WEDNESDAY, 1.00PM:
ANGLO American and rival America Mineral Fields on Tuesday agreed to join forces in a joint venture to re-treat copper and cobalt dumps in the fabulously rich Kolwezi copper belt in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Earlier this year, AMF attempted to sue Anglo for R3-billion, accusing the South African mining group of corrupt practices in gaining the tender.
The two companies have now formed a 50-50 joint-venture corporation, Congo Mineral Development, through which they will tender for the contract, estimated to be worth $300-million.
The Kolwezi dumps are expected to produce 50000 tons of copper and 6000 tons of cobalt a year for over 20 years. The tailings resource is valued at $8-billion.
AMF was awarded the tender last year by then rebel leader Larent Kabila, just before he became president. The tender agreement was subsequently cancelled, and AMF accused Anglo of paying Kabila’s regime to cancel the deal. AMF in January instituted a $3-billion lawsuit against Anglo on the charges. The two companies on Tuesday announced that the joint venture resolves all litigation between them.
BUSINESS BRIEFS
ZAMBIA TO JOIN SACU
ZAMBIA and Southern African Customs Union representatives are to meet in Pretoria on July 13 to sign a deal that will see the SACU’s market open to Zambian products, Zambian commerce minister Enock Kavindele announced in Lusaka on Wednesday. Kavindele stressed that Zambian manufacturers need to produce high-quality products in order to penetrate the SACU market, otherwise it will be a futile exercise, he said. He said the agreement will open the Zambian export market, isolated for a long time by trade restrictions.
GOVT RESCUES 64 E CAPE COUNCILS
SIXTY-four Eastern Cape municipalities do not have the financial capacity to function unless the provincial government intervenes to rescue them, Housing and Local Government MEC Smuts Ngonyama said on Wednesday. “Unfortunately a large number of these municipalities will neither have the capacity nor the finances to carry out corrective measures,” Ngonyama added. His decision to intervene in their affairs follows internal and independent audits which monitored the liquidity of the local authorities to decide whether they are viable in the long term.
BoE SCOOPS DIAMOND CONTRACT
ALROSA, the largest diamond exploration, mining and marketing company in the Russian Federation, on Wednesday appointed Board of Executors Investment Bank (BoE) as its financial adviser. In effect, the agreement brings together BoE Investment Bank, Bateman Minerals & Industrial of Boksburg and the Credit Guarantee Insurance Corporation of Africa with the aim of structuring a financial package that will fund the preliminary stages of one of the biggest mining ventures yet mounted in Siberia. It is believed to be the first time such a co-operative effort has been launched by South African interests.
GOVT JOBS PROPOSALS TO CABINET
GOVERNMENT’S submissions for the presidential jobs summit place the focus on long-term economic restructuring, combined with short-term jobs programmes. The short-term goals, which acknowledge the need for quick-fix solutions to the high unemployment rate, require substantial concessions by both business and labour. One such proposal is to provide incentives to companies to employ youths at a lower pay rate. The proposals, which were prepared by the labour department, will be debated by Cabinet on Wednesday.
SAMWU PAY SETTLEMENT
PROTRACTED negotiations between the South African Municipal Workers’ Union and local authorities in the national local government bargaining chamber were resolved on Tuesday when both sides accepted a proposal put forward by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. Samwu representative Anna Weekes said an agreement was reached over a split increase of 4% or R175 a month to be implemented on July 1, and a further increase of 2% or R55 kicking in next January. Weekes said she is disappointed that negotiations were limited by national government’s decision to cap increases in local government spending at 6% for the next fiscal year.
PICK ‘N PAY MANAGERS STRIKE
AN estimated 2500 upper management and supervisory staff at supermarket group Pick ‘n Pay on Wednesday started a strike to protest the company’s refusal to recognise their union, the Joint Affirmative Management Forum. Union representative Jacky Masuku accused the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration of causing the strike by refusing to set up a meeting between the union and Pick ‘n Pay in order to establish whether the union has the representation to negotiate on behalf of workers.
TELKOM STRIKE LOOMS
TELKOM is facing a nationwide strike should the Communication Workers Union follow through on its threat to strike, following a deadlock in wage negotiations last week. Union general secretary Kiti Selebongo on Tuesday said the union is to serve Telkom with a 24-hour notice of its intention to strike, and will only resume negotiations with the company if it indicates it is prepared to revise its 8% wage increase offer. The union is demanding a 16% increase for auxilliary workers, 12% for those at operational level, and 10% for supervisors. Should Telkom refuse, Selebongo said, it faces a strike by an estimated 26000 workers, accounting for 47% of its workforce.
PUBLIC SERVICE TALKS POSTPONED AGAIN
PUBLIC service wage negotiations were postponed once more in the central bargaining chamber on Tuesday, because government representatives had no mandate to improve their original wage offer, a senior trade union negotiator said. The chamber will reconvene on June 29, when discussions on pay increases will resume.
WORLD BANK TO HOST AFRICAN BUSINESS
THE World Bank announced on Tuesday that it is to host major African entrepreneurs in a high-profile business forum in the United States capital Washington DC next October. The event, tagged Africa Day Business Forum, will be organised by the World Bank-IMF Africa Club under Bank President James Wolfensohn. It is hoped that the event will match 200 top African businesspeople with their US counterparts.