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Labels: South Africa - Car Hire

By Anel Powell

Cape Town Mayor Helen Zille has made an "absolute commitment" to personally help businesses battling "unreasonable delays" because of council red tape.

"If business people feel they are being constrained by unreasonable delays, they can come to me directly and I will cut right through it (the red tape)," Zille said.

However, she added that this would only apply to unreasonable constraints that could be dealt with within the legal requirements.

She extended this invitation on Wednesday during a presentation of the city's five-year Integrated Development Plan (IDP), which forms the basis of the draft and final budgets.

Red tape was highlighted as the biggest constraint to companies wanting to set up businesses, according to a study by Wolpe Development Strategies, which was commissioned by Wesgro at the city's request.

One focus of the IDP was good governance.

Zille said the city was losing investment because of council delays in releasing industrial land. Boat builders were considering moving to Ireland because Cape Town had not yet made industrial land in Atlantis available for boat yards.

Wesgro's report noted that SA boat yards produce 28 percent of the world's catamarans. The Western Cape boat building sector directly employs 3 200 people, with an export turnover of R1,2-billion.

Most of the business is based in Cape Town, with local company Robertson and Caine being the third-largest builder of catamarans globally.

"People want to invest here, but cannot because we have not put land out to tender," said Zille, adding that the city had to improve its internal processes.

The Wesgro report identified the city's poor delivery of services and shortage of adequate infrastructure as constraints on investment and running businesses.

Ian Neilson, mayoral committee member for finance, said the city would fall further behind on bulk infrastructure unless it increased rates.

Without money for the maintenance of bulk infrastructure, there would be more electrical failures, sewerage would overflow and water pipes would burst, he said.
"We are aware that the above-inflation increases (of rates) are uncomfortable, but if we don't do it, there will be breakdown of services," he said. The draft budget proposes a rate and service charge increase of 15 percent.

The IDP sets the following targets:

# The creation of 13 000 jobs by business and industry by 2012.

# A direct investment of R3,6-billion by 2012, and basic water and sanitation services to all by the same year.

# The provision of 4 000 houses a year has to be increased to 12 000 by 2012.

# The city aims to upgrade services for 249 informal settlements.

The African National Congress has "condemned" the IDP and draft budget for being anti-poor and drafted without adequate consultation.

"The Democratic Alliance's failure to consult the public before developing an IDP, as required by law, leaves the city with a skewed budget that does not reflect the needs of communities. It also sees the City of Cape Town adopt a rates and tariffs policy that fails to make a meaningful contribution towards the fight against poverty and the creation of a better life for all," ANC provincial spokesperson Garth Strachan said.

He said the rates increase would be a "huge tax burden" on the poor.

The public have until May 10 to comment on the IDP.
Article from http://www.iol.co.za/
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Labels: South Africa - 2010 soccer

The Lexus LS460 was voted the World Car of the Year, and the premium Japanese brand continues to ride its wave of good fortune. Some sub-category winners could upset the establishment, though.

The LS460 was selected from a list of 28 cars nominated by jurors from 22 countries. While the LS460 battled it out against the Audi TT and the new Mini in the final round, the jurors considered the winner to be 'the embodiment of the Lexus brand's pursuit of perfection.

The Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec was chosen as the World Green Car of the Year, outrunning BMW's Hydrogen 7 Series and the Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion.

In the Car Design category, the stylish Audi TT was chosen ahead of the Fiat Grande Punto and Citroen's C4 Picasso.

Performance car honours were bestowed upon Audi's RS4, which to the jurors, had the edge over the BMW 335i and the evergreen Porsche 911 Turbo.

World Car of the Year finalists

Lexus LS460
Audi TT
MINI

World Performance Car of the Year
Audi RS4
BMW 335i
Porsche 911 Turbo

World Car Design of the Year
Audi TT
Citroen C4 Picasso
Fiat Grande Punto

World Green Car of the Year

Mercedes-Benz E320 Bluetec
BMW Hydrogen 7
Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion

Article from http://www.wheels24.co.za/
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Labels: South Africa - Cars

Cobus Claassen, Beeld

Johannesburg - The SABC has decided finally to withdraw all radio ads commissioned by Tshwane metro council that refer to Tshwane as "Africa's leading capital city".

This follows another complaint about the advertisement which was submitted to the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) by Solidarity trade union's civil rights initiative, AfriForum.

The ASA again found the slogan used in the advertisements was misleading.

The metro council placed the advertisements in six languages, on various SABC radio stations.

In a letter to the ASA, Fakir Hassen, the SABC's manager of policy affairs, said in response to the complaint that the ads had been broadcast because of the misunderstanding that the ASA's decision applied only to the English version of the advertisement.

At the end of last year, the ASA ruled a fifth time against the metro council using the slogan "City of Tshwane, Africa's leading capital city", because it inferred that Tshwane was a city.

Six adverts pulled off

The metro council apparently paid little attention to the judgments of the advertising body.

Hassen said in his letter that six adverts had been summarily withdrawn.

"We will run the ads again only when the advertiser complies with the ASA's prescripts, said the letter.

Kaizer Kganyago, SABC spokesperson, emphasised on Wednesday that the ASA'S ruling applied to all electronic media, radio and television.

"It can happen that the name (Tshwane) will still crop up here and there. We're in a process of changing it."
Article from http://www.news24.com/
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Labels: South Africa - General

Anri Cronje , Die Volksblad

Upington - A Johannesburg pilot who went missing en route to Upington on Sunday was found alive late on Wednesday after three-and-a-half days in the Kalahari Desert, south of Botswana.

Charles Wooler, who's in his 60s, was taken to the nearest town, Tsabong, for a medical check-up, but a friend, Chris Martinus, 52, said the pilot was in "good condition".

Olefile Moakofi, Botswana's director of civil aviation, said Wooler was found near Khawa, an informal settlement in the Kalahari desert.

"He heard a helicopter, which was part of the search-and-rescue team, and ran in its direction.

Botswana soldiers then found him.

Left letter at plane

Wooler's Diamond Katana plane was found on Wednesday morning northeast of Bokspits, by a search-and-rescue team.

The aircraft apparently is still in one piece.

Wooler left a letter for rescue workers and his wife, Maggie, at the plane, saying he was heading south. In the letter, he told his wife that he loved her.

The letter was dated Monday 11:00, indicating that he had been walking in search of help since then.

Hopes of finding Wooler waned at one stage, because it had rained in the area, and his tracks had been washed away.

Wooler was flying just ahead of Martinus on Sunday when he disappeared without a trace somewhere between Keetmanshoop in Namibia and Upington.

Sapa reports that Martinus, asked why Wooler had made the forced landing, replied: "Probably because he ran out of fuel."

However, he had not yet spoken to Wooler about what happened and said he was probably going to be incommunicado for a while.
Martinus said: "He was way off course."

Martinus said he and a group of Wooler's friends from Krugersdorp Flying Club who rushed to Upington to help search for their friend, were definitely planning to celebrate his rescue.

"We're just so relieved that he's alive."

Rescue workers of South African Search-and-Rescue (Sasar) as well as the Namibian and Botswana governments took part in the huge search for Wooler.

Sasar spokesperson Santjie White told Volksblad: "The most important thing for us is that he's still alive.

"The South African consulate in Botswana is making sure that he's OK. We want to arrange to get him home as quickly as possible for his and his family's sake."

White had spoken to Maggie Wooler, who was overjoyed at the news.

White said: "It was a difficult search. Wooler was about 36 degrees off course."

Wooler and Martinus took off from Keetmanshoop about 10:15 on Sunday.

Left plane at Swakopmund

They were scheduled to stop at Upington customs en route to Krugersdorp, but Martinus landed at Upington at 12:05 on his own.

The pair had gone to Swakopmund at the weekend to collect Wooler's Diamond Katana.

Wooler, a member of Krugersdorp Flying Club and an experienced pilot, had to leave his plane at the Namibian coast in November last year because of ignition problems.

At the time, Wooler, his wife and several of his flying mates from Krugersdorp were in Namibia on a 3 500km trip. - Volksblad/Sapa
Article from www.news24.com
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Labels: South Africa - General

By Cathy Dippnall Garden Route Reporter

THE George municipality has formulated a marketing strategy to promote the town as a tourism and sports destination.

Local economic development (LED) head Yvonne Opperman said R500 000 had been budgeted over the next three years for the long-term development of a marketing strategy.

She said the success of the annual Outeniqua Wheelchair Challenge and IRB Rugby Sevens, as well as the popularity of the town as a golf destination, had prompted the council to promote George more aggressively, especially as a sports destination.

In the short term, Opperman said, extensive marketing of the Rugby Sevens had begun with a three-month campaign of full-page features in SA Rugby magazine.

This would be followed by a two-month marketing strategy prior to the George Rugby Sevens taking place in December.

The Garden Route Mall has gone into a joint venture with the municipality to promote sports in the mall gazette.

Mall marketing manager Gaby Peters said: “The rugby sevens will feature on the front page of the October and November issues.”

The mall has just secured a contract with airline 1time to distribute the gazette on all its aircraft. The gazette is also distributed across the Garden Route once a month.

Other forms of short- term marketing have been through stationery, bookmarks, pop-up screens and advertising balloons at functions and conferences.

“The LED is also developing a marketing strategy with three national restaurant chains, which will distribute pamphlets at all their outlets in the country,” Opperman said.

She said it was envisaged that the long-term marketing strategy would be to theme or brand George, possibly with a new logo and slogan and to incorporate all sectors of marketing under one brand name.

The current logo is the George lily with an outline of a mountain and the words “George, the city for all reasons”.
Article from http://www.theherald.co.za/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

The Western Cape and the winelands around Stellenbosch are the gourmet heartland of South Africa. On the coast, Knysna is famous for its oysters and hosts a festival devoted to bivalves in July. Only in South Africa would you come across an oyster braai (barbecue), and there are all sorts of tastings of oysters - barbecued and otherwise. Another way to experience South Africa's food culture is on a one-day African cooking safari in Kayamandi township just outside Stellenbosch. Learn about the local ingredients on a two-hour walking tour followed by a meal prepared by professional cooks in a community centre that culminates in a communal lunch.

Where, who, how much? Knysa Gastronomica ( oysterfesival.co.za) takes place 6-15 July. Africa Travel Centre ( africatravel.co.uk) can arrange an itinerary that includes a trip to the Knysna Gastronomica from £1,295 per person. This includes return flights from London, car hire, three nights' b&b at Constantia Uitsig in Cape Town and four nights' b&b at Belvidere Manor in Knysna. African Cooking Safaria (andulela.com) costs 295 rand (£21).

Take a look at the top 10 holiday destinations on http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

Event: The Robben Island Museum
Date: open all year
When visiting Cape Town, take some time out to see Robben Island which lies 12 kilometres away and is infamous for its brutality during the apartheid era of South African history.

Noted for being a place of banishment and exile where political troublemakers including Nelson Mandela were sent, Robben Island has also come to symbolise freedom and political liberation, becoming an icon of hope for many South Africans.

Since 1997, the island has been a museum and somewhat of a focal point for learning about the country's heritage. You can go on a tour of it with ex-political prisoners who act as tour guides at the world heritage site.

There you will learn about life during the 1960s and 1970s inside the Robben Island Maximum Security Prison.

As well as history there are some 132 bird species on the island which makes it a paradise for ornithologists plus an abundance of marine mammals including seals, whales and dolphins.
Article from http://www.redcarnationhotels.com/
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Labels: South Africa - Tourism

Johannesburg - Full-service airlines such as SAA must continue to provide the amenities and flexibility their passengers expected if they were not to lose more market share to low-cost airlines, Mike Myburgh, the last chief executive under whom SAA was genuinely profitable, said yesterday.

He was commenting on reports that SAA's plans included cutting back on cabin staff, ceasing to provide free meals for economy class passengers and economising on meals for business class.

He was not certain whether cutting out sports and cultural sponsorships - one of the moves recommended by US consultancy Seabury - was the right thing to do.
These sponsorships contributed to awareness of the airline and marketing was important, Myburgh said.

Will Puk, the former chief executive of the Sure Travel chain of franchised travel agents and a former British Airways (BA) executive, said that if SAA's full-service airline cut out meals for passengers it would be on a par with its own low-cost airline, Mango, which started six months ago. "In that case one wonders why they bothered to start Mango in the first place."

He was horrified to learn from reports that SAA was spending as much as R287 million on sponsorships - and expenditure that is on the list of planned economies.

"The most valuable sponsorship they could have had was for SA Rugby," Puk said. "They messed that up by losing it to BA and have been trying ... to get it back. They seem to have reacted by sponsoring practically everything else, apparently at an absurd expense."

Gidon Novick, the joint chief executive of BA/Comair, of which low-cost airline kulula is a division, said it was important to differentiate between the two services.

Full-service Comair was upgrading the meals for business and economy classes. It did not stint on quality - Johnny Walker Black label whisky was available to economy and business class passengers.

Meanwhile, kulula passengers were happy to pay for the food of their choice from the trolley.

Glenn Orsmond, the chief executive of low-cost airline 1Time, said SAA's problems were "more fundamental than spending on meals and sponsorships". They included high salaries and a lack of experience in the aviation industry among senior executives.

"I don't think scrapping meals for economy passengers will affect SAA's profitability. It is more likely to cost it market share," Orsmond said.

Hein Kaiser, a spokesperson for Mango, said it had contributed more than its start-up loan of R100 million to SAA and was "very cash positive".

Article from http://www.busrep.co.za/
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Labels: South Africa - Airlines

London - Brewer SABMiller is weighing a move to acquire rival Scottish & Newcastle in a £6.5bn deal, a British newspaper reported on Sunday.

Britain's Sunday Express, quoting unnamed sources it said were close to SABMiller, claimed a bid could be made for the rival brewer within days, valuing the company at around £7.12 per share.

Shares in Scottish & Newcastle closed on Thursday at £6.065. There was no trading in London on Friday, a British public holiday.

The newspaper reported that, if it succeeded in acquiring the rival company, SABMiller planned to sell Scottish & Newcastle's British interests - including the country's highest-selling lager Foster's - and the firm's French business interests to spirits giant Diageo PLC.

Investment bank JP Morgan is advising SABMiller on the potential acquisition, the newspaper reported.

SABMiller and Scottish & Newcastle could not immediately be reached for comment.
Article from http://www.fin24.co.za/
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Labels: South Africa - General

A 1400ha farm, 'Travalia' situated near the landmark Three Sisters dolerite koppies just 75km north of Beaufort West on the market for R10.75m.

Wayne Rubidge, PGP's Karoo area principal, says this is one of the finest farm businesses in the area, with some 13,000 guests annually, an occupancy of over 60 percent and excellent potential for expansion. Included is a highly successful and popular farm stall. The farm and businesses are being sold as a going concern with a full complement of staff.

The guest farm comprises 22 rooms, all en suite, of which six are luxurious. There is also a self catering cottage and communal areas, private house for the manager and staff accommodation and conference facility which accommodates 20 people. There is a swimming pool and braai at each accommodation unit. The potential for expansion includes exclusive chalets in a hidden valley and game drives, with potential for game hunting.

"Being situated very close to the N1, just opposite the Three Sisters Ultra City, this is a favourite stop over en route to Cape Town and George, and from the coast to the north. Thousands of potential customers pass this Karoo icon every day," says Rubidge.

"The surroundings of the farm are extremely scenic, and the farm includes existing game, and farm animals with added appeal for visiting families. The hidden valleys, dolerite koppies and exceptional views make this the best opportunity on the Karoo N1 and an appealing lifestyle for someone who wants to acquire a very profitable and well established business on a Karoo farm."

He says being the most established farm stall on the Karoo's N1, at Travalia you can buy the best Karoo produce - with thousands of regular visitors stopping there each month. "The guest list for the accommodation reads like a who's who in South Africa and some guests have been staying there for visits over an entire a decade. The surroundings are beautiful and there is game on the property. The hidden valleys, dolerite koppies, amazing views surely make this the best opportunity on the N1 and a great escape for someone who wants to walk in to a very profitable business on a Karoo farm with plenty of space and quality facilities."

'Travalia' has an interesting history, and originally included a coach stop. By the time diamonds were discovered in 1868, many traders, travellers, explorers and missionaries were familiar with the Karoo, where there were already well established routes to the interior. One of the arteries passed a beautiful area of dolerite koppies known as Three Sisters - as it does to this day - where there is a fork, and a coach stop on a farm - Travalia. Today the N10 goes on to the old diamond route to Kimberley.

The farm's history incorporates a story of a young man, George Hamman, and friends, who were on their way to seek their fortunes at the diamond diggings in Kimberley. He became so ill with pneumonia that he was left behind, destined to die at the outpost, however, unknown to him a group of San people were watching him from a distance, and they took him in and nursed him back to health. As he recovered, Hamman became so enchanted by the beauties of the Karoo - the sunsets and dawn, crisp fresh air and the landscapes all captivated him. He swore that if he recovered he would buy the ground, and so he did. Always mindful of the kindness of the local San people and their care, he turned no one away from his door. So it was that Travalia began with a firm base of friendship and hospitality - a tradition which is still observed today.

For more information contact 082 873 9364, email karoo@pamgolding.co.za., or visit www.karooproperty.co.za
Article from http://www.property24.com/
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Labels: South Africa - To buy