Page 2 - KZN Business Sense 9.6
P. 2

A YEAR CATEGORISED BY EXCELLENCE




                 e are in final month of   The Icebolethu Group were   ■   Prof Theuns Pelser, TWIMS,      mouth guards. Page 14
                 2023 and the holiday   also hosts of an unforgettable     reflects on a year that has    ■   David White, BusinessFit, is
        Wseason is upon us. We        14th Annual Gala Dinner at the     been categorised by excellence      passionate about supporting the
        find ourselves reflecting on this   Durban ICC. Page 6        in manufacturing education      growth and development of
        this past year, which we hope has                             and research. Page 11         small businesses and has a
        been as memorable for you, your   Our regular editorial articles   ■   Sameer Kumandan,      business development tool for    KWAZULU-NATAL
        colleagues, and your loved ones as   – which provide a great deal of     SearchWorks, understands and      SMES. Page 16  BUSINESS CHAMBERS
        it has been for us.           insight into business issues –     can assist in beating fraud
                                      include:                                                                                  COUNCIL:
          The front page of this Business                             in every department – a often    In other articles:
                                         Johan van Deventer, LabourNet,
        Sense edition features Mohamed   ■   who comments on employees’      shocking dilemma faced by    ■   Sky Tents offers a tent for every    Chairperson: Paul Ngema
        Gafoor, Chief Financial Officer                               businesses. Page 12           event – which should you select
        (CFO) of Ithala SOC Limited.      dismissals based on retirement    ■   Lungani Nene, Spot-On Fire      to meet your needs? Page 14  Physical Address:
                                        age. Page 4
        Grant Adlam, publisher of                                     Controls, offers advice on fire    ■   The Sappi Khulisa programme    Queens Court Building,
        Business Sense was recently in   ■   Marlene Powel, ActionCOACH,       extinguisher basics. Do you      has won a Trialogue award for    5 Samora Machel Street,
        conversation with Gafoor who     gives advice on how to go about      have the correct safety      best practice CSI. Page 15  Durban, 4001
        reflected on his first 100 days     shattering the glass ceiling.      equipment in the event of a fire?
        in office. See pages 8 and 9,     Page 6                      Page 12                     ■   Bell Equipment has a new CEO    Tel: +27 (0)31 305 9867
        also follow the link to his video   ■   Michael Jackson, Cox Yeats    ■   Shadrach Karien, Mi7 National      effective 1 January 2024. See    E-mail: info@nafcockzn.org.za
        interview.                      Attorneys, provides           Group writes on elevating      page 13
          A highlight of the year for KZN     professional insight into the      workforce health, including the    And lastly, the end of the year   Website: www.kznchamber.co.za
        Top Business Women was the gala     legalities around water rights      imperative of first aid training    also brings to the team at Business
        dinner held on the 2 November at     and transformation. Page 7    and wellness checks in South    Sense the opportunity to thank
        the Sky venue Elangeni Maharani   ■   Jacquie Bhana, Jacquie Bhana      Africa. Page 13   our contributors and express to
        Hotel in Durban. This event was     Consulting, is passionate about    ■   Dr Fareed Amod, Crown    them, as well as to our readers,
        an evening to remember. See page     people development and asks if      Dental Studio, has advice on    season’s greetings and good
        3 and follow the link to watch the     you ready to take the plunge      how to protect your ‘pearly    wishes. May your holidays and
        event’s proceedings.            and follow your passion? Page 10    whites’ through the use of    New Year be filled with joy. 



        DELAYS AT THE PORT OF DURBAN




        Ms Palesa Phili, CEO, The Durban                                                                                        to buy the equipment needed to fix
        Chamber of Commerce and Industry NPC                                                                                    Transnet over the long term and
                                                                                                                                recoup their investment through
             he Durban Chamber of                                                                                               relaxed surcharges.
             Commerce and Industry                                                                                               The appointment of an
        TNPC is deeply concerned                                                                                                independent engineering
        about the recent delays at the                                                                                          consulting firm with strong project
        Port of Durban leading to an                                                                                            and programme management
        estimated 35000 containers stuck                                                                                        expertise to run the equipment.
        at sea. As organised business,
        we believe this delay is due to                                                                                          The Durban Chamber of
        lack equipment maintenance,                                                                                             Commerce and Industry NPC
        failure to buy equipment and                                                                                            believes we do not have the leisure
        run the straddles, stacks, and                                                                                          of fixing the port within 18-24
        tugs effectively. Furthermore,                                                                                          months, we need an immediate
        the lack of maintenance and                                                                                             solution. We need private sector
        ageing equipment continues to                                                                                           partnerships. As organised
        disturb port operations. The Port                                                                                       business, we believe the shipping
        of Durban is one of the busiest                                                                                         lines and Transnet must enter
        in Africa, but it is also one of the                                                                                    into a joint agreement allowing
        most congested. In 2017 the Port                                                                                        the shipping lines to buy the
        of Durban had about 112 straddles                                                                                       necessary equipment and rebuild
        operating, since then the situation   Recent delays at the Port of Durban are impacting negatively on the economy.      infrastructure. Through this
        has deteriorated.                                                                                                       investment private sector must be
                                                                                                                                given an opportunity to recoup
          As organised business, we have   R7 million, resulting in job losses   the supply of essential goods   ■   Chambers, businesses   their investment through the
        closely monitored the situation.   and leading to a negative economic  and services. As we approach   including the shipping lines to be   relaxation of tariffs. 
        Since January, this year we have   impact across crucial economic   the festive season, businesses   on the National Logistics Crisis
        seen an exponential increase in   value chains and sectors. Our   especially SMMEs are dependent   Committee.
        delayed hours. In January, the   members in the clothing and   on their stock to service customers.   ■   We believe this will allow the   For more info, contact the Durban
        delay was 39 hours, July 96 hours.   textile sector, automotive sector   Furthermore, cargo arriving   private sector to present tangible   Chamber on 031 335 1000 or info@
        August 194 hours and September   and producers of major appliances   during this time of the year are   solutions. Merely using desktop   durbanchamber.co.za
                                                                                                                                www.durbanchamber.co.za
        364 hours. This is unacceptable,   have been stuck for the past 12   time sensitive, failure to land the   solutions will not work.
        businesses must bear the brunt of   days. We need tangible reforms to   goods on time in stores will result
                                                                                                     As organised business we are
        these delays.                 turn around Transnet.         in retailers carrying deadstock   ■ opposing the privatisation of the
          The delays are costing the   Continued delays are resulting   leading to unplanned losses.   container terminal. Shipping lines
        shipping companies an estimated   in added lead times and delaying   As organised business we are   have made an offer to government
                                                                    requesting the following:


        BUSINESS SENSE                                        © Copyright of all material is reserved and no part of Business Sense may be reproduced   COMMENTS:
                                                              or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of  Top Business.
        Published by: Top Business, 71 Underwood Road, Hatton Estates  While every care has been taken in the compilation of this information and every   We welcome comments and seek a lively discussion. Comments
                                                                                                                  that raise questions, clarify content, constitute serious rebuttals,
        Features & Advertising: Grant Adlam: 083 262 9529     attempt made to present up-to-date and accurate information, we cannot guarantee   and promote discussion are welcomed and encouraged but will
                                                                                                                  be moderated. Moderation of comments may include but are not
        Editorial: Gayle Adlam: 083 653 0465 | 031 267 1977 | gayle@topbusiness.co.za  that inaccuracies will not occur. Top Business will not be held responsible for any loss,   necessarily limited to  non publishing of comments, removal of
                                                              damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any inaccuracy or error within these
        Accounts: Tracy Engelbrecht: tracy@topbusiness.co.za  pages.                                              offending material, or editing for spelling or grammar, at the sole
                                                                                                                  discretion of the editorial board of Business Sense.
        Design & Layout: Kerri Adlam | Kezlea Graphics | kezlea@mweb.co.za  The thoughts and opinions expressed here are those of the individual contributors   Please send your queries to  gayle@topbusiness.co.za
                                                              alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of their employers, the KwaZulu-Natal
        Website: www.kznchamber.co.za                         Business Chambers Council, its members,  staff or funding agencies and advertisers.  We look forward to hearing from you!
        BUSINESS SENSE is brought to you by Top Business Portfolio.
       2
   1   2   3   4   5   6   7