Construction & Engineering South Africa

For Denel, the sky's the limit - 25 Sep 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] SunSpace has teamed up with Denel to form a new business unit, Spaceteq, which, it is intended, will strengthen the group's position as a leader in innovative and advanced aerospace systems and technology. On the aquaculture front, a South African fish farm has been shortlisted for an international award. read more

Avoid bad BEE practices - 17 Sep 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] Whether one likes it or not, laws applicable to BEE are in place, and in this article Deon Oberholzer shows you the 10 bad BEE practices that could result in you losing your business. This must be the only country in the world with a so-called "strike season" - so it's no surprise to learn that the new tyre manufacturing industry negotiations deadlocked. Doesn't anyone seem to realise that a strike is the last resort, not among the first? Some might think, with good reason, that this country is becoming a nanny state, and others might be in total agreement with the proposed ban, but in the meantime, the alcohol industry is demanding a say on the bill banning alcohol advertising. Come on, admit it... our taxis are among our favourite road-users... read more

So who gets to keep the house? - 10 Sep 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] What with high divorce rates and the high cost of living, couples often find themselves living together for a while before jumping into marriage, if at all. But what happens if the honeymoon ends... read more

King to pawn… - 3 Sep 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] In an expensive "game of chess", Dave King has finally sorted out his tax issues with SARS and will end up paying over R700m to SARS. As he puts it: "When this tax dispute arose many years ago, I took a conscious decision not to cooperate with the authorities. read more

Wishful thinking? - 27 Aug 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] You can't blame the government for trying, but let's face it, unless there is some sort of radical change in the mindset of the unions, the government call to them to keep those strikes peaceful is going to fall on incredibly deaf ears. Our so-called 'strike season' has been marked for years by wanton acts of mindless violence, which of course have never been on the part of 'our members'. It's always the other union, or a 'third force' or whatever that has trashed businesses, looted shops, beaten, murdered, etc. read more

Don't sucker Zucker - 20 Aug 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] A researcher who hacked into Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg's profile to expose a security flaw won't be in the money. Facebook offers rewards for people who find security weaknesses, but not, apparently, if you target the big man himself... read more

The Pillage People get down to business - 13 Aug 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] The corruption that usually makes the headlines - with regrettable frequency - is that allegedly committed by government employees, ministers and what-have-you. But not to be outdone, it seems big business is doing its bit to catch up and outdo government on leadership ethics, writes Johan Poolman. Meanwhile, still on the corruption front, Jacob Zuma reckons the arms commission can continue, even if it has been hit by a number of high-profile resignations, writes Karl Gernetzky. read more

MTV lives on - 6 Aug 2013

[Sindy Peters, Group Head: Content] While MTV no longer stands for Music Television, the essence of the 32-year-old channel lives on, supported by a shiny new market segment - an audience that requires much more than music videos. In order to keep them satiated, the channel has launched its first localised interactive magazine programme for South Africa's youth - MTV Choice; it's been dubbed "pop-tastic"... Want to start your own business? Easier said than done, I'm afraid - ask any successful entrepreneur about the trials and tribulations they experienced before finding the winning formula. read more

The next day we were at sea... - 30 Jul 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] According to Public Enterprises Deputy Minister, Bulelani Magwanishe, the jobs are there - in the maritime industry. In fact, according to him, there are more than 40,000 of them. read more

We’re living in taxing times - 23 Jul 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] I suppose it's good that Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has initiated a far-reaching and fundamental review of SA's tax system. It is going to look at a number of issues around taxation. read more

So? Are you a teabag? - 16 Jul 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] There are some leadership qualities that are common to every field of human endeavour, so here they are... Madiba's Teabag Laws for leadership success. Bad news for banking is that a recent survey has found that retail banking confidence has dropped sharply, but on a brighter note, Standard Bank has won plaudits for its mobile banking innovations. read more

Can you engage effectively with your employees? - 9 Jul 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] Technology has turned the world in which we live upside-down, says Lia Marus and asks: how can you effectively engage your employees? Still on the employee front, a mining framework agreement has been signed, unfortunately without the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU). The mining sector has been hit by unreasonable wage demands and it seems as though some in labour are oblivious to the damage they are doing to the industry. No business can afford unreasonable wage demands... something has to give: either the company goes under, and everyone loses their jobs, or it cuts staff and an unfortunate number are out on the street, and/or it takes the mechanised route - and that still leads to fewer jobs. No-one is saying miners should work for a pittance, but demanding astronomical increases is just plain stupid. read more

First and foremost, have fun - 2 Jul 2013

[Sindy Peters, Group Head: Content] Work on work that is meaningful. Cape Town's Black River Office Park is taking sustainable development to a whole new level. They're in the process of installing the largest solar PV system in Southern Africa. Two green thumbs up to you lot! Take risks. There's a new SA radio station lurking on the interwebs, and it goes by the name of EuroTrashMusic - not your cup of tea? Don't be put off by the name - it's more a reference to a type of music rather than the location of the music, explains the station's founder Craig Steyn. read more

Madiba critical but comfortable - 25 Jun 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] The news is topped right now, quite rightly, by reports around Nelson Mandela's health status, which is reported to be critical, but his medical team is ensuring he is as comfortable as possible. If you're cohabiting, you may need to cough up in the event of an insurance claim... apparently, unmarried couples who live together or keep their possessions at their partner's residence face an increased risk of insurance claim rejections for personal belongings if they fail to fully disclose their living situation to their insurers. Ouch! The Competition Commission has reached a settlement with 15 construction firms, who have agreed to pay fines to the tune of R1.46bn for collusive tendering. read more

Banning, a bad idea - 18 Jun 2013

[Rod Baker, Content Director] That's the message according to research released last week by Econometrix. The results show that a ban on alcohol advertising would cost nearly 12,000 jobs and almost R1.8bn in tax revenue. The government has, as expected, dismissed the findings as one-sided etc, but one has to ask whether the full implications of banning alcohol advertising, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi's latest target, have been properly thought through. Econometrix senior economist Rob Jeffrey said his research also revealed that there was no statistical relationship in South Africa between advertising expenditure and the consumption of alcohol. read more

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