AmCham is co-operating with the International Marketing Council to promote South Africa both locally and internationally. 2010 is but a few months away and it is important to promote a positive view on South Africa to ensure that the maximum number of tourists / visitors and soccer fans visit the country.
A number of DVDs and other marketing tools are available from AmCham should member companies require these. Please call Arlene on 011 788 0265 for more information.
Energy Indaba 2010
24 February 2010
ENERGY INDABA 2010: A Time of Change
ENERGY INDABA 2010 – A Time for Innovation, Solutions and Alternatives is the event theme chosen by the Steering Programme Advisory Committee for ENERGY INDABA 2010.
The flagship African energy event, is an annual event on the Africa business calendar with a specific focus on exploring solutions for a new energy future for Africa. With the recent ever increasing world-wide attention to Energy, ENERGY INDABA 2010, provides an ideal platform to encourage debate as well as creating the stage for a networking climate conducive for companies and individuals to interact.
The event forms part of the African Business Calendar, which will promote sustainable development initiatives across the African continent.
Gordhan pleases most
In a budget that put a stop to the idea that government intended challenging the Reserve Bank’s mandate to protect monetary policy as independents, minister of finance Pravin Gordhan also announced he was not about to increase corporate taxes and debunked the idea of moving away from inflation targeting. He also announced that Treasury was shortly to commence discussions on further liberalising exchange controls
With parliamentarians ending their “constituency period” on 22 January following the Christmas leave period, Parliament is due to commence its business on 25 January, the President’s state-of-the-nation address taking place on 11 February during a joint sitting of both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces.
The budget speech will then follow on 17 February, immediately followed by debate on the National Fiscal Framework and the associated Appropriation Bill for the budget year in question.
As part of the budgetary process and to allow funds to reach all three tiers of government through the Division of Revenue Bill, the tabling of departmental strategic plans by some fifty government departments and some thirty parastatals and government agencies will subsequently take place. Such will occupy most of March, allowing for final debate on the budget in the National Assembly during early April.
It is expected that Parliament will rise for a short Easter recess on 29 March.
The South African Postbank Bill was amongst the ten pieces of legislation in process when Parliament went into recess.
Other legislation in the process of deliberation is the Protection of Personal Information Bill and the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill, together with the Constitution Seventeenth Amendment Bill and the Safety at Sports and Recreational Events Bill.
Patrick McLaughlin AmCham parliamentary representatives & monitors De Graafs Bldg 9, Church Square, Cnr Parliament & Spin Streets Cape Town
Press Release
10 January 2010
JOHANNESBURG-BASED LAW FIRM Goldman Judin Inc. have been chosen as the winner of the Corporate International Magazine Practice Award for “Best Law Firm in South Africa for Dispute Resolution Legal work 2009.”
Director, Michael Judin, is the Convener of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee of King III, the 2009 King Report on Governance for Southern Africa and the King Code of Governance Principles.
The AmCham Leadership Award
27 November 2009
The AmCham Leadership Award is made each year for outstanding contribution to economic growth, business dialogue and strengthening democratic processes.
The Minister of Finance, Mr. Pravin Gordhan, was awarded the Amcham Leadership Award for 2009 at the Chamber’s Annual Thanksgiving Dinner.
Mr. Pravin Gordhan is recognized for the important role that he played in the liberation struggle, his extraordinary leadership during the negotiations which led to the country’s democracy and his successful transformation of the South Africa Revenue Services.
Attached is the citation that was delivered by Mr Roger Crawford, past President of Amcham, on the occasion of making the award to Mr Pravin Gordhan at the Amcham Thanksgiving Dinner on 25 November 2009.
Rwanda / South Africa Trade & Investment Newsletter : Issue 4
09 November 2009
Herewith Rwanda / South Africa newsletter prepared by the Rwanda Embassy focusing on investment in Rwanda. We hope you find this to be informative and interesting
Some call it soccer or football but one thing is certain that the USA has a long history in the game. The USA actually finished third in the first World Cup in Uruguay back in 1930 already. After a phenomenal performance during CONFED CUP 2009 here in South Africa, the USA, also known as The Yanks, The Stars and Stripes, The Red, White,and Blue, will be coming to South Africa with the ambition of showing the world the strides the team has made since their first World Cup 70 years ago.
Nike Inc, the biggest sporting goods company in the world is the official technical sponsor of the USA national team. As a member of AMCHAM, Nike South Africa has teamed up with some of its retail partners to offer AMCHAM members the opportunity to purchase for corporate use official USA National Team Nike Replica as well as fanwear and equipment. So as your company starts planning on how to leverage the excitement and energy around the World Cup for staff and business partners, be assured that the full range of team replica will be available for purchase in South Africa to complement your activities.
Interested parties are free to contact the following Nike retail partners:
Cape Town: Mike Sports – Football Specialist store also able to offering customization of replica shirts (names & numbers) : Contact: Mike Augoustides; Tel: (+27)214181811; Email:mike@mikes-sports.com
Johannesburg: TG Sports - Football Specialist store also able to offering customization of replica shirts (names & numbers) : Contact: Sujen Govindsamy; Tel: (+27)113371690; Email:sports@tgsports.net
National: Totalsports – National Retail Chain : Contact: Ruth Fourie; Tel : (021) 9387911 ; Email : RuthF@frgsports.co.za
The UBUNTU Newsletter
06 October 2009
The UBUNTU Newsletter is published by the
US Consulates General in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The September newsletter contains
pertinent information on visas, drivers licenses and passport applications.
August was not a friendly month for the proponents of a trillion dollar-plus government health care plan or other proposals to vastly expand the scope of federal authority in areas ranging from climate change to financial regulatory reform. Thus, it was a pretty good month for the Chamber!
Let’s start with health care. Our efforts, along with those of many others, helped trigger an outpouring of public concern and opposition to the House majority’s health care bill, which has been endorsed in concept by the administration. The Chamber’s grassroots lobbying campaign—backed by a multi-million dollar ad buy and coordinated activities by more than 700 chambers and 2,800 organizations— triggered an unprecedented 238,000 letters, faxes, and emails to Capitol Hill........
• BEE Codes of Conduct with experts from the DTI • New Companies Bill with Lindie Engelbrecht of the Institute of Directors • Investment Incentives and Rebates offered by DTI with Francois Truter • Compiled a submission for the DTI on the Employment Equity Regulations and gave oral representation • Working with member companies on compiling a written submission on the Labour Broker issue
Networking and Knowledge-Sharing
We enjoyed breakfast with expert speakers
• Prof Mervyn King on King III • Minister Rob Davies on Trade Policy in South Africa • The 2009 Budget and Global Credit Crisis with JF Mercier of Citi and R Downing of SACCI • The Chicago 2010 Olympic Bid Committee with the Illinois Africa Office of Trade and Investment
Africa Outreach
We worked with the US Commercial Services Department:
• Invited members to meet Commercial officers from 48 African countries and provided business briefings by the Ambassadors of: • South Africa • Mozambique • Democratic Republic of the Congo
We celebrated the opening of the new US Commercial Services whilst commemorating the 4th of July
We briefed International Delegations
• US Trade Representative Ron Kirk • Deputy US Trade Representative • US Chamber of Commerce Africa Executives Scott Eisner and Danielle Walker • Kellogg School of Management • MBA students from Fordham University
We met with National Stakeholders
• The DTI (Iqbal Sharma and Cobs Pillay) • The Department of Economic Development, City of Joburg, to finalise the Young Entrepreneurship Policy and Strategy Framework. This was launched on 21 July 2009. • Mr Fadl Nacerodien of the US Desk in Foreign Relations
Forums
We hosted our Forums and provided expert speakers at each Forum on a monthly basis:
Trade Health and HIV/AIDS BEE CSI (now known as Good Corporate Citizen) OSAC Intellectual Property Reinforcement
Golf We hosted a golf tournament in March for Members
We were in Cape Town
• We outlined and discussed US-SA bilateral relations with our Cape Town members at the One & Only Resort
Durban
• We invited our Durban members to lunch with the US Consul General in Durban
Are we heading for a water crisis? by Anthony Still
We are all familiar with the consequences of electricity outages – but should we be preparing for a water crisis? By its very nature water is somewhat different from electricity. Water is easier to store but harder to distribute – rendering it a more localised business. Crises will arise, and have, but generally it will be in pockets.
SA is a dry country and it relies on some large water transfer schemes – the biggest being the Lesotho Highlands scheme which provides water to the Vaal system. And, given our lack of water in the interior, wastewater disposal is rendered that much more difficult. So, when we think of a water crisis, we should be thinking as much of a sanitation crisis, as poor sanitation networks spill back into the river systems, polluting the water needed for potable purposes downstream...........
THE MOZAMBICAN INVESTOR produced by Adrian Frey The #1 Newsletter for top business, investment, and legal news in Mozambique August 04 2009 150th Issue Sponsored by Global Alliance provides solutions for all your insurance requirements, no matter how big or small. Voted Mozambique’s top company over the last 10 years.
Africa Business Initiative Presents Congressional Testimony
02 July 2009
On Wednesday, June 24, the U.S. Chamber’s Africa Business Initiative participated in a joint hearing before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection; and the United States House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health. The hearing was entitled, “U.S. – Africa Trade Relations: Creating a Platform for Economic Growth.”
Greg Lebedev, Senior Advisor to the President, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and Chairman, Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), presented.
South Africa - Washington Internship Program (SAWIP)
01 June 2009
"On Wednesday 7 May 2009, Reitumetse Benedict Phiri, an associate in the Johannesburg office of Dewey and Lebouef presented a speech to the guests of the South Africa - Washington Internship Program (SAWIP) at a Wine Sip which was held at the South African Embassy in Washington D.C. in order to raise funds for the program. SAWIP's United States Patron, Congressman Donald Payne attended the event as well as numerous congressional staffers, former ambassadors and representatives from diverse American civil society groups.
SAWIP is based on the Washington Ireland Programme for Service and Leadership (WIP) which has been successfully serving Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland's need to develop a new generation of young leaders who are committed to building on the peace and progress of the past decade and growing a stronger civil society on the island of Ireland. The SAWIP initiative has been led by the WIP alumni and both American and South African volunteers who were inspired by WIP to replicate the model for their peers in another transforming society.
Today, SAWIP has become a means for young South Africans to take on great responsibilities as they encourage others to contribute to positive social change. In June/July 2007 SAWIP embarked on a pilot programme with the backing of the WIP Board and assisted by a WIP Alumni Seed Grant, as well as private donors. The pilot invited, after a rigorous selection process, five young South Africans from the University of Cape Town to join peers from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the WIP's established internship and leadership curriculum in Washington, DC. The pilot received endorsements and support from the Phelps Stokes Fund, the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of South Africa, the South African Embassy in Washington, DC, the Ambassadors of Ireland and the United States of America in South Africa, Prof Kadar Asmal and Helen Zille. Such was the success of the pilot that SAWIP ran a second pilot in 2008 with seven South African participants from the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch with the goals of developing a more distinct and targeted South Africa-specific program. This was funded by WIP, the Universities of Cape Town and Stellenbosch, private donors and through the students' own fund raising efforts."
Reitumetse Benedict Phiri is an alumnus of SAWIP, his speech is attached below.
As you know, Chicago recently hosted the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Evaluation Commission (EC) and we are happy to report that the visit was a success.
On the first day of presentations, Mayor Daley, Pat Ryan, the Chairman and CEO of Chicago 2016, and Bob Ctvrtlik, Vice President, USOC International welcomed the Commission. President Obama also greeted the commission with a videotaped message reiterating his support for the Chicago 2016 Games
In the message, Obama said: “Chicago is that most American of American cities – a city that reflects the decency, honesty, and generosity of our people; a city of broad shoulders, big dreams, and a bright future. It’s a city where the world’s races, and religions, and nationalities all live and work and play and reach for the American Dream that brought them here; where our civic parades wave the colors of every culture; where our classrooms are filled with the sounds of the world’s languages; and where jazz and rancheras and bhangra can be heard down the street from one another.”
The following day, the EC visited the proposed venue sites for the sports competitions should Chicago be awarded the Games. One of the most memorable moments was when over 300 volunteers trekked through the snow and joined together to show an outline of the proposed Olympic Stadium. The tour also included a stop at the United Center with a videotaped message from Olympian and Chicago Bulls Star Michael Jordan announcing his support:
“I’ve had some tremendous memories in my professional basketball career,” Jordan said. “But the memory of standing as a representative at the Olympics representing the United States is one of the proudest moments of my life. To step up on that podium representing your country—there’s no greater honor than that.”
The second day of presentations began with Valerie Jarrett announcing that if Chicago were to win the 2016 Olympics, she would lead the first White House Office for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton also addressed the commission via video, emphasizing the Department’s commitment for a fast, easy entry into the United States for the Games.
That evening, the EC was treated to a special dinner by award winning chef, Tony Montuano of Spiaggia. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and Oprah wowed the EC and the rest of the crowed at the “City Night” Celebration.
Following the closing presentations, the leaders of the Evaluation Commission held a press conference to report on their visit, Madame Chair Nawal El Moutawakel announced that the Commission was "most impressed by what Chicago has to offer to the Olympic games and to the Olympic movement.” and they “felt, honestly, that the concept, the vision and the love of the sports were there.”
Since the EC departed Chicago, they have visited Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro and Madrid. Each city has presented a strong argument for the 2016 Games to be awarded to their city. But thanks to the strong support of people like you we are confident Chicago can win the honor of hosting the Games.
Looking Ahead:
Each bid city will make a presentation to the full membership IOC in Lausanne in mid-June. In early September, the EC will release their report based on the technical evaluations of each city during their visits. On October 2, in Copenhagen, Denmark, each city will have a final presentation to the IOC members and they will vote on which city will host the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Until next time,
The Chicago 2016 Team
CCA 7th Biennial U.S. - Africa Business Summit
06 May 2009
Please click on below link to view an invitation from CCA President and CEO Stephen Hayes regarding the upcoming CCA 7th Biennial U.S. – Africa Business Summit.
Feel free to contact CCA’s Director of Special Projects and Events Adina Ellis at (202) 263-3522 or aellis@africacncl.org with any questions.
Herewith a personal account of a voting experience in the South African 2009 elections. Our thanks to Greg Nott from member company Dewey & LeBoeuf for penning such an insightful account.
Herewith a local and global view of a media analysis report of the South African elections complied by Dow Jones Insight in collaboration with AmCham member company Bairds Renaissance.
Kidnap-for-ransom has continued to escalate with more countries experiencing increasing numbers of incidents. 2008 has seen kidnap numbers soar in Pakistan; to such an extent it almost matches Mexico, notorious for its kidnapping industry. The other key development has been the astonishing rise in piracy around the Gulf of Aden. The Latin American countries still dominate the kidnap rankings with 43% of kidnappings still occur in this region. Haiti and Iraq are unusually absent from the top ten for kidnap-for-ransom as, following several years of high levels of incidents, rates have diminished.
The Weekly Review is a report for Members of the Chamber only. An example of the Weekly Report which is circulated to members is tabled below. If you are interested in receiving the report please contact the AmCham offices at amcham@amcham.co.za
WEEK ENDING 3 APRIL 2009
HIGHLIGHTS
1. The manufacturing index fell to a new record low of 36,0 in March from 39,2 in February, 40,7 in January, 40,1 in December after falling to the previous record low of 39,5 in November from 46,2 in October and 47,7 in September.
2. The rand briefly moved below R9/US$1 on 3 April after reaching R9,25/US$ on 26 March from R10,72/$ on 3 March and last year’s weakest level of R11,86/$ on 22 October.
3. Consumer confidence recovered to plus one in the first quarter from minus four in the fourth quarter.
4. Bulk exports fell by 5,0% m/m in March, but are only down 0,3% y/y after jumping by 10,6% m/m in February.
5. New vehicle sales rose by 12,9% m/m in March, but are still down 30,1% y/y after declining by 36,3% y/y in February.
6. Vehicle exports rose to 17 896 units in March from a revised 14 781 (14 949) in February and only 10 713 in January.
7. Government revenue rose by 8,1% y/y in February to R52bn, while expenditure only increased by 1,7% to R60,3bn.
8. The foreign trade deficit narrowed to only R571m in February from a record R13,38bn deficit in January.
9. Broad M3 money supply growth eased to 13,17% y/y in February from 13,92% y/y in February, while narrow M1 money supply continued to show y/y declines at -5,12% y/y in February from -6,04% y/y in January.
10. The Treasury’s cash balance jumped by R25,4bn in March after dropping by R22,6bn in February.
11. Electricity distribution declined by 10,2% y/y in February after a 7,0% y/y drop in January.
12. The Standard Bank (smoothed) median house price index “recovered” to a 1,5% y/y decline in March after a 2,0% y/y drop in February after decreasing by 3,6% y/y in January. Rest of Africa
13. Standard Bank received a US$400m three-year credit line from the International Finance Corporation to encourage cross-border trade as part of the World Bank’s Global Trade Liquidity Programme.
14. Economic growth in Central Africa's six-nation CFA franc zone will slow to 2,8% this year from 4,4% last year.
15. A US$4,6bn railway project linking the Tanzanian port of Dar es Salaam with Rwanda and Burundi is expected to halve transport costs.
16. The central bank of Namibia announced new Monetary Policy Committee meeting dates.
17. Malawi's economy expanded by 9,7% in 2008 beating China’s 9% increase.
18. China plans to plant 2 million hectares of jatropha in Zambia for the production of biofuels.
19. Zambia’s consumer inflation rate eased to 13,1% y/y in March from 14,0% y/y in February.
20. Zambia’s foreign trade deficit narrowed to ZMK163,3bn in February from ZMK237,8bn in January.
International
21. The G20 meeting in London on 2 April exceeded expectations and pledged $1,1 trillion to get growth going again.
22. The central banks of Denmark, the Eurozone, Indonesia, and Venezuela cut their benchmark lending rates.
23. The global manufacturing index rose to 37,2 in March from 35,8 in February, 35,0 in January and a record low 33,7 in December.............
This month we turn our focus to the tax proposals stemming from the Minister of Finance`s Budget Speech on 11 February 2009, and specifically those changes and proposals relating to Customs and Excise.
The Weekly Africa Update is a report of news and events that have taken place around Africa.
The Weekly Africa Update is a report for Members of the Chamber only. If you are interested in receiving the report please contact the AmCham offices at amcham@amcham.co.za
The Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, presented the Budget for the 2009/2010 fiscal year on Wednesday 11 February 2009.
The Budget announcements included no major changes in tax policy. Limited tax relief was provided to individuals to compensate for inflation. Ongoing reform of the tax system, including laying the groundwork for a social security tax and the making of technical corrections to existing legislation, was proposed. There were also the usual increases in “sin taxes”.
The Budget Review also contains certain amendments to be included in tax legislation in 2009 or to be further considered, but without much detail on these proposals.
