbal presentation on their company throughout the day. We are adding an extra element to the networking during the day.

With different levels of sponsorship, we have opened the gates for all to participate. Registration will include 1x 4 ball, meal & water per player, 10 min presentation time and a goodie bag for each player.

Sponsorship and Team registration ended 1 May at 5 pm. We hope to see you there. 

A huge thank you to our sponsors for making this day possible:

FAW – Highveld Commercial Vehicles and Nashua Mpumalanga

An Eggcelent time was had this Easter

An Eggcelent time was had this Easter

 

The Middelburg Tourism Information Centre ran an Easter day project, selling individually decorated DIY Easter Hunt boxes. Each box was decorated by favourite colour and age.

Inside, the kiddies were surprised with toys, activities, heap and heaps of sweeties and an age-appropriate colouring-in competition.

 

We received sponsorships from the Middelburg community, and orders poured in. It was such a fun new project done by the Info Centre to give back and interact with Middelburg.

We hope to make this an annual activity in the coming years.

 

A huge thank you to all our sponsors; Njala Guest House, Weanhuiskraal Gaste Huis, 3@1 Middelburg, Thomas Ngema Traiding, Life Midmed Hospital and Happy Kids Day Care.

Without our sponsors, this would not have been such a success.

Together we can do anything.

The Information Center Supports Family Fun this Easter.

The Information Center Supports Family Fun this Easter.

The Middelburg Tourism Information Center is offering a Do It Yourself (DIY) Easter-hunt.

We are selling uniquely decorated boxes full of Easter sweets and age-appropriate activities. Easter-hunt clues were added for each parent to easily DIY it at home or on holiday.

Special considerations were made for age, gender and even dietary requirements. Sponsorships came pouring in from many businesses in town,

namely 3@1, Njala Guesthouse, Dros Middelburg, Thomas Ngema Trading, Twizza and Happy Kids Daycare.

 

A huge thank you goes out to all the Sponsors. What a fantastic initiative that brings in local businesses and brings families closer together.

We can’t wait to see what’s next in store for Middelburg.

What to do about our CBD?

What to do about our CBD?

A town’s Central Business District (CBD) is part of a municipality’s economic heartbeat, and its survival and well-maintained infrastructure ensure business’ investment.

A well run CBD is a cornerstone of economic growth. Representatives from the Steve Tshwete Municipality (STLM)

and Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry met on 10 March 2021 to discuss STLM’s CBD.

Mr Bheki Khenisa, Municipal Manager, said, “STLM is committed to creating a broad programme that will focus on a Clean and Smart City.

As part of the programme, STLM employed 15 law enforcement officers trained by the City of Cape Town.

These law enforcement officers are responsible for monitoring the related STLM bylaws.  Visible policing to prevent petty crime is another focus area for these law enforcement officers.

STLM has also installed CCTV cameras linked to a control centre at the municipal offices to monitor the CBD streets.

We are also in the process of applying for our own Municipal Court.”

“The principle of partnerships is the foundation of the establishment of the Riverside City Improvement District in Mbombela,” said James Ailing.

Partnerships with property owners have a vested interest in service delivery and public spaces’ upkeep near their front door.

Cities and towns and municipalities and metros came together to address the challenges and the opportunities together.

There are many examples where these partnerships are thriving, particularly in managing public space and infrastructure.

MCCI supports establishing a robust platform for a partnership between STLM’s private sector, property owners and STLM.

 

MCCI will email and contact the various roleplayers to participate in the debate on launching a Middelburg CID.

Should you require more information, contact Anna-Marth Ott at ceo@middelburginfo.com when the next CIDs meeting has been arranged.

 

Why belong to a Local tourism Organization?

Why belong to a Local tourism Organization?

Mpumalanga has a well-established and vibrant tourism industry, and the Loskop Leisure Route (Steve Tshwete Municipal area) forms another vital part of the industry.

As a halfway stop to Kruger Park, it gives us the advantage to capitalize on those tourists to generate our Region’s income. The collective product owners in the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality

should grow our tourism specific attractions. Critical mass will give us the momentum to achieve our goal.

 

Here are a few key focus areas of the Middelburg Local Tourism Organisation (part of the Middelburg Chamber):

  • Manage the local area’s Information Office(s) and feed into the provincial information system.
  • Receive and channel applications for local road signs from members to the municipality.
  • Encourage tourists to visit the destination and experience what it has to offer.
  • Encourage and develop ways in which a community can be more aware of and be skilled in tourism so that members of the community treat tourists suitably.
  • Represent members and encourage product owners to join organized RTO’s and LTO’s to create a coordinated point of dialogue and realize the economic benefits that tourism can bring to a locality and ensure inclusiveness in the sector.
  • Are in touch with, input into, and are represented in the local, district, and provincial tourism planning, e.g. through IDP process and Provincial Tourism planning processes.
  • Coordinate tourism projects that rejuvenate and upgrade public tourism attractions and sites, poverty alleviation projects, and capacity building.
  • Assist with the establishment of new LTO’s where required.
  • Develop virtual networks and other methods to disseminate tourism information about the destination.
  • Play a meaningful role in destination marketing, events promotion, etc., for the locality.
  • Create and maintain relationships with other RTO’s, LTO’s, industry associations/organizations, local and district municipalities, and provincial government.
  • Keep a general watch over tourism development requirements, statistics, and tourism product/plant in their Region and share it with the government as and when requested.

It is essential to belong to an LTO as it is the stepping stone to growing and developing tourism in our Region. For more information regarding affiliating with your Local Tourism Organization,

you can contact the Information Centre on 013 243 2253 or email us at reservations@midelburginfo.com

Need an extra Dependable teammate?

Need an extra dependable teammate?

“There is probably no replacement for individual aspiration and determination when it comes to the initiation of an idea, a plan, an extreme dream. But when the time comes for that dream

to take shape and that idea to grow and become a tangible reality, there is no substitute for the power of teamwork. The dream of the individual requires

a group of selfless people to come together behind that dream, pool their diverse talents, unify as a team and make great things happen.” Patrick Lencioni.

 

For many years, the Middelburg Chamber of Commerce has been an individual entity that brought its talents to Middelburg’s business sector, and today I would like to focus on one of our talents.

With great satisfaction, we create a variety of platforms for you to have the ability to build and expand your “dream” business.

 

On our website, you will see that the MCCI offers the business sector access to view all Tenders available sent to us from different partners across South Africa.

These Tenders are being updated every month to have the latest news available to view. You will find all the information you will need to submit your Tender on the website,

from what it is for, the area it is based in, when the closing date is and who you need to contact for submission. All you need to do is visit our website Middelburginfo.com, click on services,

go to Local Procurement Database and then view the Tenders at no cost to you except for your precious time.

 

You can count on the MCCI to generate a networking platform for you to grow and build your dream until it becomes the reality you desire,

keeping in mind that it will only benefit you if you explore all the avenues.