Nafbi calls for building industry charter
THE National African Federated Building Industry (Nafbi) has called for a charter to promote empowerment and a balance in equity ownership in the construction industry.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Airports company forecasts 6% growth for this year
An airport cannot be viable financially if it does not attract the expected airline traffic. For this reason Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) is taking into account the growth strategy of airlines that will potentially use its new or existing infrastructure when developing its airports system.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

World Bank to help KwaZulu small business
African facility will be partner to Ithala. DURBAN Provincial development agency Ithala Development Finance Corporation has formed a business partnership with the World Bank through its wholly owned subsidiary, African Project Development Facility.
(©www.bday.co.za)

SAB invests R1m in corporate suite
Efforts by Andy Procter, SA Breweries general manager for the Eastern Cape, to have the company invest in a modern corporate suite at St George’s Park Cricket Stadium have paid off.
Construction of the state-of-the-art, multi-purpose suite was this week near completion, with only the final decorative touches remaining before its opening in time for the Cricket World Cup.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Offices in Jo'burg CBD are 25% vacant
JOHANNESBURG's central business district (CBD) has looked stark, with office vacancies at about 25% of its total gross lettable area over the past two years, according to vacancy figures from commercial property industry association Sapoa.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Everite turnaround may lead to exports
CONSTRUCTION company Group Five has not only turned around its troubled building materials division, Everite, but is now looking at export opportunities following the replacement of asbestos materials with fibre-based building products.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Sasol awards $675m GTL construction contract
South African-based petrochemicals group Sasol, along with its partner Qatar Petroleum (QP), awarded a $675-million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Technip-Coflexip, of Italy, for construction of the world’s largest and most advanced natural gas-to-liquid (GTL) plant.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Property unit trusts provide stability
Sector performs better than equities despite tough conditions in market. PROPERTY unit trusts proved again last year that they can be a stabilising factor in a generic investment portfolio even in periods of market turbulence, providing above-average performance.
(©www.bday.co.za)

New role for Old Mutual
OLD Mutual Properties' role in a Ukrainian project is switching from engineering consultancy to facilities consultancy.The change is part of the second phase of its management consulting contract for the Univermag Ukraina retail complex in Kiev, Ukraine.
(©www.bday.co.za)

New kid on the block Cupar braves tough market to list
A NEW property fund, Cupar Properties, is to debut on the listed property sector of the JSE Securities Exchange SA at the end of next week. The decision to list Cupar linked units at a time seen to be hostile to listing of property is a brave move by the promoters, John Ferrans and Victor Schroeder.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Redefine to reduce its debt
Property Editor PROPERTY loan stock company Redefine Income Fund has raised R136m to be used for debt reduction through a private placing of 54,6-million of its linked units at 250c a linked unit. The move represented a prompt reaction by Redefine management to concerns that the group's gearing was too high.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Fairvest makes long-awaited offer for Bonatla's properties
CAPE TOWN Property loan stock company Fairvest Property Holdings has made a long-awaited offer for all the properties owned by Bonatla Property Holdings, the Gauteng commercial and industrial property investment company.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Beleaguered Corpcapital left with few options
WHAT on earth does Corpcapital do now? Leaving aside the corporate governance issues for a moment, what are the business options open to the company? Increasingly, the recent cash distribution, which was roughly 30% of its market value, is appearing to have been a last blast in a crisis of direction.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Ifour and A-Prop withdraw notices
Property Editor TWO of the three cautionary notices that sparked speculation of a merger between three listed property funds, iFour, A-Prop and Bonatla, have been withdrawn. Ifour withdrew its cautionary this week, while A-Prop removed it last week. Bonatla continues to trade under a cautionary that relates to other considerations including a proposed merger with property fund Fairvest.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Unique SA finance course launched
THE University of Stellenbosch has introduced a structured development finance course to cater for SA's growing demand for financing systems aimed at the poor. The university's Africa Centre of Investment Analysis will offer the course at postgraduate level this year the first time a structured course on development finance will be offered on the continent.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Experts welcome tax treaty
THE new double tax treaty between SA and the UK, which came into effect at the beginning of the month after being ratified by both countries last year, should encourage foreign investment in SA and improve trade relations between the two countries, tax experts say.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Mbeki accepts Malatsi's letter of resignation
PRESIDENT Thabo Mbeki accepted David Malatsi's resignation as deputy social development minister yesterday and gave him only one day to clear his desk.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Press gallery forced to run the gauntlet
Issues of governance and accountability featured strongly in the protracted meetings of the portfolio committee on finance last week, as it continued to wade through the minefields of the Municipal Finance Management Bill.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Child labour shock for SA
Johannesburg - About 36 percent of minors in South Africa are engaged in child labour, according to a fresh survey commissioned by the department of labour.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Saambou's heads should roll, but public seems to hold a banker's word above reproach
If Saambou Bank was a sports team the entire nation would have called for the heads of the captain and the coach when the bank collapsed almost a year ago. But everyone trusts bankers and the powers that regulate them.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Iscor minorities clash over new LNM partial offer
Minority investors in South African steel producer Iscor locked horns yesterday over a revised partial offer by steel giant LNM Holdings, sparking a slide in the share price.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

New South African alcohols plant fills gap in global market
Detergent alcohols have become a key product for South Africa’s Sasol, particularly since its acquisition of Condea, of Germany, which is now trading as Sasol Chemie.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Firm supplies 56 heat exchangers to project
Fifty-six heat exchangers were supplied by a Gauteng-based designer and manufacturer to South Africa’s first detergent alcohols plant commissioned this year in Secunda, Mpumulanga. GEA Aircooled Systems, of Roodekop, Germiston, supplied the exchangers to the Uhde-Kvaerner joint venture, which engineered, managed and constructed the detergent alcohols plant for the Olefins and Surfactants Division of Sasol.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Bamboo set to make its mark on SA building, paper sectors
An ambitious multimillion- rand project, which could have significant long-term impact on South Africa’s building and pulp and paper industry and provide an economic lifeline to marginalised communities, is taking shape in the Limpopo Province.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

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SterKinekor to vacate its La Lucia Mall premises
STERKINEKOR is quitting Durban's up-market La Lucia Mall, a result of the squeeze Old Mutual Property's R1,4bn Gateway Theatre of Shopping is putting on the city's shopping and entertainment market.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Short-term focus distracts from success, Coca-Cola tells WEF
Davos - In the recent past the Coca-Cola company had found it was often swayed from making good decisions because it was listening to the short-term demands of the analysts, Clyde Tuggle, vice-president of Coca-Cola's Worldwide Public Affairs, said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

RAG inquiry closes its doors to the press
FNB officials believed to have asked for time. TWO senior First National Bank (FNB) officials are believed to have requested more time to prepare before giving evidence at the inquiry into the demise of Retail Apparel Group (RAG).
(©www.bday.co.za)

Tribunal's ruling ushers in new era for franchisees
DURBAN Companies can no longer dictate a minimum price to their distributors or franchisees following a Competition Tribunal ruling earlier this week. This gives disgruntled retailers recourse for being sanctioned for not adhering to a holding company's established minimum prices.
(©www.bday.co.za)

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CPAF INDICES
The CPAF Indices for December 2002 have been published by the STATSSA and an amended schedule is attached to this Newsletter. For the schedule click here.
(©www.safcec.org.za)

COURSE ON THE “NEW” FIDIC CONTRACTS
SAFCEC will present a one-day course on the “new” FIDIC Contracts in Bedfordview on Wednesday, 12 March 2003.The “new” FIDIC (1999) contract documents represent a radical change in both approach and content to the previous editions and other contract conditions. Not only the contractor, but both the Employer and the Engineer are vitally affected by these changes and these new and ever more widely used conditions deserve close attention and analysis before being put to use.
(©www.safcec.org.za)

EXPLOSIVES REGULATIONS
The Minister of Labour has published the Explosives Regulations in Government Gazette No. 24272 of 17 January 2003. Hard or soft copies may be obtained from SAFCEC Head Office on request. (©www.safcec.org.za)

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SA to study land issue in Zimbabwe
Agriculture Correspondent AGRICULTURE and Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza will accompany SA farmers on a twoday visit to Zimbabwe this week to assess that country's controversial land reform programme.
(©www.bday.co.za)

The complicated truth about Zimbabwe
THERE is no doubt that Zimbabwe is experiencing accelerated democratic reversal since the ruling party, Zanu (PF), failed to get a positive result in the 2000 constitutional referendum.
(©www.bday.co.za)

New Algerian oil find announced
An oil discovery in Algeria was announced on Wednesday by Anadarko Petroleum, Algerian State-owned firm Sonatrach and partners Maersk Oil and ENI/Lasmo Oil (Algeria).
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Zimbabwe inflation rate almost doubles
Harare - Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate had hit 198.9, according to the latest government statistics obtained by AFP yesterday.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Coca-Cola invests $8.2m in Kenya project
Nairobi - US multinational Coca-Cola has invested 639.6 million Kenyan shillings ($8.2 million) in facilities to manufacture a new non-carbonated fruit drink in Kenya, a company official said on Tuesday.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

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Gold Fields pursues big organic growth prospects
South African gold miner Gold Fields - one of the first companies last year to hint that organic growth would be preferable to acquisitions as the gold environment turned increasingly positive - has reinforced this view by announcing a significant increase in its exploration spend and a pipeline of growth projects.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Ugandan inquiry into DRC resources plunder completed
A judicial commission set up 19 months ago to probe allegations that Ugandan officials were involved in the plunder of natural resources in the Democratic Republic of Congo on Friday handed its report to the governnment.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

DRD to spend R600m on growth projects
South Africa’s fourth largest gold producer is set to spend R600-million, raised by the company in November last year, to support its growth projects.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Platinum soars on Bush's fuel-cell comments
Platinum soared to its highest price in nearly 17 years on Thursday, boosted by U.S. President George W. Bush's call for more research into fuel cell technology.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Four miners die in Driefontein fire
Four miners died and three others were found alive, by rescue workers battling thick smoke from a fire raging deep inside a South African gold mine today.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Harmony sells Placer stake for $87m
South African gold producer, Harmony Gold Mining Company, yesterday announced that it has disposed of its 1,9% shareholding in Placer Dome.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Angloplat confirms chairperson-CE split
World number one platinum producer, Anglo American Platinum, said on Wednesday it was splitting the roles of chairman and CE, in line with guidelines for corporate governance in South Africa.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Newmont increases dividend
Canadian miner Newmont Mining Corporation has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0,04 a share, payable March 19, 2003, to holders of record at the close of business on March 5.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Platinum price-spike fears resurface
Predictions that a platinum-price spike is likely to occur this year, first made in November, have been reiterated by a senior official at Johnson Matthey, a London-based firm which keeps tabs on developments in the platinum-group metals (PGM) industry worldwide.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Gold producer emerges as lord of the ring
More than 1 800 Lord of the Rings (LOTR) gold rings have been sold by Harmony Gold Mining since the start of the company’s One Ring marketing campaign in 2001.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Kimberley gets new 20-year diamond venture
Mining is due to begin in the second half of this year at a new ‘world-class’ alluvial diamond prospect on the banks of the Vaal River near Kimberley, Mining Weekly can today report.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Booming platinum industry fuels research activity
The next project for which Aquarius Platinum is engaged in a feasibility study is appropriately named Everest South as this future operation will see the company negotiating its way through a topographically challenging terrain.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

New R850m mine to begin production by 2004
The next project for which Aquarius Platinum is engaged in a feasibility study is appropriately named Everest South as this future operation will see the company negotiating its way through a topographically challenging terrain.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

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Still time for this new-year resolution
Whether you're a new homeowner or you've been in your home for years, it's not too late to make a resolution that 2003 will be the year for getting your property into top shape.
(©www.property24.co.za)

Spotlight on: Pietermaritzburg
Rising demand for residential property in Pietermaritzburg has led to a firm escalation of prices, but with the city's importance as the commercial capital of the Natal Midlands growing, the current stock shortage could soon become severe.
(©www.property24.co.za)

Software leaders join forces in landmark deal
In a move with major implications for South Africa's real estate industry, the three leading technology companies in this field have agreed to work together to develop a single, comprehensive software system for estate agencies.
(©www.property24.co.za)

New Act is agents' chance to fight crime
Gangsters, racketeers, drug traffickers and other criminals will find it increasingly difficult to launder their 'dirty' money in South Africa as the provisions of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act are more widely implemented this year.
(©www.property24.co.za)

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Dec trade surplus at R6.078bn
South Africa has recorded a trade surplus of R6.078bn for its trade with non-Southern African Customs Union trading partners in December.
(©www.news24.com)

Gold, dollar bolster rand
The rand gave up some early gains on Friday, but local importers and overseas banks still saw a stronger gold price and a weaker euro/dollar rate as reasons to buy the unit.
(©www.news24.com)

Mbeki has limited space to manoeuvre at Chequers
SA leader seeks to rekindle UK prime minister's interest in Africa, despite differences on Zimbabwe and Iraq. THERE is no deal to be done when President Thabo Mbeki meets British Prime Minister Tony Blair this Saturday at Chequers, his official retreat in the English countryside.
(©www.bday.co.za)

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Gold, war jitters seen driving JSE
Fear of war in the Middle East is likely to keep South Africa's stock market jittery, with gold shares dominating trade and a firm rand keeping pressure on blue-chip rand hedge stocks.
(©www.news24.com)

Oil price steady, eyes on Iraq
The price of oil was steady on Friday as the market caught its breath after riding sharply higher in recent days amid a growing conviction that a war in Iraq may be all but inevitable.
(©www.news24.com)

Telkom extends retail offer date
The government has extended the closing date for its share offering of Telkom shares to retail investors until February 24 due to unprecedented interest
(©www.news24.com)

JSE limp at noon; but golds rise
The JSE was looking limp at noon, with the market weaker after only R563-million worth of shares changed hands.
(©www.bday.co.za)

SA's chance to shine on global stage
Mbeki's meeting with Blair at a critical time in world affairs can enhance country's standing as peace broker. THE meeting between President Thabo Mbeki and Prime Minister Tony Blair at Chequers, Blair's country residence, could not have occurred at a more critical time in global affairs.
(©www.bday.co.za)

JOIN US FOR THE 2003 JOHANNESBURG GOLF DAY
VENUE: Wanderers Golf Club
DATE: Tuesday 25 February 2003
COMPETITION: Four-ball Alliance 2 to count
COST: R600 per four-ball
Click here to download the entry form

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that the EIGHTH Annual General Meeting of the Gauteng Chapter will be held on Tuesday 18 February 2003 at 7:00 for 7:30 at the Protea Hotel in Midrand.
Note: 2 CPD points will be earned for attending this meeting
Click here to obtain full details in PDF format

NEWS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS
Fee Scales
"Board Notice 7 of 2003", was published in Government Gazette No. 24298 of 31 January 2003. The amended guideline for professional fees has not been objected to by the Department of Public Works. They are in the process to get internal approval in the Department to apply these fee scales. Therefore, at present and until further notice, they still do not apply these fees!
(Members of ASAQS can download the latest fee scales from the CUG)

Firms with limited liability
This Department's Standard Letter of Appointment for Consultants in the built environment includes a "Section D" addendum, which deals with indemnification of the Department by Firms with limited liability (the so-called "Pty (Ltd)" or "CC" companies).

In this Section D it was required from Principals of such Firms with limited liability to complete an undertaking, signed by all Principals, that they, in their personal capacity, accept full liability for the due fulfilment of all obligations in respect of such an appointment offered to the Firm. The Department received objections against this practice from Industry.

During most recent discussions with representatives of the professional fraternity, the period of professional liability was also placed on the table. Industry was of the view that life-long liability has become inappropriate and problematic to enforce.

The Department has now resolved that, by completing Section D, professional Firms be given the opportunity to either offer valid Professional Indemnity Insurance cover (PI) or accepting personal liability by all Principals for the due fulfilment of all obligations in respect of the appointment. Section D now provides that, should a Firm not have PI at the time of a claim against it, then the contract defaults back to joint and several liability of the Principals in their personal capacity. The representatives of the professional bodies for Architects, Engineers and Quantity Surveyors were all in agreement with this concept.

The Department further resolved to limit the professional liability on building and engineering projects to 10 years.

The above two resolutions will be effective for appointments for consultants in the built environment made by the Department on or after 1 October 2002.

Click here to view the ASAQS Calendar or add events to it

Seen on Classifieds:
Junior QS
SA based International Project management co. requires Bsc QS with 2-3 yrs experience. Join a dynamic professional outfit.
Estimators
Bsc/dip/btech QS with min 2 yrs construction exp required by large civil engineering contractor to be trained as a civils estimator.
QS Swaziland
Bsc/Dip/Btech QS with min 5 yrs building contracting exp.
Must be prepared to relocate to Swaziland
Senior QS
Registered PrQS's required for Pre and Post Contract QS positions for Established practice in Doha, Qatar. Minimum 15 years experience.
Junior Quantity Surveyor
Leading interior design firm with a strong focus on the retail industry require a recently qualified B.SC QS graduate to join their team. Will work with Senior QS on large scale projects.

Remember: Visit the ASAQS website for new updates!

New members to the CUG

Elna van Zyl

Please note : Only paid-up members of the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors are allowed entrance to the CUG. We still receive a number of applications every month from non-members. If you have any questions regarding membership contact Mrs Barbara Morgan on 011-3154140

Also note that your registration to the CUG will remain in force as long as you remain a member of ASAQS and there is no need to register every year. If you have not received an e-mail confirming your registration contact ASAQS.

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