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General Interest
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The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has released a fact sheet for businesses regarding the International Labour Standards. The basic principles anf rights at work include either conventions, which are legally-binding, or recommendations, which serve as non-binding guidelines. Click here to download the Fact sheet for business.
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Presentation delivered by SARS to the NEDLAC Public Finance and Monetary Policy Chamber on its initiatives to improve revenue collection. Click here»
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On 12 August 2011 the South African government released its National Health Insurance Policy Paper. The NHI is due to start rolling out in April 2012, as a pilot project for 5 years. It was suggested that the NHI was important for the total restructuring and overhauling of SA’s health system. However, such drastic changes was to imply huge costs and therefore caused some controversy. Generally the business sector, as represented by BUSA, perceive this initiative with cautious optimism and is specifically mindful that the fiscal sustainability of the NHI requires an increase in real GDP growth and a reduction in unemployment levels. Please click here to read the full statement by BUSA thereon»
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A Local Procurement Accord was signed on 31 October 2011 in Pretoria that committed the main economic groupings in South Africa to work together to increase the levels of goods and services bought from local producers. The Accord sets an aspirational target of 75% local procurement and identifies a number of immediate steps that will be taken by the social partners towards achieving the goal as part of efforts to increase jobs and deepen industrialisation. Click on the link to download a copy of the Local Procurement Accord assented to on 31 October 2011»
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The decision by the SA Reserve Bank (SARB) to leave interest rates unchanged again is not unexpected. While BUSA believes that the SARB, in most of its MPC statement today, itself made a good case for a further reduction in interest rates, BUSA accepts that there is room for difference of opinion as to whether it should happen now or later. The decision is ultimately a judgment call based on the balance of risks. Download full media release»
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A South African high-level business delegation, led by BUSA, travelled to Washington, D.C., 5th – 8th October to accomplish the following:
Advocate for the extension of AGOA to U.S. Congress
Hold South Africa – U.S. bilateral private sector dialogue
Participate at the Doing Business in Zimbabwe Forum
Attend CCA’s 8th U.S.-Africa Business Summit
Linked, please find a summary report (key outcomes, presenters, participants) on the above mentioned engagements.
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The IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook (WCY) is the world’s most renowned and comprehensive annual report on the competitiveness of nations, ranking and analyzing how a nation’s environment creates and sustains the competitiveness of enterprises. Download report
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The National Planning Commission is in their “public engagement phase” for finalising the Diagnostic Report. Prof Mike Muller, NPC Commissioner and former DG of Water Affairs presented the report at a NEPAD Business Foundation workshop, which the ABC attended. The presentation provides a nice summary of the highlights of the Diagnostic report. Click here for the presentation and click here to obtain more information and to download the various parts of the report.
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The Strategic Business Unit of IDC, which is a member of the ABC presented on the topic of Green industrieds. The specific focus areas for the business unit are non-fuel based green energy (for example, renewable energy), energy efficiency and demand side management, emission and pollution management, fuel-based green energy (for example, waste to energy and co-generation) and biofuels (mainly bio-ethanol).
Click to download the presentation on Green Industries.
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FASfacts initiates FAS-prevention campaigns and programs that are holistic and Christian based ensuring a real decrease in the prevalence of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) in South Africa. FAS is a very cerious problem afflicting many rural communities, and especially so in the Western and Northern Cape.
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Given that South Africa will host the next round of Climate Change negotiations, probably in December 2011, and given its heavy reliance on fossil fuels, government is embarking on an extremely challenging, if not totally burdening, route to change behaviour in developing a Green Economy. One of the proposed measures is the institution of a Carbon Tax. This proposed Carbon Tax, as mooted by National Treasury, can certainly impact on agribusinesses.
The Carbon Tax Discussion Paper, published for comment by National Treasury [Carbon Tax Discussion Paper.pdf].
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The final National Report for the Census of Commercial Agriculture 2007 was released by Statistics SA on 21 December 2010. Click here to download»
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The Director General (DG), Mr Langa Zita, of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has personally approached the ABC to assist in collecting job creation information for DAFF’s Sector Job Creation Plan that will be submitted to the Cabinet Lekghotla in January 2011.
The ABC did inform the DG that info on individual projects and even individual companies/co-operatives would not be possible, being confidential, but that aggregated info on new jobs to be created in ‘greenfield projects’ in 2011-2012, 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 will be collected from members and provided to DAFF on an aggregated basis.
All information provided will be handled confidentially and no individual info will be supplied to DAFF. Given government’s focus on job creation, and the possibility to leverage benefits for members who plan to create jobs, the ABC believes it necessary that it provides this information to DAFF.
Click here to download the accompanying letter from the DG that provides further information in this regard»»
If you are willing to provide the requested information, please provide it to Dr John Purchase ( john@agbiz.co.za ) by 8 January 2011.
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The Agricultural Research Council (ARC) previously presented its 2009/10 financial year results to parliament. The document was well received, with an unqualified audit report from the Audit General, and is now available for distribution to the public. Click here to download the ARC annual report 2009/10.
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The Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) Baseline 2010 was launched on 11 August 2010 at the University of Pretoria. The BFAP Baseline 2010 presents an outlook of South African agricultural production, consumption, prices and trade for the period 2010 to 2019. This outlook is based on assumptions about a range of economic, technological, environmental, political, institutional, and social factors. Click here to download this valuable resource for agribusiness and farmers.
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On the 13th July Ms Futhi Mtoba, BUSA’s President, led a high level delegation of forty captains of industry to a meeting with President Zuma who was accompanied by Deputy President Motlanthe and the economic cluster Ministers. The meeting was an outcome of a number of interactions between the BUSA leadership and the Presidency in seeking to enhance dialogue between government and business in addition to the ongoing bilateral meetings with Ministers and senior government officials. Read more...
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Click here to download the Strategic Plan for the South African Grain Industry, as embraced by all major stakeholders in the Grain Industry in 2005.
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In an Alert published August 2009, the SBP-Business Environment Specialists take stock of small business development in South Africa, and argue that SMME policy needs to be re-thought. The government’s initiatives over the past 15 years have fallen disappointingly short of aspirations. Effective small business development on the scale needed requires a new, sustained engagement between the public and private sectors at all levels of government, and must encourages big business to become operationally involved in small business development. The Alert identifies some models that are having a real impact.
To download the SBP Alert, click here
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Doing Business 2010 is the seventh in a series of annual reports investigating the regulations that enhance business activity and those that constrain it. Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 183 economies—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time.
Regulations affecting 10 stages of the life of a business are measured:
• Starting a business
• Dealing with construction permits
• Employing workers
• Registering property
• Getting credit
• Protecting investors
• Paying taxes
• Trading across borders
• Enforcing contracts and closing a business.
Data in Doing Business 2010 are current as of June 1, 2009. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why.
Download Doing Business 2010
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Disclosure Requirements
The Third King Report on governance contains various disclosure requirements for entities that claim application of the Code. This Steering Point collates the disclosure requirements of King III for the:
1. Integrated report
2. Annual remuneration report
3. Report of the audit committee
4. Interim financial information
5. Summarised financial information
6. Annual report of subsidiaries
This Steering Point supplements the September 2009 Steering Point “King III at a glance”.
The King Report
The King Committee on governance issued the King Report on Governance for South Africa – 2009 (the “Report”) and the King Code of Governance Principles – 2009 (the “Code”), together referred to as “King III” on 1 September 2009
The issuance of King III was necessitated by the new Companies Act of South Africa1 and changes in international governance trends since the release of the second King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa (King II) in 2002.
Supporting you to realise the benefits of sound corporate governance
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