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OT: Obama. Is he a good choice for Africa?
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by kenndo: [QB] INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING HERE IS ONE EXAMPLE.THIS SHOULD SUM UP THE SOUTH AFRICAN SITUATION SO FAR,SO AFTER THIS I DO NOT WANT YOU TO SAY ANOTHER WORD ABOUT. South Africa's next big thing Yet ten years after the end of apartheid, black participation in South Africa's tourism industry is still woefully limited. Black participation Yet ten years after the end of apartheid, black participation in South Africa's tourism industry is still woefully limited. "The tourism industry in our country is still lily-white," Bernard says. "It's still owned and controlled by the white people." That's why the government's black economic empowerment programme is compelling tourism firms, just like those in other sectors, to open their doors to the black majority. Seeking the money But there are obstacles to black ownership in South Africa's economy - not least the legacy of apartheid, which left millions of blacks with few skills and little education. The driver of a safari vehicle Black entrepreneurs are carving out a place in the tourism business And the biggest stumbling block is access to finance. Under the previous regime, many black people were not allowed to own property, and without collateral to put up for a loan they now struggle to get financing to start up their own businesses. SA Tourism is one organisation trying to promote black empowerment in the tourism industry, in part by seeking ways to bridge the finance gap. Chief Executive Cheryl Carolus - formerly a senior African National Congress official and South Africa's High Commissioner to the UK - says the banking sector must be given incentives to come on board. "What we're now doing is talking to the banks and explaining to them that this is a highly bankable sector and it makes business sense," she says. From a trickle to a flood The end of apartheid has made South Africa an increasingly popular tourist destination, and growth in the industry continues to outstrip the national average. The sector now contributes about 75bn rand to the country's economy every year, and employs 4% of the population. But the government's own targets mean efforts to change the make-up of the industry and the overall economy will not occur until 2014. In the meantime, it will be down to individuals like Bernard to carve out a stake for the black majority in the booming tourism business. SBC to enter fast-growing South African cellular market. MTN's other shareholders include Cable and Wireless, a U.K.-based telecommunications company; Naftel, a black business organization; M- Cell, an affiliate of South African-based cable TV company Multichoice; FABCOS, an organization to promote black businesses; Union CO., the investment arm of South Africa's third largest trade union; and Transnet, South Africa's state-owned rail, airline and harbor transport company. The company is headquartered in Johannesburg and employs some-- HERE IS AN EXAMPLE OF THINGS HAPPENING BUT SLOWLY. • Makwetla: Provincial Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) conference (24/05/2007) Published: 14 Sep 07 - 0:00 The second annual black economic-empowerment (BEE) survey, released by audit and advisory firm KPMG, shows an increase in the number of companies that view empowerment as vital to their growth prospects. Of the 2007 respondents, 86% indicated that their BEE strategies were focused on growing the company, rather than just complying with legislation, compared with 55% in 2006. Further, more than 90% of the 2007 survey respondents have an empowerment strategy in place, which is a 10% increase from last year’s 80%. There was also an increase in the number of respondents that had their empowerment strategies approved by their boards, at 84% in the 2007 survey, compared with 70% in the 2006 survey. This indicates that most companies have progressed past the stage of strategy formulation and approval, and on to implementation, says KPMG BEE services director Sandile Hlophe. “Overall, the results confirm the commitment to the implementation of BEE strategies by South African businesses,” he notes. “This is an indication that there is an increased focus on BEE, and that businesses are beginning to view BEE as a business-imperative growth strategy.” To allow for a view of BEE implementation in the different industry sectors, the respondents were categorised according to industry sectors. There was good representation from most industries, with 31% of respondents from the finance and business services industry, while 13% were from the manufacturing industry, and 11% from the mining and quarrying industry. All industries, except the storage and communication, (including information and communication technology) industry, listed employment equity as a priority, while skills development featured prominently on the list of prioritised elements. However, preferential procurement and enterprise development were never listed as the highest priority. This is an area of concern, says Hlophe, because the largest part of economic transformation needs to be driven through procurement and enterprise development, if the economy is to achieve the desired growth levels. Of the seven elements of the government’s empowerment scorecard, the greatest challenge appears to be ownership, especially in the retail and motor trade, and repair services sector, where 50% of respondents cited ownership as their biggest challenge. One quarter of the community, social and personal services sector, the manufacturing sector, and the wholesale trade, commercial agents and allied services sector also cited ownership as a challenge. “From our survey it is clear that corporate South Africa has embraced BEE, and has begun to implement and monitor its BEE progress in a meaningful manner,” says Hlophe. “This bodes well for the continued economic empowerment of the previously disenfranchised black majority population. “That said, there is still a long way to go before tangible equitable economic opportunities can be realised by a majority of the black population. “It will take a couple more years to reach the desired state of equitable economic opportunities for all South Africans.” Edited by: Martin Zhuwakinyu http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=116201 By Richard Hamilton In Cape Town South African vineyard Will South Africa's wine industry be 15% black-owned within five years? When South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994 the balance of political power finally turned. Since then the challenge for the country has been how to transfer economic power from a white minority to the black majority without destroying the economy itself. That question is at the heart of the movement known as Black Economic Empowerment, or BEE, which has been a key but controversial policy of the ANC government. At a recent conference in Cape Town, wine industry executives discussed how to bring black empowerment to what is one of the country's oldest industries. Charters have already been introduced for finance and mining companies, but not without a few bumps along the way. The experience seemed to indicate that the changes envisioned were too radical for big investors to stomach and the government later negotiated a less demanding target of 26% black ownership within 10 years. Criticism of black empowerment has also come from outside the investor community. Most South Africans believe something must be done to increase opportunities for all but they still view BEE as problematic. Some regard it as a form of discrimination, even "reverse racism". Top down "I think it is immoral and obscene that people will qualify for top positions because they are black," says Mark Lowe, trade and industry spokesman for the opposition Democratic Alliance. He thinks the government has made the mistake of empowering from the top down and "playing the race card". There is no form of crony capitalism here Lionel October, government industry spokesman "As long as the ANC focuses on transferring equity from one small group to another, its empowerment strategy will remain a myth for those who need it most," he says. Not just owners but managers But one of the prime movers behind BEE, Lionel October, the deputy director general of trade and industry, says the government has responded to the criticism by widening empowerment. He says BEE now entails not merely transfer of ownership but also participation in management and development of skills. And both the government and the private sector are putting up cash to fund it, he says. He also denies that BEE benefits only the well-connected. "There is no form of crony capitalism here," he says. For a country that has endured staggering racial inequality in the past, it is not surprising that its majority-elected government wants to see a greater slice of the cake for that majority. But the government need look only as far as Zimbabwe to see how an ostensible attempt to redress past inequalities can lead to economic chaos. It knows it has to tread carefully if it is to avoid provoking the sort of turmoil that was so miraculously avoided a decade ago. News from Parliament Parliament reviews SA black economic empowerment plan Trade & Industry Committee 20 August 2007 Lionel October, DTI DDG, opened a two-day parliamentary workshop on the application of BEE codes of practice by pointing out that there existed a perception in the business world that BEE was “all about ownership factors.” He said that whilst there was a state objective to increase the number of black people that manage, control and own enterprises, there was an urgent need by business to move away from this narrow based understanding over the overall objectives of the Codes of Good Practice. “Piercing through the corporate veil is the problem”, he said. October said that, in terms of this limited understanding, this particular aspect of BEE was “going quite well”, i.e. on the ownership issue. He addedr that there were six other aspects of BEE covered by the codes of practice that needed much more attention and in many aspects the private sector was “not coming on board as it should”. There was a “confusion and lack of a correct understanding of broad-based BEE” across whole sections of the economy. Whilst a marketing campaign was planned by the DTI, it had emerged from the presidential workshop on the same subject, October said, that perhaps a ”more punitive approach” be adopted towards recalcitrant business owners. DTI, said October, was “looking to Parliament for guidance on this subject; hence the workshop with the trade and industry portfolio committee over two days.” “There is a need to review the whole of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and to re-look at the whole approach to procurement as a discipline, as opposed to assuming that it is solely about price preference”, October said. “A final draft of amendments to this Act will be presented in the near future to cabinet.” He added that a strategy of alignments with all the other pieces of legislation that involve BEE is being formulated by the DTI. For a more detailed summary of the BEE portfolio committee workshop, go to a full article on our BEE website. (Documents can be found on Sabinet's Policy Documents.) Hof Top Sabinet is Proudly South African Company Profile | Products | Support | Contact Us | Community P O Box 9785 Centurion 0046 0800 11 85 95 info@sabinet.co.za Copyright © Sabinet Online Ltd 2007. All Rights Reserved. Terms & Conditions. PAIA. [/QB][/QUOTE]
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