Tag: MCCI

Amazing Race Middelburg postponed until 15 October 2022

Amazing Race Middelburg postponed until 15 October 2022
There is good news for all those who wanted to take part in this treasure hunt adventure on 24 September but already had plans! Due to the many other activities taking place in town and the many requests received, the organizers have decided to postpone the event until Saturday, 15 October 2022. The closing date for registrations is 30 September. Manual registrations will be accepted at the Middelburg Outreach Festival at the Rustique Boutique Hotel on 24 September, so look out for our stall!

On the day of the race, teams of 4 will race around town in their own vehicle solving clues that will take them from location to location where they must complete mental and/or physical challenges until you reach the finish line! You will put your skills and knowledge of the town to the test – with a little help from Google if necessary. We will take you to various points ranging from local shops to tourist attractions and historically significant sites.

There are great cash prizes to be won!

All you need to do is complete the entry form and pay the entry fee of R700 per team before the closing date of 30 September. If you enter two teams, you will receive a discount of R600per team.
The competition is open to businesses as well as private groups and families. The number of participants is limited, so do not delay! Registration forms are available at the Middelburg Information Centre office, 292 Walter Sisulu Street or by emailing marketing@middelburginfo.com. Online registrations can be made via the Facebook page @amazeraceMid or WhatsApp 0849832819 to receive the registration link.

We are appealing to businesses to get involved as sponsors. Contact Elsabe or Mmabatho on 013 2432253.

Great networking event with Isuzu Business Buzz

Great networking event with Isuzu Business Buzz
The business world connects and networks with a buzz. The Isuzu Buzz was again a great success. Members of the Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) enjoyed meeting and networking with other business people at the Isuzu Showroom. The days of isolation and social distancing are over. At the monthly Business Buzz events, we can make and refresh new contacts. The Isuzu vehicles in the showroom were great to look at and to plan how to purchase one of these fantastic vehicles.

The next Business Buzz will be held on 22 September 2022 and hosted by Johnson Workware. Invitations will be sent out in the first week of September. RSVP as soon as possible. For more information or to host a Business Buzz, please contact Mmabatho or Christo at the MCCI office on 013 243 2253 or email info@middelburginfo.com.

We celebrated the Wit and Wisdom of Women

We celebrated the Wit and Wisdom of Women

The Middelburg Chamber’s annual Women’s Day event was a glorious celebration of women and what we care about.

Thanks to the generous sponsorship of Nashua, Twizza, Lizwile Engineering, Hermansdal Landgoed, Alveston Manor Spa, Jonsson Wear, Columbus Stainless, Reena’s Linen-N-Luggage, Thos Begbie, PWC, MRP, Abafazi Ne Bhodo and Toda Products, your support ensured the tremendous success of the event. A special thank you goes to Nomvula Mokoena, AKA DJ Sunshine, our MC for the day, and to our motivational speaker Diana Jansen.

One hundred and forty ladies attended our event and socialized, danced, and recharged their batteries for the year ahead. May the Almighty God bless you abundantly. And you, dear women, let us do it again the following year, 2023.

Great networking event with Twizza Business Breakfast

Great networking event with Twizza Business Breakfast
The business world connects and networks with a buzz. The Twizza Breakfast Buzz was a great success. Members of the Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) enjoyed meeting and networking with other business people at the Twizza plant. The days of isolation and social distancing are over, and personal and business contacts are made at the monthly Business Buzz events. Christ Swartz and the Twizza team showed how the company started and how it has developed into the company it is today.

The next Business Buzz will be held on 18 August 2022 and will be hosted by Isuzu. Invitations will be sent out in the first week of August. RSVP as soon as possible.  For more information or to host a Business Buzz, please contact Mmabatho or Christo at the MCCI office on 013 243 2253 or email info@middelburginfo.com

Comment on 14 June 2022 Municipal Strike 

Comment on 14 June 2022 Municipal Strike 

The lack of service delivery by Steve Tshwete Municipality is intolerable. Many of the services provided have not been adequately delivered since 25 March 2020, when the norm was to work (or not work) from home. Covid19 Lockdown has broken the municipality and created a culture of poor work performance.

The STLM leadership has given the strikers the power to ruin our town by giving in to their demands. Essential and vital services to the business community are not being provided. The current situation cannot be allowed to continue. Ignoring the complaints and demands of the businesses does not mean that the problems will miraculously disappear; no, the situation will worsen. The state of affairs creates an ideal environment for corruption and bribes. Also, why are the strikers allowed to use municipal vehicles as transport for the strike?

MCCI is asking the business community: are you satisfied? Will the problems be miraculously fixed once STLM is working again? Nowhere in business will a problem disappear if you ignore it, you have to work on the problem to solve it. Your silence means you agree with the municipalities decisions and lack of service. Significant future investments and developments are being hampered by the political gamesmanship of our STLM leadership and councillors.

Perhaps we should look at what STLM services can be outsourced to make the economy work? MCCI will ask the various political parties to meet with the Executive Committee to find a solution to make our city fully functional and attractive for investment.

Mpumalanga lagging behind with IPPs

Mpumalanga lagging behind with IPPs

Keynote speakers said at the Mpumalanga Energy Summit 2022 hosted by the Mpumalanga Provincial Government and the Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency that there are no IPP projects in Mpumalanga. A few things have happened since the last week of May.

Countless meetings, discussions and talks about the Just Energy Transition are being held. The change in Eskom’s operating model could affect many local businesses. At a recent stakeholder meeting, information about projects to be implemented at Komati Power Station regarding the solar power plant and battery storage centre that Eskom plans to install by the end of the year.

In the meantime, Andre de Ruyter has announced that Eskom will implement projects to feed 1,800 MW of renewable electricity into the national grid at no cost to the government. Eskom selected 18 companies that will be allowed to lease vacant land from the power utility for projects to feed renewable energy into the grid.

Earlier this year, Eskom opened the tender process to access the vacant land it owns to expand renewable energy capacity in the country. Eskom selected the preferred companies for the projects only a few months later. These companies will have direct access to the national grid, with the lease lasting at least 20 years. The land leases will be on a commercial basis, with Eskom receiving a portion of the revenue from the lease of the land, while the projects will enter into sales contracts for the electricity with third parties. The current bids are for about 4 000 hectares (ha) of the total 36 000 ha available under the programme. Once connected, the current projects will bring online a total generation capacity of 1 800 MW.

While the municipality of Steve Tshwete and its employees are fighting amongst themselves, other towns and municipalities are seizing the opportunities. All that we are concerned about whether our Licensing Department is open. Now is the worst time to lose focus on opportunities to bring investment to our town.

Lively Golf day with Naas Botha

Lively Golf day with Naas Botha

On May 13, the Middelburg Chamber held its annual corporate golf day at the Middelburg Country Club. The day was filled with laughter and excitement from 144 registered players who made for a very crowded field. 18 T-box sponsors and 6 greens sponsors ensured that we had a decorative, creative and energetic golf course. Each with its own music and games.

The programme director for the awards ceremony was Christo de Ridder from ThinkSolutions. The master of ceremonies, the famous Naas Botha, provided an evening full of jokes and fun and an interactive evening with the audience. Naas Botha was the cherry on top of our Chamber’s already successful event.

Anna-Marth Ott, CEO of MCCI, opened the event and welcomed all the sponsors and players. Corrie Barnard of FAW Highveld Commercial, the main sponsor, followed by Dawid Westermann from Nashua Mpumalanga, addressed the crowd, giving them a short overview of the main sponsors’ businesses.

All T’s and Green sponsors:

  • Phillips Global
  • Qembu Middelburg
  • Klinger Mzansi
  • Cross Labour
  • AeQuim
  • One Weigh Middelburg
  • Gibbs & De Jager Inc.
  • Nungu Property Group
  • Umsizi Mining
  • Brimis Engineering
  • First National Bank
  • Green Ticket Testing Solutions
  • Liebherr-Africa
  • CrossFit Artaxes/Midwell Dietitians
  • Mbungiswa Logistics
  • Schoonbee Landgoed
  • Earthcomp
  • Jonsson Workwear
  • Thos Begbie & Company
  • Carl Bechem SA
  • PriceWaterhouseCoopers SA
  • Columbus Stainless
  • Spec-cast Middelburg

Prize sponsors:

  • Columbus Stainless
  • Liebherr-Africa
  • Brimis Engineering
  • Schoonbee Landgoed
  • Middelburg Mall
  • Johnsson Workwear
  • One Weigh
  • FAW Highveld Commercial
  • MS Design
  • ThinkSolutions
  • Cross Labour
  • Carl Bechem SA
  • Hole in one prize sponsor – Middelburg Chamber

No takers for the R100 000.00 cash prize sponsor on hole 3 for the hole in one.

  • Picture – Nearest to the Pin (Johan Strydom – Columbus Stainless)
    • Nearest to the Pin (Julian Coetzee – Schoonbee Landgoed)
  • Picture – Longest drive (Danny Pienaar – Schoonbee Landgoed)
  • Picture – Longest drive (Nick Pinheiro – Phillips Global)
  • Picture – Kianga Group was the winner with their two female players, Maxine Luck and Daleen du Preez
  • Picture – FNB with a second place winners, Johan de Bruto and Rohan Stander

5 T-box and Green Sponsors received prices for the best vibes

  • Brimis Engineering
  • Phillips Global
  • Gibbs and De Jager attorneys
  • Spec-cast
  • Carl Bechem SA

3 prizes for best dressed 4-balls

  • Johnson Wear
  • Umsizi Mining
  • Liebherr Africa

Thank you to all 4-balls and players – thank you for your participating and being part of the day. The Chamber executive members thank you for the support and the raffle sponsor prizes. Thank you to all our sponsors for the day. See you next year!!

MCCI met with Indonesian Representatives

MCCI met with Indonesian Representatives
The President of the Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Que Naidoo, and several business people met with the Indonesian Charge d’Affaires and economic advisors on 26 April 2022 to discuss possible business opportunities between our town and Indonesia on 26 April 2022.

Indonesia is a developed country with high income and low unemployment rate. The low unemployment rate is due to the country’s entrepreneurship policy, which removes many bureaucratic requirements that can hinder the success of a start-up business. Some of the areas where they want to do business with us are beverages, batik exports and fashion.

South African tourist visas for Indonesia are free and relatively easy to obtain. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Indonesian visas for South Africa. South African visa regulations, introduced many years ago, are still a problem and it can take up to two months for Indonesians to get a visa.

Members were excited about the joint investment opportunities and future trade relations.

The World Revolves Around Good Relations.

The World Revolves Around Good Relations

Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Que Naidoo and Steve Tshwete Municipality (STLM) Executive member Gerrit van der Merwe and Anna-Marth Ott met with Mayor Masilela and members of the mayoral committee on 30 March 2022.

During the meeting, chaired by Mayor Masilela, many issues were discussed and clarified; Mayor Masilela and his committee committed to finding a constructive way forward. As we have learned over the last six months, we cannot work in isolation. And the longer we do not talk to each other, the more problems escalate. Many of these issues could have been resolved with a phone call. It is good to confirm that the channels of communication are opening up after the meeting with the mayoral committee.

MCCI would like to thank STLM for addressing the various issues we brought to the attention of the Municipality in our October 2021 letter. Working together, we can repair the damage that has been done recently and grow our town and economy again.

Members should keep an eye open for the Integrated Development Plan Technical meeting. At this meeting, you will be able to ensure that STLM’s future infrastructure plans will fit in with your business’ needs and expansion plans.