Current Edition >> Archives Section >> Spot Coverage >> 8 May 2007
Matjhabeng suksesvolle omdraaistrategie: Die omdraaistrategie wat die uitvoerende burgemeester van Matjhabeng, me. Mathabo Mokapo, tans implementeer is besig om met ongeëwenaarde resultate vrugte af te werp. Na berig word het sy daarin geslaag om deur streng fiskale dissipline, die skuld van Matjabeng Munisipaliteit by Sedibeng Water ten bedrag van R56 miljoen ten volle te vereffen. Inmiddels beloop die betaalkoers deur inwoners vir munisipale dienste in terme van Operasie Patala vir Januarie 103%, vir Februarie 90%, vir Maart 86% en is reeds 90% vir April. Lenings, sommige dateer terug na voor 1994, word teen R2,5 miljoen per maand terugbetaal.
New-style prison complex under development in Kimberley: The R662 million Kimberley prison should be completed in November next year, reported Engineering News. The project funded by the Department of Correctional Services' (DCS') capital-works budget and the new facility is being constructed by the Grinaker-LTA/Keren Kula joint venture. The prison will accommodate 3 000 offenders in 12 blocks, each with 240 prisoners, ten to a cell. The prison will employ around 600 people drawn from the local community.
Welkom Wimpy best restaurant for 2007: Welkom Wimpy Drive Thru has been awarded the best drive thru in South Africa for the second year running. The prestigious award was announced at a glittering function held in Monte Casino end of March. A.C. Nielsen, who handled the scores, judged the store and its staff, the service, the quality of the food and the general appearance of the restaurant.
Top honours for two FS businesses: HDL Jewellers in Mimosa Mall was recently named the top tenant in terms of the South African Council of Shopping Centres (SACSC) National Special Star Awards. They also won the Regional event in 2006 and were declared national winner last night at a gala event in Johannesburg. The Service Provider of the Year was Enforce Security who was nominated in two other regions. According to a media statement, the competition was tough and the fact that HDL Jewellers (Mimosa) and Davdoe Security (Welkom Square) reached the top 6 on a national basis is worth an award as well. The 2007 regional awards will be held at the end of July 2007 and nominations for the awards will open soon.
Bank charges probe continues: According to Business Report, bank charges will again come under the spotlight this month as the Competition Commission's enquiry into the national payment system continues. The national payment system allows transfers to be made between customers who bank at different banks, but it is largely controlled by the big four banks – Standard Bank, Absa, Nedbank and FNB - who have some of the highest bank charges in the world. According to www.compcom.co.za/banking, the enquiry will focus on inter alia ATM fees, payment cards and interchange fees, etc.
UNIZO opportunities for entrepreneurs: UNIZO is a Belgian-based organisation for the self-employed and small and medium enterprises, disposing of 80 000 members, 24 regional offices and a staff component of about 1 000. The organisation is also strongly focused on cooperation with SMEs in other countries and in this regard is a key-role player in the current cooperation being rolled out between the Free State Provincial Government and the Provincial Government of Flanders. The contact particulars of UNIZO can be accessed at www.unizo.be. The telephone number is +32 2 238 0511 with email address unizo@kmonet.org.
Strike costs SA R3.4bn: The civil service strike, which has already lasted two weeks and lost 7 million worker days, could have cost the economy R3,4 billion to date in direct costs alone, according to Azar Jammine, chief economist at Econometrix. These costs included heightened inflationary expectations, which could prompt further and sharper interest rate increases; possible loss of investor confidence in South Africa; and damaged relationships between striking workers and their employers.
Met Langenhovenpark en aangrensende gebiede wes van Bloemfontein wat besig is om as residensiële gebiede te ontplof, word vrae gestel oor die aard en rigting van stadsbeplanning in die area.
Langenhovenpark groei soos 'n paddastoel en beskik tans na raming oor sowat 6 500 huishoudings bestaande uit sowat 4 800 meenthuise en 1 700 enkelwoonhuise, vir 'n totale bevolking van ongeveer 19 000 mense. Dit is groter as 'n medium-grootte en groeiende Vrystaatse dorp soos Parys wat na raming oor sowat 4 500 huishoudings en 'n bevolking van ongeveer 15 000 beskik.
Daarby is aangrensend aan Langenhovenpark die hoewe gebiede van Bainsvlei, Spitskop en Groenvlei besig om snel met nuwe inwoners digter bevolk te raak. Meer noordwes is die Woodlands Wildlife Estate in 'n proses om minstens 1 000 wooneenhede tot die noordwestekant van die stad by te voeg. Terselfdertyd word aan die suidgrens van Langenhovenpark tot by die Bloemfontein-Petrusburgpad die ontwikkeling van die nuwe woongebied Ceciliapark met sowat 1 700 nuwe wooneenhede gedoen.
Die vrae wat die Vrystaat Sake Bulletin gevind het wat in die besigheidsektor gestel word oor hierdie groot uitbreidings noordwes van die stad, is die volgende:
• Hou die Mangaung Plaaslike Munisipaliteit tred met die hantering van die verkeersimpak, veral tussen Langenhovenpark na Brandwag en Universitas d.m.v. Nelson Mandelarylaan en Wynand Moutonrylaan? Huidige verkeersophopings, veral tydens spitstye, is besig om geweldige frustrasie op te wek.
• Is daar voldoende voorsiening gemaak vir besigheidspersele om die groot residensiële uitbreidings te bedien? Dit blyk reeds dat die Pick 'n Pay en Dynarc Walk winkelsentrums in die hart van Langenhovenpark onvoldoende is om besoekers en verkeer aan hulle te hanteer, terwyl daar nie juis ruimte gesien word nuwe winkelsentrums nie. Die Pretty Gardensentrum en aangrensende winkels brei oorhand uit, maar blykbaar gaan dit moeilik om die nodige munisipale hersonerings te bekom.
• Is daar nie reeds te veel hoëdigtheids residensiële uitbreidings toegelaat nie, veral met die toevoeging van Ceciliapark nog vanjaar?
• Wat hou die toekoms in vir entrepreneurs wat nuwe besighede te Langenhovenpark, Bainsvlei en Groenvlei wil vestig, maar vir wie munisipale hersonerings 'n probleem is? Gaan hierdie duidelike bottelnek oopgemaak en sinvol gekanaliseer word? Dit sou ook die druk op verkeersvloei na en van die stad aansienlik verlig.
Om 'n konstruktiewe gespreksvoering in hierdie verband te open, sal die Vrystaat Sake Bulletin insette van ontwikkelaars, die plaaslike owerheid en ander belanghebbendes in die koerant of op sy webwerf verwelkom. Epos kan gerig word aan news@bulletinonline.co.za of besoek www.bulletinonline.co.za.
In reply to a recent parliamentary question about how many cattle, sheep and goats had been stolen and recovered during the course of 2006, the Minister of Safety and Security said that given the moratorium on crime statistics, the only figures he was prepared to make public were from 1 January until 31 March 2006.
Be as it may, the information provided for that three month window contains some enlightening numbers as to the broad extent of South Africa's stock theft problem.
Firstly it should be viewed against the background of statistics found with the national Dept of Agriculture about the presence of cattle in the country. According to this information cattle are present mainly in the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and the North West provinces.
Herd sizes vary according to type of farming. In the case of dairy cattle, it varies between less than 50 and 300 (average approximately 110). Beef cattle farms range from fairly small (less than 50 head of cattle) to large farms and feedlots (more than 1 000).
The total number of cattle in South Africa at the end of August 2006 is estimated at 13,53 million, approximately 1,9% lower than the estimate of 13,79 million as at the end of August 2005. Beef cattle comprise approximately 80% of the total number of cattle in the country, while dairy cattle make up the remaining 20%
According to the figures provided by the Minister for Safety and Security for the said three month’s period, in the Free State 1 577 cattle were stolen, 726 recovered, resulting in a net loss of 851, making the province the fourth worst hit by cattle theft in SA. The worst hit province was KwaZulu-Natal with 4 718 cattle being stolen of which only 2 287 were recovered, resulting in a net loss of 2 431.
The largest number of sheep is found in the Eastern Cape (29,3%), Northern Cape (25,7%), Free State (20%) and Western Cape (11%) provinces. Flock sizes vary between 125 and 1 800 sheep. The total number of sheep in South Africa at the end of August 2006 is estimated at 25 million – approximately 1,2% lower than the estimated 25,3 million as at the end of August 2005.
According to the relevant figures of the Minister, out of the total of 22 072 sheep stolen in South Africa, the Free State was worst hit. 4 969 sheep were stolen of which only 1 069 were recovered making up a net loss of 3 900 sheep.
On the other hand, the SA Meat Industry Company provides the following auction price ranges per head: Cattle between R3 000 and R6 000, with sheep between R800 and R1 000. Using these figures – and bearing in mind the statistics provided by the Minister were only for the first three months of 2006 – the total cost of cattle stolen (and not recovered) was R22 350 000 and the total cost of sheep stolen was R14 035 200. This gives a total of roughly some R36 million. If this is multiplied by four – to estimate an annual figure for the year – one arrives at grand total of some R144 million.
This in turn gives an astounding idea of the extent of stock theft in South Africa and also the Free State.
In a number of ways sport in the Free State and also in SA national context, has at this point in time clearly come to the crossroads. As sport has also become an industry of business with a bearing on economic development and socio-economic standards, it is relevant to ask about the direction sport development is taking.
Moreover, since it is in sport also about winning and achieving, this too has a bearing on the measure of success, of sport also at the box office i.e. spectator interest. The more a team or a sportsperson wins, the greater the interest, the better the business and related spin-offs.
Against this background the following questions arise:
What effect is the resignation of renowned trainer Rassie Erasmus, followed by that of his main deputy Franco Smith, to have on the future of the region's premier rugby team, the Cheetahs? Will the latter fare better in the Currie Cup competition than in the 2007 Super14 run? What is to be the impact of the victorious Griekwa Wildeklawer rugby team in the just concluded Vodacom Cup Competition.
Coach Tony De Nobrega's resignation at Bloemfontein Celtics – and his non-replacement at this stage – would it improve the team's results in the Castle Premiership Competition?
What will be the eventual outcome of enforcement of race quotas on the selection of national cricket team, the Proteas and their hugely disappointing performance at the recent World Cup? There were affirmative “passengers” in the team, while competent contenders from the Free State had to sit at home and watch from the sidelines. How will it in the days ahead directly and indirectly, affect cricket and its spin-offs in the Free State?
The announcement of the preliminary Springbok rugby squad for the coming Test against England in Bloemfontein and for the World Cup later this year is currently being postponed because of bickering over the envisaged “racial balance” South Africa is the only country in the world where such considerations are being strived to be implemented, this in the face of top international competition where it is only a question of the best being pitted against the best. How would this eventually affect sports development down to provincial and local level?
Sport has become part and parcel of development and business and how matters such as the abovementioned are to turn out, would be interestingly, informatively and pointedly to watch.
Back to Main || About Webmaster || Disclaimer || Back
This site is best viewed at 800x600 pixels. This site was optimized for IE 5.5 or higher.
Copyright © 2006 Web D-Zign Inc. All rights reserved.
