Key takeaways of day 1 of the KLCBT Business Conference
Key takeaways of day 1 of the KLCBT Business Conference
Today marked the first day of the KLCBT Business Conference. Business owners and CEOs joined together for a networking event and to learn more about improving business in the Lowveld.
The KLCBT CEO, Linda Grimbeek, opened the event by welcoming delegates, sharing the programme for the day, and introducing the eight speakers.
ALSO READ: KLCBT Business Conference to start tomorrow
The MMC CEO, Louis Nel, spoke about the progress his electrolytic manganese metal company has made over the past years, and that they hope to produce lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles in the future.
Alex van Niekerk, the CEO of TRAC, spoke about their latest progress in road maintenance, the building of new roads in and around the Lowveld, and shared their future projects, including building a road from the Matola River to Matola Mall in Mozambique.
Robert Duval, the CEO of Agri Mpumalanga, shared statistics about increasing farm crimes and food insecurity. He also spoke about farmers' struggles and that farmers always make a plan, but there has to be a reason for the plan.
Cornelle Crowley from BNI spoke about 'Networking as a sport' and explained how networking is similar to playing a sport, and how this technique can be implemented in the business world.
ALSO READ: Warm welcome for new KLCBT president
Indio Swartz from Dinges Tech spoke about the future of AI and motivated businesses to start automating business tasks, such as invoicing, with AI to save time and improve productivity.
Wayne Langbridge, the founder and CEO of WFA, spoke about online high schooling and how businesses can invest in a student's life to help him or her become a successful entrepreneur.
Political economist Moeletsi Mbeki concluded day one's talks by comparing social structures worldwide to those in South Africa, and pointing out why the public sector's earnings are higher than those of the private sector.
The final event on the day's programme was a presidential dinner attended by the keynote speakers and delegates.
Here is a reminder of day two's programme:
Thursday, May 22
08:00 – Delegate registration
08:30 – Recap and opening: Linda Grimbeek
09:00 – Integrated safety collaboration: Tshifhiwa Tshivengwa, Tourism Business Council of South Africa CEO
09:30 – Economic landscape: Calvin Mabona, Old Mutual
10:00 – The big plan: Victor Windvoël, Nkomazi SEZ chairperson
10:30 – Tea break
11:00 – Investment in tourism, a necessity: Oupa Pilane, KLCBT special attaché
11:30 – The state of the nation: Prof Theuns Eloff
12:00 – The big, the good and the ugly: Adv Stefanie Fick, OUTA director
12:30 – Takeaways and panel discussion led by Izak du Plessis of Nuuspod
13:00 – Closure and lunch.
Lowvelder will attend the second day of the conference to publish the final updates and news online.
At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
5 days ago
- The Citizen
Tshwane writes off billions in municipal debt through relief scheme
Tshwane writes off billions in municipal debt through relief scheme The Tshwane metro has written off more than R4.4-billion. The metro received more than 20 000 amnesty applications from residents who tampered with electricity meters and more than 1 000 applications under its incentive and debt relief scheme by the May 31 deadline. Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said, 'A total of 20 056 amnesty applications from those who tampered with electricity meters were received. 'The number might rise slightly as counting wraps up. For the incentive and debt relief scheme, we received 1 033 applications, with a total debt of more than R147-million.' Mashigo said the metro reported a late rush in submissions. 'More than 50% of the applications were received in the last week before closing,' he said. All applications received under the debt relief scheme have already been approved. This initiative, championed by Deputy Mayor and MMC for Finance, Eugene Modise, was designed to ease the financial burden of municipal debt and provide residents with a clean slate. According to Mashigo, some settled with a component of arrangements which allowed applicants to benefit from partial write-off after entering into payment agreements. As for the electricity amnesty process, which targeted illegal meter tampering, the metro said it already captured 17 140 of the 20 056 forms, and 10 741 were issued to the electricity department. However, only 300 have been normalised so far, a small fraction given the scale of applications. 'The process is ongoing until all legible [applications] have been normalised.' Mashigo said that while the debt relief approvals are nearly finished, the amnesty programme is still in progress. 'One month from now for debt relief is the expected turnaround time, but for tampered meters, the period might be slightly longer, depending on the electricity department. 'The total value of municipal debt written off through the combination of indigent relief, inactive accounts, and incentive schemes stands at a staggering R4.4-billion.' He said the incentive and debt relief scheme helped write off R66.4-million in debt owed by 918 residential accounts and 66 businesses, who together owed R147.4-million. Of this, R81-million was either collected or arranged to be paid. 'The scheme is not a simple debt write-off arrangement. 'The metro incentivised customers to settle a portion of their municipal accounts and/or enter into a settlement arrangement to benefit from a write-off of a portion of the debt.' Although the amnesty campaign focused exclusively on electricity, the incentive scheme covered all services, including water, refuse, and sanitation. The metro did not separate electricity-specific debt from the rest of the write-offs. Mashigo said on the indigent relief side, about R2.4-million was written off from 85 361 indigent accounts, an intervention aimed at aiding the poorest residents. The metro plans to review the effectiveness of the campaign, and the outcome of that review will inform the next course of action. Mashigo said Tshwane's credit control and debt collection policy remains the central guide in future financial strategy. This policy includes ongoing recovery measures such as disconnections and prepaid blocking. 'Measures such as credit control activities, disconnection of services and prepaid blocking are implemented to recover revenue for services consumed. 'The metro's revenue recovery has been enhanced by the R81-million recovered or committed to through arrangements.' Also Read: BEE is bringing South Africa's economy to its knees – new report Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading! Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App here
The Citizen
11-06-2025
- The Citizen
In-house services for city projects to save Tshwane millions
The metro has cut outsourcing costs by millions as in-house architects and surveyors drive major savings on clinics and community projects across the city, according to its economic development and spatial planning department. The savings announcement comes at a time when the mayoral committee has approved a policy that mandates all municipal construction projects to use in-house quantity surveyors and architects. This was aimed at tightening cost controls, mandating that internal services within the department's physical development services unit be prioritised over external consultants. 'The insourcing of these services for new building design projects, alterations, additions and as-built documentation has already begun to save the metro millions in fees that would otherwise have been outsourced,' explained MMC of Economic Development and Spatial Planning, Sarah Mabotsa. Mabotsa said her department has skilled and equipped professionals. 'Physical development services of the department is staffed by qualified architectural professionals, quantity surveyors, and building works inspectors. [They] are equipped to manage projects from inception through to completion as per the six stages of a project described by the South African Council for the Architectural Profession.' Mabotsa said that until now, certain city departments contracted these services externally, resulting in high consultant costs for the city and often leading to inconsistent quality and misalignment with city-wide standards. 'By insourcing these services, the metro will reduce expenditure and also ensure standardised project quality and protect municipal interests,' she said. She added that savings of 10–20% on external consulting fees are typically achieved on smaller projects of up to R500 000 in value, and on larger projects of R20-million or more, savings are usually between 7% and 15% of the project cost. 'This insourcing has already saved the city R16.6-million on recent projects. The initiative to mandate insourcing of these services going forward will save the city many more millions.' She added that the initiative has earned praise from the city's CFO and gained strong support across departments. 'For projects like the Stinkwater Social Development Centre (R51-million), Gazankulu Clinic (R26.5-million), Rayton Clinic (R24-million), and Soshanguve Clinic (R18.5-million), the metro saved R3.6-million, R1.9-million, R1.7-million, and R1.5- million respectively in architects' fees alone,' she said. According to Mabotsa, all of the completed projects have had their building plans approved and occupancy certificates issued. She said other developments, such as the R50-million Mabopane Social Development Centre and the R61-million Lusaka Clinic, are currently underway or in planning, with assistance from the city's physical development services section. Savings of R3.5-million and R4.4-million in architectural fees are expected on these projects. 'Our insourcing initiative supports the Multiparty Coalition Government's commitment to financial stabilisation in Tshwane. By delivering projects faster and at a lower cost to ratepayers, we're cutting expenses and maximising the impact of our budgets,' said Mabotsa. Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading! Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App here
The Citizen
04-06-2025
- The Citizen
Johannesburg's last hope may be the ballot box
A turnaround is possible if Johannesburg residents collectively use their votes to rid the city of unqualified, incompetent, corrupt people ruining a great city. We do not have to live like this, with our municipalities crumbling. The outcry against dysfunctional local governance is growing. Presidential and ministerial interventions are underway, and the auditor-general has released another devastating report. Will any of these fix our municipalities? Johannesburg, South Africa's richest city, is an obvious example of failure. Business Leadership SA CEO Busi Mavuso says Johannesburg, which has been in a state of gradual decline for many years, cannot manage its R89.4 billion budget adequately. Mavuso bemoans the lack of financial management skills in municipalities, noting: 'There simply aren't enough qualified people working in local government to ensure the accounts are done properly.' She doesn't single out individuals, but I will. Joburg's member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for finance, Margaret Arnolds, has no financial skills or qualifications. An internet search will tell you where she went to high school, while on Facebook she says she 'studied media philosophy at Unisa'. Ja, nee. Very reassuring. ALSO READ: Joburg can only be saved by fair municipal elections With that skills deficit, no wonder she did not want to engage with our team's constructive suggestions in the build-up to last week's budget speech. Joburg's budget is not fully funded, being over reliant on loans, whose repayments burden ratepayers. The trend is unsustainable. Borrow, borrow, borrow while, at the same time, chasing away ratepayers, is an approach worthy of a Darwin award. Who will fix Joburg? Certainly not the current crew. Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa recently launched a review of local government. However, in an interview with the Sunday Times, he gave the impression of passing the buck. Asked about consequence management, he deflected responsibility to provincial MECs. Pressed further, he said he wasn't going to ask the relevant Gauteng MEC why Joburg's mayor hasn't been fired. So, no pressure there. What about Cyril Ramaphosa's presidential working group? We are told the group is active in Joburg. It reportedly includes chambers of commerce, township economy business associations, plus civil society groups such as the Johannesburg Crisis Alliance and the SA National Civics Organisation. ALSO READ: Broken promises and failing services are sinking Joburg There is no mandate for this. No detail has been presented to council. Indeed many elected councillors feel undermined by this unelected intervention which has yet to show any progress. Daily there is social media coverage of 'high impact service delivery' attributed to the mayor. Despite photographs and hagiographic descriptions, the overall impact is risible. Deterioration continues apace. The daily grind of water and electricity outages, sewage spills, unreinstated excavations, faulty traffic signals and nonworking streetlights is relentless. More and more people are having their water or electricity cut off, often erroneously. Reconnections are taking too long, with ward councillors in the crossfire. Who will break this pattern? Hlabisa says some interventions in municipalities have been going on for more than 10 years, with no improvement. We cannot rely on any president, minister, provincial MEC, municipal MMC or civil society group to save Joburg. You can do it, collectively as voters. At the earliest opportunity, use your vote to get rid of the unqualified, incompetent, corrupt people who are ruining our great city. We do not have to live like this. NOW READ: Democracy is the winner in VAT hike drama
