We may not have The Royal International Air Tattoo, at RAF Fairford in England, but we have the Middelburg Air Show and it surely is a memorable event.
The annual public event normally includes aircraft exhibits and often includes aerobatics and demonstrations. It surely is an event for young and old!
Be sure to follow the Middelburg Tourism and Information Centre Website Calender and Facebook page for more information on where to book your accommodation, shuttle and tickets for this event.
The South African Reserve Bank has proposed a methodology to assess systemically essential banks in South Africa. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has published, for public comment, a discussion paper titled ‘A methodology to determine which banks are systemically important within the South African context.’
The primary objective of the SARB is to protect the value of the currency in the interest of balanced and sustainable economic growth in South Africa. Also, the SARB’s mandate and function of protecting and enhancing financial stability in the Republic of South Africa are affirmed in the Financial Sector Regulation Act 9 of 2017 (FSR Act). In support of the SARB’s financial stability mandate, section 29 of the FSR Act provides the Governor of the SARB with the powers to designate an institution as a systemically important financial institution (SIFI) and affords the SARB additional powers about SIFIs to assist it in fulfilling its mandate.
The discussion paper focuses on the proposed methodology to determine which banks are SIFIs within the South African context. The method takes into account international guidance and best practice as well as the unique characteristics of the South African financial system.
Comments on the paper are invited to ensure that the methodology will accurately reflect the systemic importance of banks and serve as a sound basis for the Governor to designate those banks as SIFIs. A summary of the comments received may be published unless respondents explicitly request otherwise.
The January 2019 trade conditions survey by SACCI’s depicts a defensive mode with 70% of the respondents negative about trade conditions.the It appears that a notable change occurred in the seasonal patterns of trade conditions due to the Black Friday phenomenon in November. The Trade Activity Index (TAI) was 14 points down in January 2018.
Trade expectations for the next six months remained negative although not as depressed as present conditions with the seasonally adjusted Trade Expectations Index (TEI) down by 4 index points on the December 2018 level. The TEI was 18 points below the January 2018 – partly due to high expectations in January 2018 after the ruling party elected new leadership.
The continued political uncertainty in 2019, high unemployment, load-shedding, land reform, a subdued local and world economy, compliance cost of the regulatory environment, strikes, and wage demands that exceed inflation stifle the trade environment. The sales outlook also deteriorated as the index declined and expected new orders slipped.
The weak trade conditions caused the sales price index to drop – suggesting defensive reaction to improve sales volumes while input prices also fell with the January 2019 index. Sales and input prices are expected to decline respectively over the next six months implying muted inflationary pressures in the trade environment, such as a stronger rand and the fuel prices.
The full report is available at the MCCI office, members interested should contact Laura at secretary@middelburginfo.com.
The Steve Tshwete local Municipality’s Procurement and supply chain Management department hosted a briefing session on how their Procurement system works. This was to mainly address issues of incomplete tender documents and incorrect filling in of documents, for the purpose of making the process easier and faster. If you have challenges of completing the Tender Document at hand rather ask from the buyer responsible.
For more information contact Sindiswa 013 243 2253
