Can we expect a building boom in 2003?
All the indicators seem to be in place for the long-awaited boom in the building industry. The latest building survey data has just been released by the BER. " The interesting aspect is that the leading indicator has risen from 48 to 50, i.e. the neutrality level, at which point 50% of respondents are confident that business conditions will improve in coming quarters. This finding is all the more surprising given the four interest rate hikes during the year, an acceleration in inflation and keener competition experienced during the fourth quarter," says Johan Snyman of MFA. Click here to read the full article.
(©www.asaqs.co.za)

R60m Cape Waterfront expansion on cards
The Cape Town Waterfront is poised to expand and get a new terminal at the Cape Town Harbour. The harbour master at the V & A Waterfront in Cape Town, Captain Bill Shewell, is confident that the private sector would raise the R60-million needed for the new terminal. Shewell says the envisaged terminal would provide space for both large cruise liners and Antarctic supply ships.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

FNB investing R28m in CBD
FIRST National Bank (FNB) is investing a further R28m in Johannesburg's central business district (CBD) through the development of a parkade on the corner of Pritchard and Sauer Streets. This is a boost for the drive to save the city centre from decay. FNB is one of the few blue chip companies that remained in the CBD when other major business organisations fled to the northern suburbs.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Massive gaming and hotel deal unveiled
South African brewer SABMiller and Tsogo Investments have unveiled a R1,9-billion deal to create the country's largest hotel and gaming group. They have heralded it as a milestone for black ownership.
(©www.thestar.co.za)

Decision about Coega smelter expected soon
Pechiney talks close to a conclusion .GOVERNMENT expects a decision next month on a $1,6bn investment in a new aluminium smelter at Coega by French aluminium company Pechiney.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Coega marketing drive planned
PORT ELIZABETH The Coega Development Corporation would enter the new year with an aggressive marketing drive as SA's largest public infrastructure project sought new tenants for the country's Industrial Development Zone (IDZ), CE Pepi Silinga said yesterday.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Property owners' body revises its awards
THE SA Property Owners' Association (Sapoa) has revised its property awards. "The awards did not acknowledge the societal influence that a property developer may have on the community or environment," says Sapoa CEO Brian Kirchmann. "We also realised that there were too many categories, making it difficult for entrants and judges to make the fine distinctions needed for entry and judging of developments."
(©www.bday.co.za)

Oversupply stifles market
KEY sectors of SA's commercial property market are crumbling due to oversupply. While old central business districts (CBDs) are degenerating because tenants have fled to new decentralised nodes, the new nodes, also oversupplied, are suffering high vacancy rates.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Richway portfolio exposes Primegro to rates volatility
THE R1,2bn acquisition of the entire Richway portfolio has exposed property investment company Primegro to interest rates volatility, resulting in a stalled growth in earnings.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Officials squander R126m of housing
About R126m in state funds meant for construction of low-cost housing has been squandered by corrupt officials and developers since 1997
(©www.bday.co.za)

Some skills cannot be taught
Courses add value only if they are well structured and can be translated to the workplace. Developing staff is a management goal that never goes away. Keeping employees fresh and focused, and encouraging their long-term loyalty are key to a successful organisation, and companies spend large sums nurturing these skills.
(©www.bday.co.za)

VW SA plans to boost component exports
Carmaker Volkswagen South Africa will be increasing its investment in plant infrastructure, product upgrades and improved facilities at its Uitenhage plant to R2,1-billion over the next six years.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Export incentive to get top-up
The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has brought forward its budget for 2003/04 for its Export Marketing and Investment Assistance (EMIA) scheme, which ran out of money in October. The incentive is designed to promote exports of South African products through the establishment of export markets from and investment into South Africa.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Economic sluggishness calls for action on trade - World Bank
A sluggish global economic outlook, with slower growth in the next 12 to 18 months than previously anticipated, will impede poverty reduction in developing countries, according to a new World Bank report. Action to remove barriers to trade and investment that hurt poor people in developing countries is becoming increasingly urgent.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Portable water purification plants for SA
Uruguayan-based public/private partnership company Rocco/Ose and South African company, Wastat, which manufacture compact, portable water treatment and purification plants, have signed a joint-venture deal worth R30-million.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Mvelaphanda pays out ground-breaking R80m
Johannesburg - Mvelaphanda Holdings has not forgotten its roots: the empowerment group yesterday paid out R80 million to its community-based empowerment stakeholders in what is believed to be the biggest payouts of its kind.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Back to Index

Nkomazi to get new shopping centre
NEW Africa Developments, in partnership with black-owned company Roux Property Developments Africa, will be establishing another shopping centre for the Nkomazi area in Mpumalanga. A sod-turning ceremony was held to break ground for the R30m Matsamo Plaza last week.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Pepkor buys Fashaf and saves 1000 jobs
Cape Town - Pepkor has saved 1 000 jobs by agreeing to buy JSE Securities Exchange-listed clothing company Fashion Africa (Fashaf) as a going concern. Fashaf subsidiaries Dunns Stores and Jones Retailing, trading as Millers Shoes, were placed in provisional liquidation in November when they encountered cash flow problems following the collapse of a competitor, which caused suppliers to curtail credit facilities.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

SA firm will get R73m grant to make Wal-Mart plastic hangers
THE trade and industry department has announced a R73,6m grant to a firm that makes plastic hangers used for displaying underwear in US Wal-Mart stores.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Absa internet venture has had positive spinoffs
THE announcement that Absa will no longer offer free internet access to anyone, including even its most loyal online banking customers, will undoubtedly be considered in some quarters to be the comeuppance it deserved.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Back to Index

THIS WEEK AT SAFCEC
This is the last “real” Newsletter for 2002 – can you believe it! Yet the year has been long and demanding on all and sundry. During 2002 we realised that something very exiting was happening in the Industry. J P Landman said at a Conference during the year that sometimes something changes in front of one’s eyes without one realising the fact. More and more evidence came to light that the Industry has gone through the lowest point of the long-term cycle. The down phase lasted 25 years (!), exactly 10 years longer than the international norm. The evidence now indicates that we are in for 10 years of an upward phase!
(©www.safcec.org.za)

CIETS ACCREDITATION
CIETS received its accreditation status from CETA on Monday and is one on only six training providers operating in the Construction Industry that have achieved full accreditation as per the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) ETQA Regulations for standards and qualifications. Well done to all involved for their hard work and dedication.
(©www.safcec.org.za)

THIS NEWSLETTER & CLOSING OF SAFCEC OFFICES
The final edition of this Newsletter for 2002 will be published on Wednesday, 11 December 2002. The final hard copy of the Tender Bulletin will be published at the same time. Electronic copies of the Tender Bulletin will be published via email and on the SAFCEC Website up to 13 December 2002. All SAFCEC offices will be closed from mid-day on 13 December 2002 until 6 January 2003.
(©www.safcec.org.za)

Back to Index

Park could see Mozambicans displaced
PUNDA MARIA About 6000 Mozambicans could be displaced from their homes to make way for the newly established Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park that straddles SA, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The 3,5-million hectare park, comprising the Kruger National Park, the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique and the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, was launched yesterday with the symbolic cutting down of part of the fence separating the Kruger and Limpopo national parks.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Long fuel queues as Zimbabwe runs dry again
Queues of cars and buses stretching for kilometres (miles) snaked around Zimbabwe's garages yesterday, as a petrol shortage dogging President Robert Mugabe's government flared again. Zimbabwe is grappling with its worst economic crisis since independence in 1980. It has suffered erratic fuel supplies since 1999 due to a foreign currency squeeze.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Growth beckons for Maputo port as Spoornet signs Moz deal
Waking the sleepy rail corridor between Mozambique and South Africa will necessitate the Maputo port to step up a gear.
(©www.engineeringnews.co.za)

Nigerian president insists oil bill must be amended before promulgation
Lagos - Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has refused to promulgate an oil revenue sharing bill, insisting that it should be amended by parliament, his office said Thursday.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Zimbabwe platinum rush despite political uncertainties
Conventional wisdom has it that a country shunned by the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) might as well forget about receiving any significant foreign direct investment (FDI) flows.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

IMF pressures Zambia to privatise state-owned bank
Lusaka - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Monday it will delay debt relief to Zambia of around one billion dollars if the country fails to privatise the state-owned commercial bank.
(©www.busrep.co.za)

Back to Index

Mining Weekly would like to wish you a peaceful festive season.
Mining Weekly Online will not be updated as usual until full operations resume in 2003. Below is a selection of top articles published in 2002
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

SA miner makes $30m diamond project push into Angola
Angola's new-found appetite for peace and prosperity is being fuelled by huge investments in its natural resources, particularly its oil and minerals.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Mining's development ability outlined by Oppenheimer No 4
Mining has a key role to play in the socioeconomic regeneration of Africa, being ushered in by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad).
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

PGM boom town
Platinum was long the Cinderella of the mining world, the unappreciated princess of precious metals.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Kloof - Africa's hydropower power house
It has been suggested that technology development and implementation in the underground tabular orebody mining industry over the past 20 years has produced a remarkable lack of tangible or meaningful technical progress.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Leviev's $2bn diamond empire makes presence felt in Africa
In only 20 years, Uzbekistan-born Israeli businessman Lev Leviev has come from nowhere to being one of the biggest players in the world diamond industry, and his name is even mentioned as a rival to long-established giant De Beers, at least in certain parts of the world.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Women at the rockface: the struggle continues
Despite the many advances that have been made in the transformation of the South African mining industry over the past two years, much more needs to be done to give women access to information and opportunities in the industry, Minerals and Energy Minister Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka tells Mining Weekly.
(©www.miningweekly.co.za)

Back to Index

Unravelling the insurance knot
First-time homebuyers,particularly,are often mystified by the insurance issues surrounding the purchase of a house with the aid of a home loan.
(©www.property24.co.za)

Spotlight on: Bloemfontein
Following a third-quarter dip in sales activity, the Bloemfontein residential property market has recovered over the past two months and is expected to show further improvement in the light of the rand's recovery and lower fuel prices.
(©www.property24.co.za)

Scene set for a hot 'season'
With the school holidays in full swing, this summer seems set to be a really hot season for estate agents in popular vacation venues, with most holidaymakers taking a break within South Africa.
(©www.property24.co.za)

Good times ahead for developers
The news that inflation has peaked and that interest rates can be expected to decline next year means there are good times ahead for residential developers.
(©www.property24.co.za)

National pride buoys property market
Renewed patriotism - and a healthy dose of pragmatism - is boosting South Africa's residential property market.
(©www.property24.co.za)

No property worries in rand recovery
Amid the jubilation at the rand's recent recovery, there has been concern that it could have a negative effect on exporters - and on foreign purchasing of local residential property.
(©www.property24.co.za)

Back to Index

The Construction Contract Series
From lump sum contracts to cost plus, these articles covers them all.
Seven Reasons to Have Contracts
Why even have a contract or better yet what could happen to you if you do not.
(©www.construction.about.com)

Digging deep
Technological advancement inevitably produces increasingly sophisticated methods and machinery. So where does this leave good old trenching?
(©www.intlconstruction.com)

Going under
Trenchless technology is rapidly gaining acceptance as a mainstream practice.
(©www.intlconstruction.com)

Back to Index

Rand firm below R8.86 per dollar
The rand remained firm below Wednesday's close of R8.86 per dollar in early trade on Thursday, after it surged to its best level in 15 months on Wednesday to reach R8.8475.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Rand breaks below R14 per pound
The rand reached a new best level against the British pound for 2002 by midday on Wednesday as it broke below R14 to the pound to touch R13.9292 per pound.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Rampant rand drives JSE into red
The rampant rand took its toll on resources stocks on Wednesday, which in turn dragged the JSE into the red.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Back to Index

Inflation set to be contained
The four interest rate increases this year as well as the notable appreciation of the rand in 2002 will in due course brake the inflation spiral decisively, South African Reserve Bank governor Tito Mboweni says.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Telkom IPO success 'not guaranteed'
The listing of at least 20% of telecom utility on the JSE and NYSE early next year is likely to be one of the biggest business stories of 2003.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Wages, weather seen delaying rate cuts
Wage settlements and adverse weather conditions are bound to have an impact on interest rate cuts. This, economists say, could delay interest rate cuts until the second quarter of 2003.
(©www.news24.com)

Lessons learnt in topsy-turvy year
AN ANCIENT North Sotho idiom proclaims: "... Mahlaku a maswa a ema ka a matala ...." Directly translated to English it means "fresh (new) branches sustain themselves through older ones". We have come to the end of what has indeed been a roller-coaster year for most South Africans. High interest rates, high petrol prices, high uncertainty and high complexity.
(©www.bday.co.za)

Last update
The ASAQS website has just been updated. Get the latest (December 2002) DPW reimbursable rates. If you wish to register as a Project Manager, get the forms from the website now as we will be losing the link with the next update. If you haven't downloaded the August update to the qs fee-scales do so by browsing to the Closed User Group... and lastly have a great festive break.
(Webmaster ASAQS)

BEP MEDS: OUR OWN MEDICAL SCHEME
As you might have heard by now, Vincent Knox of PBC (Profhealth Benefits Consulting (Pty) Ltd) has been successful in registering a restricted Medical Scheme for the Built Environment Professional Associations. The Scheme was approved by the Registrar of Medical Schemes on the 9th November 2002 and will come into effect on the 1st January 2003. By their own admission, it was one of the best researched and prepared applications they have ever received – congratulations Vincent!

The Regulations require that the Scheme should have a minimum of 6 000 members within 3 months. As the members of SAACE, SAIA and ASAQS stand to benefit from participation, we are confident that this target will be reached.

Information and application forms are available on line at http://www.sovhealth.co.za/web/bepmeds/index.htm

Further queries about the scheme should be addressed to Vincent Knox at (012) 460 0430 (mobile 083 676 0124).

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

Seen on Classifieds:
QUANTITY SURVEYORS
A firm of quantity surveyors and property valuers, practicing in Parktown, Johannesburg requires the services of a Quantity Surveyor with a university degree and with between 1 to 4 years experience after qualification.

Remember: Visit the ASAQS website for new updates!

New members to the CUG

Umar Abdullah
Abdul Peer

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.

Back to Index