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/ 11 November 2005
Anglo American’s search for a global identity entered a new phase recently when the company announced its strategic review. It is the latest in a series of restructuring exercises the group has undertaken since 1997 and is arguably the most radical since the group listed in London in 1999. It adds a potentially fascinating chapter to the stewardship of Tony Trahar, CEO since July 2000.
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/ 4 November 2005
Claims that South Africa’s economy could be creating 1 000 jobs a day should be met with scepticism, Congress of South African Trade Unions economist Neva Makgetla said on Thursday. Makgetla was reacting to findings by independent economist Mike Schussler in the second South African Employment Report, commissioned by the Union Association of South Africa.
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/ 31 October 2005
There are two people at Absa who are arguably the most important. One is CE Steve Booysen. He has the job of running the country’s largest retail bank while also keeping staff, customers and shareholders happy. The other is Tokyo Sexwale, the leader of the Batho Bonke consortium, Absa’s empowerment partner.
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/ 21 October 2005
Nolitha Fakude’s career is about to acquire a new dimension of influence. She has served two-thirds of a three-year term as the first female president of the Black Management Forum. At the beginning of this month, she took up her position as executive director for human resources and strategy at chemical giant Sasol.
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/ 18 October 2005
Absa’s claim that it had no knowledge of irregular lending practices at its Zimbabwe associate, the Jewel Bank, is ”nonsense”, says a senior employee formerly stationed at the Harare bank. In August, reports revealed that the Jewel Bank, in which Absa has a 25% stake, had helped Zimbabwe’s Central Intelligence Organisation acquire a stake in two privately owned newspapers.
More than R1-billion in empowerment deals funded by Brett Kebble’s JCI are in the balance as auditors pore over the company’s books to determine what actual value underpins the maze of transactions undertaken while Kebble was at the helm. Key investments by JCI in black empowerment companies include Matodzi Resources, Orlyfunt Investments, Inkwenkwezi, Lembede Investments and Masupatsela.
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/ 23 September 2005
The party the South African banks have enjoyed over the past three years may have reached heady heights, but looks to be far from over. Figures released by FirstRand last week, and the boundless optimism expressed by the likes of Investec, suggest that good times lie ahead for a while yet.
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/ 20 September 2005
Rapidly growing but still small, the black middle class is steadily spreading its spending influence and finding itself socially, research released over the past year shows. A new report, <i>Lost in Transformation South Africa’s Emerging African Middle Class?</i>,attempts to capture the economic and social nuances of South Africans.
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/ 20 September 2005
There are a number of disturbing trends currently sweeping through the black economic empowerment landscape. One is the intransigence of white capital. The other is what company directors would call dereliction of duty by both the government and the private sector.
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/ 16 September 2005
Any crusader for small business in South Africa needs to possess missionary zeal, personal experience in running a small enterprise and a belief that the businesses need not stay small for good. Wawa Damane, CEO of the Small Enterprise Development Agency, brings to her job more than 23 years experience in running small businesses, developing support programmes with academic institutions.