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Value of building plans passed in Eastern Cape increases

The value of building plans passed by larger municipalities in the Eastern Cape increased by 16.5% in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year, according to figures released by Statistics South Africa today.

The total value of building plans passed between January and March was R929.4 million compared with R797.9 million in the same three months of 2012.

The biggest increase was for plans passed for non-residential buildings that jumped by 100.7% from R156.2 million to R313 5 million.

The major contributors were shopping space that increased from R29.8 millionto R92.7 million and industrial and warehouse space that rose from R80.8 million to R163.6 million.

Against this, the total value of plans passed for residential buildings declined by 13.3% from R286.8 million to R248.5 million.

There were decreases in most sectors with the notable exception of plans for dwelling houses of 80 square metres or more.

The value of plans passed for residential dwellings of less than 80 square metres dropped by 60.2% from R23.9 million to R9.5 million with plans for just 50 units being approved between January and March this year.

The value of plans for residential dwellings of 80 square metres or more, however, increased by 36.7% from R154.3 million to R210.9 million.

The number of units increased from 168 to 188.

The value of plans passed for flats and townhouses also dropped from R104.4 million in the first three months of 2012 to just under R23 million this year.

The total value of plans for alterations and additions both for residential and non-residential buildings was in positive territory.

The total value rose from R354.9 million to R267.3 million, an increase of 3.5%.

176 projects in Eastern Cape approved for MIP grant

A total of 176 projects in the Eastern Cape were approved by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for grants in terms of the Manufacturing Investment Programme (MIP) between 2008/09 and 2012/13.

The MIP provides investment support to both local and foreign-owned entities by offering an investment grant of up to 30% of the value of qualifying investment costs in machinery, equipment land and buildings required to establish a new or expand an existing production facility.

The Department approved grants totalling R571 million for the 176 projects in the Eastern Cape.

The projected investment for the projects was R3.49 billion and it was estimated that they would create 4 035 jobs.

In the 2011/12 financial year, 41 projects in the Eastern Cape were approved and 51 in the last financial year.

As far as the Cooperative Incentive Scheme, DTI reports in its Performance of Incentives, that in the 2012/13 financial year the Eastern Cape accessed 25% of the total value of approvals, largely as a result of 23 vegetable-producing cooperatives that received support totalling R7.3 million.

The scheme was introduced in 2005 “to support cooperative enterprises in the emerging economy with business development services, production efficiency, technological improvement projects, plant and machinery and start-up and working capital requirements”.

Among the requirements are that the cooperatives must have majority black ownership, be owned by historically disadvantaged individuals and be “biased” towards women, youth and people with disabilities.

Cooperatives can have projects in any of the economic sectors and be based in either rural or semi-urban areas. The grant is awarded up to a maximum of R350 000.

In 20912/13, the Eastern Cape had 79 projects approved worth R20.8 million, compared to 15 projects worth R3.8 million in the previous financial year.

Civil debt cases recorded in EL increase

In East London, the number of cases of civil debt recorded at the magistrate’s court increased from 43 to 205 month-on-month, the highest number recorded in that metro since July last year when there were 268.

The total number of cases recorded at the East London Magistrate’s Court this year now stands at 471, down from the 769 last year.

The number of civil cases for debt recorded at the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court in March declined by 70 from 2 359 to 2 289 compared to the previous month.

Figures released by StatsSA this morning show that the total number of cases recorded in Port Elizabeth for the first three months of the year now stands at 6 426 compared with 22 086 for the corresponding period last year.

Coega biofuels project received largest tax allowance in 2012/13

PhytoAmandla, the R2.87 billion biofuels project planned for the Coega Industrial Development Zone was the biggest investment approved by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in 2012/13 for the Section 12i Tax Allowance, constituting 28% of all approvals.

The Section 12i Tax Allowance incentive was launched in July 2010 and runs until 2015 focusing on investment in new manufacturing projects.

A training allowance component is incorporated into the programme and the overall aim is “to accelerate economic growth in the industrial sector and support the Industrial Policy Action Plan, particularly in terms of job creation, training and energy efficiency”.

In a report on the performance of incentives that it offers, DTI says the PhytoAmandla project involves the development and implementation of a biodiesel plan with a capacity of 400 000 metric tons a year.

It says the plant will use state-of-the-art technology to crush raw canola seeds to produce oil. The oil is further refined to produce biodiesel.

“The use of canola seed instead of soya is in itself an innovation and the fact that canola has a higher oil content than soya will significantly reduce the cost of raw materials.”

The product will be exported to the European Union.

DTI says most of the canola seed will be sourced from farmers in the Eastern Cape, “which will help uplift impoverished communities”.

More canola seeds will be sourced from emerging farmers in the Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal who will be trained in canola production.

It is estimated that the project will create 264 direct and 25 000 indirect jobs.

DTI approved PhytoAmandla for a tax allowance of R900 million and a training allowance of R9.5 million in terms of Section 12i.

Buffalo City to get R343.3 million from fuel levy

The Buffalo City Municipality will receive R343.4 million as its allocation from the General Fuel Levy for the 2013/14 financial year.

The allocations were published in the Government Gazette today by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in terms of the Taxation laws Amendment Act.

Allocations are made to each of the eight metropolitan municipalities in place of the Regional Services Council Levy.

Nelson Mandela Bay has been allocated R434.8 million for 2013/14.

The allocations favour the larger munic-ipalities with Johannesburg receiving the largest amount of R2.2 billion, followed by Cape Town with just under R1.9 billion and eThekwini with R1.8 billion.

Mangaung receives the smallest amount of R243 million.

SMSPortal calls for government action on nuisance texts

The government must take immediate action to curb the spread of nuisance calls and texts, a leading bulk SMS provider has urged. SMSPortal blames dishonest data brokers that sell data for plaguing consumers with the majority of SA's unwanted communications.

The organisation says the government’s Department of Communication, the Department of Justice, ICASA ,WASPA and Provincial Consumer Affairs Officesmust set up a joint taskforce to stem the problem, with a particular focus on dubious data brokers.

The number of unwanted, or spam SMSs sent in South Africa is unknown, and many find ‘m-spam’ more intrusive than e-mail spam because a mobile phone is perceived as personal as it’s always carried with you. But first and foremost consumers shouldn’t be receiving unwanted SMSs if they haven’t requested communication from the sender.

Of course reputable companies sending communication via SMS respect personal data and the use of, but those who abuse it need to be reported and eradicated. For example, SMSPortal as a bulk SMS provider, has an intelligent spam filter and it does its best to identify and prevent spam to protect mobile owners ‘personal space’.

Charles Stretch, MD of SMSPortal says: “As mobile adoption outpaces traditional computing, spammers will follow suit, and providers like us must consinutally monitor to prevent spam being sent to consumers.

"Quite simply, spammers are keen to ensure the highest return on their investment. SMS is particularly attractive because while operating systems between mobile devices may vary, they all support SMS."

As a business, sending a corporate SMS is regulated by WASPA. Unfortunately, some messaging providers send messages via unauthorised routes in order to bypass the jurisdiction of WASPA. Tracking down the origin of SMSs using this kind of routing is hard, so the originators are seldom held accountable.

Stretch adds: “If wanting to communicate via SMS with consumers,businesses should only use messaging providers that are members of WASPA, and members are required to display their membership of WASPA on their websites.

“Businesses should also verify that the originating number of messages is registered at SMS Code. SMS Code allows you to identifying the owner of a commercial SMS or short code.Legitimate numbers will always be local, using the +27 South African dialing prefix.”

What to do

If you receive an unwanted marketing message you should contact WASPA and lodge a complaint against the organisation concerned (remembering to keep a copy of all correspondence).

If you are unsure who the message comes from or if the message does not come from a company you are familiar with you should not respond to the message as this may confirm your number is live. If you know who the message is from, you can try to opt out from further messages by texting ‘STOP’ to the telephone number. Stretch adds: “If one of SMSPortal’s users receives a ‘stop’ message we black list the number so it no longer receives SMSs from the sender.”

You can also register on the National Opt Out Database, which means you will not be contacted by members of the DMA (Direct Marketing Association of Southern Africa).

How to avoid unwanted (spam) SMSs?

Be careful who you give your telephone number to
Don’t advertise your telephone number, for example by putting it on the internet
Check privacy policies and marketing opt outs carefully. Use them to tell the organisation not to contact you by SMS

To read more about SMSPortal’s anti-spam policy visit www.smsportal.co.za.

Another R8.65 billion injection into Eastern Cape economy from wind farms

The Department of Energy will sign implementation and direct agreements and Eskom will sign power purchase agreements with five more wind facilities in the Eastern Cape tomorrow involving a combined investment of R8.65 billion.

In terms of the agreement with the developers of the facilities 36.7% or R3.17 billion of the investment must fall into the category of local content.

The five projects in the Eastern Cape are part of the seven totalling 562.5MW that were successful bidders in Window 2 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer’s Procurement Programme.

A total of 336.5MW of the 562.5MW has been allocated to wind farms in the Eastern Cape.

And together they will provide further impetus to the Eastern Cape’s plan to become a major energy hub.

Speaking at the sod-turning ceremony of the R300 million DCD wind tower facility in the Coega Industrial Development Zone last week, Energy Minister Dipuo Peters pointed to Nuclear 1 that is expected to be built at Thyspunt and Project Mthombo as well as biofuels initiatives in the Coega and East London IDZs as other contributors in making the Eastern Cape an energy hub.

The five Eastern Cape wind farms will create 1 026 jobs during the construction phase and 64 when the facilities are operational.

The five wind farms are at:

*Waainek near Grahamstown, with the tender for construction awarded to the Port Elizabeth-based project developer Innowind (23.4MW)

*Amakhala Emoyeni Phase 1 near Bedford being developed by Windlab and Cennergi (137.9MW)

*Tsitsikamma Wind Farm being developed by Watt Energy (94.8MW)

*Grassridge wind energy plant, six kilometres to the east of Komga in Great Kei, which is a joint venture involving Innowind, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and Grassridge Winds of Change BBBEE (59.8MW), and

*Chaba wind energy plan, which is also situated close to Komga and is a joint venture between Innowind, the IDC and Chaba Winds of Change BBBEE (20.6MW).

Major step forward for Coega ferro-manganese smelter

In what is a major boost for the ferro-manganese smelter planned for the Coega Industrial Development Zone, Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel has announced that Kalagadi Manganese will open its sinter plant “by July this year”.

Presenting his Budget in the National Assembly, Patel said situated at Hotazhel in the Northern Cape it would be “the largest sinter plant in the world,” having been developed with the support of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC)

Patel said the company would produce 2.4 million tons of manganese sinter for ferro-manganese smelters.

Kalagadi Manganese CEO Daphne Mashile-Nkosi said in a recent interview that 700 000 tons of the sinter product was “destined for a smelter in the Eastern Cape and 1.7-million tons for the global export market”.

The company intends to construct a 320 000 t/y ferro-manganese smelter complex in the Coega IDZ, Mashile-Nkosi saying the smelter development “could possibly be expanded to produce 640 000 t/y of ferro-manganese”.

Transnet Freight Rail has already announced plans to upgrade the railway line from Hotazhel to Coega while the environmental impact assessment is underway for the expansion of the Port of Ngqura to include a dedicated manganese export terminal that will allow for increased export volumes.

New opportunities for young entreprenurs

Three students: Lubabalo Akhona Twane, Thabisa Sylvia Ngesi and Bontle Lungelwa Kheletsane from NMMU have won an exciting opportunity, and tools to create their own bulk SMS business.

The budding entrepreneurs won the tools, a PC and a Blackberry, as well as support needed to begin a successful web-based business from SA’s leading bulk SMS provider, SMSPortal.

Charles Stretch, SMSPortal’s MD said of its initiative: “My business partner and I began our business as students, we want to encourage NMMU students to be entrepreneurial and make their own way in life. By giving them the tools and support we hope they will flourish in their endeavors and learn key skills needed to succeed in the corporate world.”

The “Win your own Bulk SMS Business” initiative is part of SMSPortal's responsibility to the communities it operates and aims to bring about sustainable economic development and social up-liftment.

Thabisa Sylvia Ngesi, majoring in business administrationadded: “I am thrilled to have won this. It is going to give me IT, business and marketing experience if I am to make my venture a success. With the support of SMSPortal I am going to learn so much, and earn my own income to aid my studies. I feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity.”

Eastern Cape unemployment rate rises to 30.9%

The unemployment rate in the Eastern Cape increased by 0.4% between the last quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of this year, according to figures released by Statistics South Africa yesterday.

The unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2013 in the province is now 1.9% higher than it was in the same period last year.

In comparison with the same period last year, the national unemployment rate remained the same, but it is 0.3% higher than in the fourth quarter of 2012 at 25.2%.

The figures show that 51 000 more people had jobs in the Eastern Cape in the first quarter of this year than was the case in the last quarter of 2012.

However, an additional 84 000 people entered the job market meaning that percentage wise fewer people were employed.

A substantial number of jobs were created in the agricultural sector in the Eastern Cape, with employment rising by 32 000 quarter-on quarter (q/q) to 92 000 and by some 45 000 year-on-year (y/y).

An additional 2 000 people were employed in the manufacturing sector q/q, taking the total of 176 000, which is 18 000 more than were employed in the first quarter of last year.

Employment in the construction sector contracted by 3 000 q/q to 128 000, but this is 20 000 more than in the first quarter of 2012.

There was a marked decline in the number of people employed in trade in the province.

Some 9 000 fewer people were employed in this sector q/q and 52 000 y/y. The total number of people em-ployed now stands at 275 000.

In the finance sector, an additional 6 000 people were employed q/q but the total number of 112 000 is 14 000 down y/y.

The number of people employed by households has increased significantly.

An increase of 15 000 was recorded in this sector q/q taking the total number employed in households to 131 000, which is 31 000 more than in the same quarter of 2012.