Tag: #BUSINESSES

MCCIs Employee of the Month

MCCIs Employee of the Month

The first MCCI Member Employee of the Month has been announced, and it’s an employee from Brimis.

Congratulations to Ms Nina Nhlapo MCCIs First Employee of the month.

Ms Nina Nhlapo constantly engages and provides help in her work. Her responsibility is to ensure workplace health and safety compliance.  She manages all labour-related affairs professionally. The most recent awards were presented to her, following the latest ISO 9001 audit in our office.

Nina recruits excellent staff and maintaining employee records at all company sites and branches, as well as ensuring a smooth on boarding process. Recruiting temporary and permanent staff, resolving conflicts professionally and positively, conducting workplace investigations, and managing technical procedures.

To nominate a staff member, members can reach out to Anna-Marth Ott or Christo Stemmet at 013 243 2253 or enquiries@middelburginfo.com.

Thieves and criminals cripple our businesses

Thieves and criminals cripple our businesses
You can call theft corruption, but it is still theft. When will the thieves be removed from our society?

I was recently at an event where thieves were helping themselves. It was unbearable to watch them greedily helping themselves. I was paying people for a service, and it was as if I had given them permission to take what they wanted. When you work in an environment where theft is tolerated, you cannot work at your best. Seeing people just enriching themselves as if it was their right made me first exhausted and then angry.

As a manager, you have to be very vigilant because when the culture of dishonesty becomes entrenched, your business and your emotional well-being suffer. Perhaps this happens in the various government institutions? The honest people just gave up.

It is disrespectful to humanity to suggest that poverty is a licence to steal. No, you steal from your own initiative and avarice. Without accountability, these activities will go unchecked. You can either impose strict regulations that make managing your business a challenge, or suffer the consequences. What will be the threshold that drags your business and the country over the edge?

MCCI urges all its members to weed out and eliminate the criminals in your environment.

No! Solar energy is not Free

No! Solar energy is not Free
At the Presidential Climate Change Commission meeting held at the CSIR on Friday,14 April 2023. The point of view of the meeting was that solar energy is free and we need to trust the government that the equitable energy transition will be fair (JET).

Many respected officials and ministers opened the event, but the most honest discussion came from a young student, Otsile Nkadimeng, who said that the current generation has gambled away their future. Unfortunately, he is not wrong. What will the future look like for the new job seekers after the current Eskom Loadshedding programme?

First, it is important to note that the conversion of solar energy into electrons/electricity is not free. It is very expensive to convert solar energy into such an amount that you can optimally run a house or, more importantly, a business. The type of solar panels, battery storage, inverters, electrician costs, environmental regulations, etc. can cost hundreds of thousands of rands.

A story is told that one company had allocated R1 million to run its business on solar energy, but the cost has now risen to R3 million and is growing. If you make the wrong purchase and set it up incorrectly, you’ll have to start from scratch and your hard-earned cash will have gone to waste.

During the strategy meeting at the Nkangala District Council in March 2023, a CSIR representative stated that the district and the Mpumalanga region will suffer a tremendous loss of employment because of the government’s JET programme. Many consultants talk about retraining the soon to be unemployed. I wonder what skills we will need when economic activity declines significantly.

Solar energy is not free and, because of the current power shortages, our current jobs are in danger. Our country and our region need cheap, reliable base load to stabilise our manufacturing sector for economic growth.

What changes to STLM infrastructure/services are required for your business in the next five years?

What changes to STLM infrastructure/services are required for your business in the next five years?

The Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry has requested the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality (STLM) to meet with businesses regarding input in the new Integrated Development Plan (IDP) for 2022 2027, which is being developed. This is in line with the Municipal Systems Act, Chapter 5, which requires municipalities to develop a new 5-year plan directly linked to the term of office of municipal councillors.

The Municipal Systems Act (2000) requires municipalities to prepare a 5-year Integrated Development Plan (IDP) that integrates planning and implementation and provides a framework for all development activities in the municipal area.

Contributions to the IDP have been sought at recent district committee meetings. Most attendees are local residents and are focused on their immediate needs, such as methods of speed calming on a busy residential street. Any business person who has attended scheduled Ward Committee meetings will have noted that the focus is not on a business-friendly agenda. What are general business needs in the CBD compared to the needs of the various other municipality areas where our businesses operate?

The STLM Local Economic Development Forum will hold the IDP meeting with business stakeholders on 5 April 2022 at 09:00 at the STLM Council Chamber.

We strongly encourage business owners to attend the above meeting to table any infrastructure or service delivery issues affecting your business. Is your business regularly affected by flooding due to inadequate stormwater drainage? Please attend and raise the issue. Or, if your business’ water supply is an issue, this is the best platform to get STLM to take note of business concerns. You know when there are municipal issues affecting your business. Still, if the issues are not included in the STLM’s communication structure, they seem to be off the table.

In light of recent events, the business community needs to pressure STLM officials and councillors to deliver on their promises.