SA drops further in corruption perception survey

The perception of the prevalence of corruption in South Africa's public sector is worsening, with the country slipping further in Transparency International's latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

 

The lower ranking, which places South Africa on par with its Brics counterpart Brazil, did not surprise industry commentators canvassed by Engineering News Online, who said that the ranking was an accurate reflection of increased negative perceptions about the prevalence of corruption in the country.

 

The CPI, released on Wednesday, ranked South Africa 69 out of 176 countries, with a score of 43, which is also the global average.

 

Last year, the index ranked countries out of a score of ten. South Africa scored 4.1 out of 10 and ranked 64 out of 183 countries. In the prior year, South Africa ranked 54 out of 178 countries.

 

The index rated countries according to perceptions surrounding corruption in each country, with scores from the "highly corrupt" at 0, to the "very clean" at 100.

 

BDO South Africa manager Pierre Kilian told Engineering News Online that the "message" South Africa was transmitting to the world in a variety of ways, was that corruption was condoned and that public funds were misused, which was influencing people's perception.

 

He pointed to media headlines over the past year reacting to expelled African Natioanl Congress Youth League leader Julius Malema's tender fraud case, the ongoing arms deal saga, the bailout of State-owned South African Airways and the reshuffling of Cabinet Ministers, besides others.

 

South Africa ranked ninth from the top in Africa, but when compared with the ranking of neighbouring Botswana, South Africa was a long way off from improving how corrupt it was perceived as.

 

Botswana, with a ranking of 30 and a score of 65, was perceived as the least corrupt country in Africa. Kilian noted that Botswana had adopted an approach of zero tolerance with regards to corruption and backed this up with action.

 

Cape Verde, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Namibia, Ghana and Lesotho all ranked ahead of South Africa.

 

South Africa has been on a gradual slide downhill over the past few years and would most likely continue to decline if a zero tolerance approach was not adopted soon, he said.

 

Corruption Watch executive director David Lewis agreed, saying that investors shy away from corrupt environments and customers would seek service providers elsewhere.

 

While there have been indications of a more serious approach from government, conflicting messages were being sent.

 

Kilian and Lewis said that strong policy and legislation were in place to efficiently deal with corruption, but that enforcement lacked.

 

Corruption Watch, which received about 100 reports of corruption a month and more than three reports a day, believed that business and the public should intensify their involvement in tackling the challenge.

 

Transparency International chairperson Huguette Labelle added: "Governments need to integrate anticorruption actions into all public decision-making. Priorities include better rules on lobbying and political financing, making public spending and contracting more transparent and making public bodies more accountable to people."

 

Meanwhile, South Africa remained ahead of three of its Brics counterparts, namely China, with a ranking of 80; Russia, which ranked 133; and India at 94, but tied with Brazil, which jumped to 69, from a ranking of 75 last year.

 

The index pointed out that 90% of the countries in sub-Saharan Africa and 78% of the countries in the Middle East and North Africa scored below 50.

 

Globally, 70% of the countries scored below 50, with the European Union and Western Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia recording that 23%, 66%, 68% and 95% of each region' countries scored below the halfway mark.

 

Denmark, Finland and New Zealand maintained their top three positions, with scores of 90 each, while Sweden and Singapore again placed fourth and fifth with scores of 88 and 87 respectively.

 

Myanmar and Sudan recorded the fifth- and fourth-lowest scores, with 15 and 13 respectively, while Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia once again were seen as the most corrupt with scores of 8.

Tracking of Business Growth on the West Rand

 

ROCCI, the Roodepoort Chamber of Commerce, has recently begun taking steps to ensure that business growth and statistics on the West Rand of Johannesburg will be properly documented and tracked.

 

The development plan set forth by the Region C local government stated that the entire region’s commerce industry, as well as all surrounding fields will be drawn into the Economic Growth Plan within the next few months. This Economic Plan intends to act as a guiding strategy in the development of economic growth initiatives, and as such, will form part of the economic growth plan being set into place across the country.

 

The importance of economic growth statistics in this day and age is paramount. Not only does the access to these figures give business owners a better idea of which areas they might need to improve on, but it also allows the entire region, under the guidance of ROCCI to implement an economic growth and development plan that suits all parties involved.

 

In the next few months, ROCCI will be working closely with business schools in the West Rand in an attempt to capture and evaluate all figures and statistics for the registered ROCCI members. This will provide a better idea of the economic growth on the West Rand, as well as provide a starting point for any further inquiry into the development of business in the region.

 

The Roodepoort Chamber of Commerce (ROCCI) is one of the biggest Chambers in South Africa, and is comprised of over 100 businesses in the Roodepoort area in Johannesburg. Contact ROCCI on (+27) 86 111 3304, send an e-mail for additional information, or visit the ROCCI website to find out more about what is on offer, or how it would benefit you to be a part of this ever-growing inter-business network.

 

ROCCI welcomes “Roodepoort stays under Johannesburg"

The Roodepoort Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Rocci) is relieved at the Dept. of  Local Government’s decision to maintain Roodepoort as part of Johannesburg and not to have it incorporated into the newly envisaged West Rand Metro, which would include towns such as Westonaria,Carltonville,Randfontein and Mogale City.

 

Now that this is settled ROCCI calls on the Johannesburg Metro  to ensure infra-structure development in the Roodepoort area  is hastened, so that it complements the growth and development of Johannesburg as a ‘truly first class African city.

 

What are these infrastructure developments we speak about that will lead to the creation of employment and growth. :-

 

• The upgrading and consolidation of all informal settlements 

 

• The possible creation of a second Cosmos City in reducing informal settlement

 

• The implementation of the City Improvement District concept to Florida and Roodepoort CBD’s for self-sustenance

 

• The improvement of road surfaces and road signage – the latter especially pertinent to Ontdekkers where directional signs are so faded that it cannot be read

 

• The creation of a’ Small Business’ Business Park especially for the manufacturing sector with a bias towards the eagerly awaited beneficiation sector.

 

Article done by: Mr. Roy Panday

Tourism in The West Rand

The West Rand of Johannesburg is well known as an industrial hub, and in the last decade has increased its business capacity to the point where it now has a booming trade and development infrastructure.

 

A large part of this increase in exposure has come from the tourism industry, which has also grown on the West Rand over the past few years. The region plays host to a number of important sites and opportunities in the field of tourism, such as the world-renowned Cradle of Humankind, situated only 50km away from Northwest Johannesburg. The Cradle contains countless wonders, including lodges, weekend retreat opportunities, caves to be explored, authentic South African restaurants, wildlife reserves, hiking trails and various other adventurous activities.

 

Around the Cradle of Humankind, and in the heart of the West of Johannesburg, you can cater for almost any need. Conference venues at the various hotels, resorts and business parks allow for business meetings, whether large or small. Team building exercises are as exciting as ever, since there are countless activities hidden away, if you look hard enough. Everything from Bungee Jumping, hiking trails. Game drives and weekend retreats to hot air balloon rides.

 

The Roodepoort Chamber of Commerce (ROCCI) is one of the biggest Chambers in South Africa, and is comprised of over 100 businesses in the Roodepoort area in Johannesburg. Contact ROCCI on (+27) 86 111 3304, send an e-mail for additional information, or visit the ROCCI website to find out more about what is on offer, or how it would benefit you to be a part of this ever-growing inter-business network.

 

ROCCI on Coal 3 in addition to Kusile and Medupi

 

Minister of Public Enterprises, Malusi Gigaba’s allusion to a third coal fired power station, whilst sure to raise controversy, heated debates and the ire of the green economists has to be seen in context of SA’s reality.

With both power stations only coming on line by soonest 2014 with the possibility of a further delay, it in no ways alleviates our current tightness of electricity supply to the state of self-sufficiency.

Coal power given the country’s rich resources still remains the cheapest source of energy and therefore the suggestion to build Coal 3 is both timely and visionary.

Nuclear power has its own challenges in respect of risks and costs and current plans to build 3 new nuclear plants by 2029 will bring us back to the 2008/9 era of outages due to demand.

The potential of Shale gas supplementing our energy grid is also a long way off in the horizon.

It is for these reasons that the Chamber welcomes and supports Government on any move to ensure the continuity of electricity supply to meet its immediate and future needs.

ROCCI however cautions Government not to burden the ‘already overburdened tax payer’ with  carrying the costs of Coal 3 in line with the user pay principle, so articulated by Eskom in recent years in disguise of its Build programme requirements.

The tax payer pays its fair share of tax in expectation that in return it will receive the basis services required of its government which includes Electricity.

Any new build programme must be funded by the Government by raising loans and bonds against such capital investment. The consumer is liable for what he or she consumes and adjusted annually as per the CPIX.

Eskom has demonstrated clearly that it does not ‘believe in presenting a forward budget for the revenue collected. What we see and get instead are massive staff parties and bonuses paid to its directors.

Business says Enough is Enough and Government should take heed.

Article done by: Mr. Roy Panday

 Roodepoort Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ROCCI)

Tel:  086 111 3304

Cheap and Easy Marketing Tips

 

Marketing your business is one of the most crucial aspects to being successful in any industry. Sure, word of mouth and reputation account for a significant percentage of your traffic, but expert marketing is something that will not only help you grow these aspects of your business, but also expose you to new opportunities and customer bases. Here are a few ways that you can market yourself and gain exposure quickly and easily, without having to implement grand marketing strategies or bringing in outside help:

  

1.     Newspaper Ad Space – Placing an advert in your local newspaper may seem like an outdated method, and in some ways it is. However, there is still a significant number of people around the country that not only read newspapers on a daily basis, but also tend to rely on them for their classified browsing. There are also more methods of advertising at your disposal now than ever before, such as classifieds, full or half page, online, and syndication (which allows you to run the same advert in multiple news publications from the same publishing house.

  

2.      Guerilla Advertising – You see this everywhere you go. On street poles, stop signs, trees, fences, walls and public notice boards. All you need to do is to print flyers and stickers, then send your team out to various areas based on your target audience, and let them cover the town with your brand.

 

3.     Canvasing – In the same vein as the method mentioned above, canvasing some suburban areas and populated spaces may yield significant results. It’s as simple as going from house to house and slipping your flier into a postbox or under a windshield wiper. It is then completely up to the targeted individual whether or not they want to pay any attention to it. This also means that your advert is not being shoved in their face, and they have the option to refer to you business at any time they want.

 

4.     Social Media and E-Mail – One of the most salient principles of social media and online technology as a whole is the simplicity and broad reach of the exposure you get. Considering the number of people that participate in social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest, advertising your company and brand in this way will expose you to many more people than any other method, if done correctly. Build client database from your social profiles, and allow them to opt in to e-mail notifications through your website, and you will quickly build your brand.

 

Written by Wesley Geyer (Creative Writer - ATKA Online)

Working from home - the Pros and Cons

 

 

In the current economic state, people are finding it more and more difficult to find a job, either due to a lack of job availability, or because some employers simply don’t have space/resources to support any extra staff. However, at the same time, individuals are turning to opening their own businesses and running them from home, or coming to agreements with their employers to work from home to save company resources and time.

 

However, working from home may seem simpler in the beginning, because it saves you the time of having to commute, get ready, etc. (and in some cases, getting out of your warm bed on a cold winter morning). But you’ll soon find that this environment brings its own stressful situations into the equation, and these must be dealt with before any sort of work can be done. Here is a list of a few of the most common problems/downfalls of working from a home environment:

 

Work environment: Working at home makes it rather challenging to stay focused on the job and what has to get done. The problem with working from home is that there may be many distractions such as family, hobbies, chores, etc., to keep you from getting all of your work done.

 

You’d be amazed at what a clean organized room can do to your mood as opposed to a sloppy, crowded room. Treat your space as if it were a real office. By doing this, it can help with your work ethic. If you have family that nag at you, it’s important to talk to them and make them understand that you’re working and are busy, so that they don’t use up your time with daily tasks/chores. Setting up a time schedule can help sort things out (i.e Setting a couple hours dedicated to work/finishing up as many tasks as you can, then taking an hour break to do other things and have some time to yourself and/or family, then getting back to work for another couple hours), and so on. Following a work/time pattern can help with using your time efficiently. Last but not least, prepare and plan ahead of time.

 

Lack of self-discipline: Since we work from home, it is very difficult to fully understand and realize that we are actually at work. For example, we find it difficult to set appropriate work times and are often distracted from our own personal entertainment/leisure time, and considering we’re our own boss, we can get away with it and not have to worry about getting lectured or possibly fired from slacking on the job.

 

Setting daily goals of tasks that need to be done help a lot with staying on track. A good example of this would be to make lists, charts, calendars, etc. that contain all of the tasks/goals somewhere that is easy to access or even right in front of your face so you’re always reminded to get the job done! By doing this, you don’t have to over work yourself, since you can have the whole day to complete your goals and appropriately and conveniently work them in to your schedule.

 

Storage: Most companies have stock rooms or storage facilities that are equipped to hold whatever they sell or use to do business. Working from home means that your personal space will be used to store these things, and it may cause some tension, as it encroaches on your home life.

 

Prioritize your stock/materials/tools/etc. Don’t hoard things you don’t need. Doing a monthly clean out can really help make/save some space and keep things clean and tidy. If your stock is consistently expanding, look into some other alternatives such as renting a storage unit close by, which will save you the hassle of having to mission to go import/export stock.

 

With the negatives out of the way, here are a few of the more convenient reasons for running a business from home:

 

Flexible schedule: Since you’re not tied down to strict shifts, like your average employed worker, it allows you to bend your schedule and have more time on personal projects, without worrying about losing work hours or our pay getting deducted from having to take days off. This can become a disadvantage though when you lack the self-discipline and motivation to work.

 

Save money: Working from home means you have access to your kitchen, which also means that you have access to food, therefore you don’t have to worry about spending precious money on buying lunches or snacks on work breaks. Working from home also keeps your business rent-free, since your home is your office! Finally, you don’t have to worry about transportation fees, such as filling up on petrol, buying tickets for buses and/or trains, etc.

 

Being your own boss: Who wouldn’t rather work for themselves as opposed to working for someone else? Being the boss means you call the shots, and you get to run your business however you’d like without taking orders from anyone else. Not only does being the boss give you the power to share your business with the world and give people the opportunity to work for you, but you also get to live with the feeling of self-gratification and pride. It’s nice to be able to call something your own.

 

The Roodepoort Chamber of Commerce (ROCCI) is one of the biggest Chambers in South Africa, and is comprised of over 100 businesses in the Roodepoort area in Johannesburg. Contact ROCCI on (+27) 86 111 3304, send an e-mail for additional information, or visit the ROCCI website to find out more about what is on offer, or how it would benefit you to be a part of this ever-growing inter-business network.

  

Written By Wesley Geyer

Creative Writer for ATKA SA