e-BizBlitz Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business

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2013/05/17 07:50:49 AM
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Welcome to e-BizBlitz | Daily Pietermaritzburg News

A daily newsletter providing business news for the Pietermaritzburg business community.
The e-BizBlitz Newsletter is provided as a free community service by the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business.

E-Biz Blitz - 17 May 2013

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD FOR BUSINESS LICENCING BILL
The much-maligned draft Licensing of Businesses Bill that would require all businesses to register with municipalities will be significantly redrafted to take account of public submissions, Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said. The draft legislation was met with an overwhelming disapproval, mainly on account of fears that it would drown the small business sector in red tape, increase the scope for bribery and corruption by municipal officials and overburden municipalities. Davies promised the revised bill would be a "significantly improved product" from the published draft, but what would remain fundamentally unchanged with regard to the government’s determination to crack down on the illicit economy. "We have a significant illicit economy which is damaging the prospects of small business operators, particularly in townships. This is the economy of illegal imports, of trade in substandard products, of people who don’t pay VAT, and then compete with people who observe all these requirements," he said. 
 
FASHION MEETS FUNCTION FOR BENEFIT OF CITY
One of the most powerful rallying cries against apartheid was that normal sport wasn’t possible in an abnormal society. Sporting isolation followed, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history. But almost 20 years after the advent of democracy, Di Backhouse and Bev Beckett of Next Boutique faced their own frustrations, that of a city suffering from appalling maintenance and poor upkeep. Being in the business of retailing beautiful clothing, the context assumed a disproportionate influence. And the context was an overgrown series of traffic islands, including the large Athlone circle, hardly a conducive environment for selling fashion.  Not that Backhouse and Beckett were motivated by commercial imperatives alone to beautify the islands; as they put it, “we are residents who are passionate about our city”.  The P3 campaign, launched about two years ago by the Pietermaritzburg Chamber of Business and The Witness, in conjunction with the Msunduzi Municipality, made for the perfect vehicle to drive the beautification of the city. 

abizblitz17may2013.jpg
Brett and Bev Beckett, Jamison Saima and Di Backhouse.
Next Boutique - with the support of The Company’s Man Shop owner Brett Beckett and the unstinting labour of gardener Jamison Saima - was among the first companies to answer the call, and almost two years later, the results speak magnificently for themselves. Better still, not only do visitors entering Pietermaritzburg from Athlone encounter the city at arguably her best, the beautification virus is proving infectious with other residents also joining the party. Now imagine the city without this intervention ... Derek Alberts (Editor) 
 
AIR SHOW TO EXPLORE NEW HEIGHTS
The 2013 KZN Winter Air Tour aims for the sky as it strives to bring aviation to the people. In its second year, the event will share more about the industry and possibly afford young children the chance to see what it takes to become a world-class pilot. “During the early years of the Durban Airshow, it was more about showing off the different aircraft,” said John Neilon, event organiser and airside director of the KZN Winter Air Tour. “It is only more recently that the concept of air shows has changed to drive huge awareness of careers available in the industry, such as pilots, engineers and other peripheral jobs in the aviation and even travel industries.” abizblitz17may12013.jpg.png
Hopes are high that the 2013 KZN Winter Air Tour will eclipse last year’s event. 
While the line-up is still firming up, Neilon said this year’s KZN Winter Air Tour will include a greater quantity of business jets and aircrafts, which will bring an interesting dynamic to the shows and give visitors a bigger variety of aircraft to view. The Newcastle show on June 1 will get the tour off to a flying start, followed by shows at Mkuze (June 8), Ulundi (June 15), Richards Bay (June 22), Pietermaritzburg (June 29) and Durban (July 6). For more information, contact Justin at justin@kznwinterairtour.co.za. 
 
NEWS WORTH KNOWING

TOWNHILL LOOKING FOR YOUNG BLOOD
Townhill SAPS are looking for youth between the ages of 16-35 to join their youth desk. Their next meeting will take place on the second Wednesday in June, June 12, at 6 pm at the Townhill SAPS. For more information contact W/O Maharaj on 082 4188 441 or Ed on 082 444 9272.

DURBAN DOMAIN ON THE WAY
The prospect of website addresses ending with ".durban" is becoming a reality after a .durban domain name bid passed the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (Icann’s) first evaluation stage. It is expected that Johannesburg and Cape Town domain names will also become available soon. In 2011, the internet body (Icann) that oversees domain names, opened the internet top-level domain names beyond .com, .net and .org.

RETAIL SALES GROWTH TO STAVE OFF INTEREST RATE CUT?
Retail trade sales measured in constant prices grew 2.8% YoY in March from an upwardly revised 3.9% (3.8%) YoY increase in February, figures from Statistics South Africa showed. Retail trade sales were expected to have increased by 2.9% YoY‚ according to a survey of leading economists by BDlive. Measured in real terms‚ seasonally adjusted retail trade sales fell by 0.9% in March compared with February. This followed MoM changes of a 2% rise in February and a 1.1% fall in January. Retail trade sales increased by 3% in Q1 2013 compared with Q4 2012.

SASOL RIVAL BEMOANS HIGH PRICES
Safripol, the only other producer of polypropylene in South Africa aside from Sasol Chemical Industries, says it would have considered capacity expansion if it had access to reduced propylene prices during 2004 to 2007, as market growth in South Africa and the Southern African Development Community would have supported "significant" expansion. Safripol was dependent on 86% of its supply from SCI at the time. That was the same period the Competition Commission alleges SCI, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sasol, was charging excessive prices for propylene and polypropylene, to the detriment of consumers. But Sasol denies the charge of excessive pricing and is now fighting its case before the Competition Tribunal.

TIME TO TAKE TOURISM TO THE PEOPLE
The Tourism Department, in partnership with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), has commissioned an audit of underutilised state assets and properties that can be developed into tourist attractions and facilities, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said. He said the department was thinking innovatively of new ways to ensure that more South African families had access to the places inherited as a nation. He said in order to deliver on the promise of tourism, the department had to create spaces that make the tourism experience and the treasures of our country accessible and affordable to a much greater share of the population. He said they were working hard to ensure that travel and tourism became attainable for ordinary South Africans, noting that three quarters of all tourists in South Africa were South Africans. Domestic tourists have contributed ZAR101 billion to the country’s economy in 2011.

MADE-IN-SA APP SCOOPS BLACKBERRY ACCOLADE
South African application (app)  PriceCheck won the International App of the Year at the BlackBerry Live conference in Florida on Wednesday night. The Naspers-owned app beat 100 000 entrants from around the world after being voted for by the public. The app is an extension of the PriceCheck website, which is the largest price comparison site in South Africa and Africa.

GOOGLE GOING PLACES, AGAIN
Google is taking on a new challenge in mapping - creating real-time, personalized maps for everyone on the planet. At its annual I/O developers conference, Google announced a new Google Maps, rebuilt from the ground up, by far the biggest redesign since it introduced Maps eight years ago. When users who are logged in to Google visit Maps, they will see highlighted the places they frequently visit, like restaurants, museums and their home and office.

 
ADVERTORIAL

MSUNDUZI HOSPICE COURSE
Msunduzi Hospice is offering a course, "Introduction to Hospice Care" which introduces participants to the basic concepts of Hospice care. This will take place on the 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25 & 27 June from 17h30 to 20h30 on each of these dates at the Msunduzi Hospice Conference Centre.  The cost is R600 p/p (no catering except tea and biscuits). RSVP by Friday, 24 May to Sonya on 033 344 1560.  Msunduzi Hospice also has a wonderful Coffee Shop which is open daily Monday - Friday (9h30 - 14h30) and Saturday from 8h00 - 13h00.  You can also browse at their well stocked Charity Shop and grab a good read.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Small is the number of people who see with their eyes and think with their minds.  Albert Einstein

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DISCLAIMER The views expressed in the publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the chamber unless specifically indicated. While everything possible is done to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, which is believed to be correct, no responsibility can be borne by the chamber with regard to errors.
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