Tag: trade conditions

JET for Business: Opportunities?

JET for Business: Opportunities?
The Middelburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry hosted a congress on Wednesday, 28 September 2022, to discuss business opportunities in the Just Energy Transition (JET). MCCI President Que Naidoo opened the congress and stressed that the role of coal in the region cannot be dismissed. MCCI wanted the conversation and opportunities around JET to change from purely socio-economic development to business-oriented expansion.

Dr. Sibanda, CEO of Exilite, introduced the day. He said that we need to see JET as a system with interconnected parts. If you take out the parts of the system, the system loses its essence. One part cannot thrive if the other parts are not functioning. The economy has to adapt to the changes that are coming. We have assumed that the part of the system that concerns electricity supply has shown us that some parts of the country’s electricity supply system are not working.

Dhesigen Naidoo, Senior Advisor to the World Bank and responsible for climate adaptation in the South African President’s Climate Change Commission, spoke to the companies and they agreed to have further discussions with MCCI. How to finance renewable energy was presented by Rentia van Tonder, Head: Renewable Energy, Power & Infrastructure, Standard Bank. Wayne Glossop of Wartsila and Jean-Francois Pinharanda of Total Energy, Matola LNG Project, spoke about gas development and opportunities for JET. Is nuclear a viable part of the energy mix for JET, said Mxolisi Makhatini, Group Executive, Power and Industry, Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa.

We also looked at the accessibility of the grid, by Ronald Marais, Grid Planning from Eskom Transmission and how tariff changes could be calculated when you supply Eskom, and Feed in Tariff Changes – Shirley Salvoldi, Corporate Consultant, Electricity Pricing, and Eskom Distribution. These were very technical presentations, but they brought some clarity to the current situation.

Mike Teke, Chief Executive Officer, Seriti Resources, spoke about adapting the coal mining industry to a greener future. He began by highlighting the role that coal mining plays in the economy, that 93 000 direct jobs and 200 000 indirect jobs are associated with coal mining. He also said that Sereti is looking into wind energy in the Gert Sibande area and is also exploring other alternative energy generation. He urged everyone to take a balanced approach and explore the opportunities that are available.

At the end of the day, businesses and our members want reliable, affordable baseload power to grow our businesses and economy and keep jobs in the region. Thank you to Nashua and Standard Bank for your main sponsorships. Members interested in joining the next round of discussions can contact me at ceo@middelburginfo.com.

 

Export Awareness Seminar

Export Awareness Seminar
The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), in collaboration with the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) and the Mpumalanga Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDT), hosted its annual export awareness seminar in Middelburg on 16 September 2022.

MEGA presented the current projects they are working on and invited the business community to contact them to participate. The Department of Science and Technology explained how they can offer tax incentives to research and development companies. Another exciting offering from the Department of Small Business Development is the SheTrade ZA Hub, where women who want to export their products can get support.

DTIC has the EMIA Export Incentive Programme for export development, which provides marketing opportunities for businesses. This incentive helps with partial travel and exhibition costs subsidies if you want to exhibit at international trade fairs.

Let us say you already export South African products and need a non-preferential certificate of origin (COO). In this case, the Middelburg Chamber offers this service to local companies. With a COO, you have access to World Trade Organisation customs regulations between countries.

For more information on all export assistance, businesses can contact MEGA at azwi@mega.gov.za. For questions and requirements at COO, you can contact Christo Stemmet at admin@middelburginfo.com.

STRIKES CAN BE RENDERED UNNECESSARY

STRIKES CAN BE RENDERED UNNECESSARY
Strikes in South Africa are as ‘natural’ as warm weather, says Ivan Israelstam, Labour Law Management Consulting CEO. On the other hand, strikes have become rarer in recent years, as unions shy away from weakening the employer and the associated dismissals.

For decades we have been trapped in a fatal vicious circle. In other words, workers do not earn enough to feed their families, and they go on strike to demand a wage increase and better working conditions. If the strike lasts long enough, the company gives in and a wage increase well above what was budgeted. This reduces profits and, in rare cases, leads to financial losses. The company then compensates by making job cuts to reduce wage expenses. As a result of the job losses, the purchasing power of the public falls, and companies suffer losses. Companies then cut costs by reducing wage increases or spending on working conditions. Workers retaliate with strikes, and the vicious circle continues.

This increasingly deadly cycle is deadlier than Covid, more toxic than state capture and more devastating than power cuts. We have now been living under the new political order for 27 years, and there is no sign of anyone in positions of power making any real effort to stop the vicious cycle, the toxic industrial relations and the cancerous damage to our economy.

For their own sake and the development of the South African people, the so-called government leaders in business and the unions must take the blinkers of their eyes and stop this deadly spiral. If these so-called leaders refuse to take up their responsibilities, civil society must intervene.

The new labour-economic system must eliminate the opposing ideologies of socialism and capitalism. The doctrines of socialism that seek the nationalisation of enterprises and strangle the economy must be abandoned in favour of the unmistakably positive socialist principle of fairness for all. Similarly, the exploitative principles of capitalism must be replaced with truly inclusive free-market ideals.

This approach mixes the benefits of the free market (the ability to make money) with the benefits of socialism (i.e. fairness for all). By combining the positive aspects of socialism and capitalism, the struggle between the two ideologies is settled, and a new, everyday philosophy, shareism, emerges. Entrepreneurs and workers will no longer compete for money because they will work together to create and share it. For more debates on labour rights issues, see www.labourlawadvice.co.za.

Protect our Trade Routes and Corridors

Protect our Trade Routes and Corridors

Middelburg is positioned so that we have access to several trade routes and corridors. We use the N4, N12, N11 and other roads to reach our markets and get the raw materials we need to do business. These routes need to be protected to safeguard our economy.

In Middelburg, we were safe, and our community stood together this week, with the riots in Gauteng and Kwazulu Natal. Unfortunately, our businesses have also been affected by their activities. One of our economic advantages is that we are well located halfway between our market and access these trade routes.

Currently, the COVID lockdown delays the delivery of products for our businesses by weeks, and international trade routes to our trading partners’ countries are blocked. With the disruption at the Port of Durban, some members have had to take a moment to decide, “Do I report Force Majeure, or not?”

South Africa was the victim of truck attacks that not only destroyed property but also claimed lives. Why did the South African Police Service allow another escalation of senseless destruction this week? We are concerned that the recent spike attacks on the N4 may also escalate. The criminals caught must receive the harshest punishment.

The closure of the Port of Durban and parts of the N2, N3 and N4 in recent days with the senseless looting has severely impacted the supply chains and trade routes that we rely on in Mpumalanga. The massive short-term consequences are visible when looking at the pictures of what happened in Durban and Pietermaritzburg. MCCI is concerned about the even more devastating long-term consequences for everyone in this country.

The import and export of goods must be brought back into balance: The flow of goods must be reintegrated into the system. Vital goods need to be prioritised. Hard lessons were learned during Lockdown 5, and we do not need a repeat of regulations that attempt to impose artificial restrictions on the natural flow of goods, such as the ill-fated attempt to define “intended destinations”.

South Africa needs all key players to mitigate the disastrous situation. The supply chain is a living organism that does not tolerate interruptions. Like our country, it depends on the constant and unimpeded functioning of all its interlinked components.

Concerning Trade Conditions for January 2021

Concerning Trade Conditions for January 2021

The second wave of Covid-19 infections and the return to a more stringent lockdown in December 2020 caused a setback in trade conditions during the holiday period in December 2020 and in January 2021.

The Trade Activity Index (TAI) declined to 39 in December and further to 34 in January 2021 from 47 in November 2020.

The deterioration of trade conditions was evident in almost all facets of trade except for supplier deliveries.

Sales and new orders declined the most while inventories and employment declined relatively less. 66% of the respondents experienced worse trade conditions in January 2021 than in January 2020.

Trade expectations held up better, but also reflected the pressure after the temporary improvements in September and October 2020. Overall trade expectations declined in November 2020,

continued to experience pressure in December, and then slipped further in January 2021.

The Trade Expectations Index (TEI) declined by 11 points in November to 43, kept to 43 in December and then declined to 38 in January 2021.

 

The six-month expectations on components such as sales and orders did not weaken as much as for recent trade conditions.

Expectations of lower supplies and declining inventories were more evident in the January 2021 survey.

 The deteriorating trade conditions did not have a notable effect on prices.

Present as well as expected sales prices did not change materially in December 2020 and January 2021.

Sales prices remain under downward pressure while input prices trend upwards. This is also the expected pattern on prices six months hence.

 

Respondents also listed external matters, apart from the health aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic that impacted trade conditions.

Slow business momentum, uncertainties about the timing and duration of lockdowns, collapsing infrastructure, lack of maintenance and poor service delivery on

a local government level, are of major concern and are adversely affecting business. Some improved bookings by accommodation

venues during January and hope on Budget 2021, are some positive notions put forward.

 

Employment conditions in trade weakened slightly in December 2020 and January 2021. 38% of respondents were positive on employment

in January 2021 compared to 43% in November 2020. Respondents expect to increase jobs over the next six

months – 40% were positive on employment in January 2021 against 38% in November 2020.

Released by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry at their offices in Illovo, Johannesburg.

 

For more information and infographic, see the SACCI website – www.sacci.org.za