Food manufacturer Nestlé South Africa would invest R3,2-billion in focused investment over the next five years to increase its competitiveness, outgoing chairperson and CEO Yves Manghardt announced on Wednesday.
The capital expenditure (capex) would be used to expand and upgrade its existing factories and distribution centres across South Africa, as well as on ensuring its environmental sustainability.
The company, which would now be led by former chairperson and CEO of Nestlé Malaysia, Sullivan O'Carroll, had already spent about R1,8-billion in capex projects in the past five years, said Manghardt.
Economic Development Deputy-Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde said that it was encouraging to see Nestlé's continued investment in South Africa, especially given the global economic crisis, which led to the risk that some multinationals might want to dismantle their capacity and move their investments elsewhere in the world.
Meanwhile, Manghardt noted that Nestlé South Africa had made great strides in improving its transformation in the past few years, having gone from non-compliance to a level five black economic-empowerment contributor.
This was achieved, despite it not having scored any points on the scorecard in terms of ownership.
However, the food manufacturer was working on the issue of BEE ownership. It had previously identified one potential BEE partner, as part of the sale of an asset, but the deal did not go ahead.
It was working on a couple of options, which could in the next two to three years help the local company in making some progress in terms of BEE ownership, said Manghardt.
Nestlé South Africa was expecting to achieve double digit growth in sales of close to 15% and an overall turnover of R8,5-billion in the current year, he added.
O'Carroll, who started his career at Nestlé in 1973, would take over as CEO on October 1, when Mangardt takes up his new role as chairperson and CEO of Nestlé Middle East.
O'Carroll would be the first South African to lead the local arm of the group, since 1994. He was formerly the CEO of Nestlé Malaysia.
Edited by: Mariaan Webb
Saturday, 26 September 2009
Black economic empowerment limited to “cousins”
Friday, 25 September 2009 07:46
[McHenry Venaani, Secretary-General of the DTA of Namibia] Namibia Wildlife Resorts’ (NWR) decision to award Public Private Partnerships to companies with ties to the ruling party, has once again re-affirmed that only “black cousins” benefit from such deals, said McHenry Venaani, Secretary-General of the DTA of Namibia at a press conference this week.
He said black economic empowerment (BEE) only benefits a certain number of people. According to Venaani, there is serious inter-trading within government as office bearers who are related issue government tenders to each other. “A person who works in a certain ministry has a cousin in another one who starts a business. They then receive tenders from government, not because thery are good, but because they are related to someone. These tenders are moving around between certain people,” he said. He said civil servants should not be the ones to receive business from government as they are already part of government.
Venaani further said that this inter-trading is affecting other good businesses that need actual empowerment.
According to reports, Tungeni Africa, Prosperity Africa and Reho Spa received tourism concessions from NWR because of their association to SWAPO.
Johan de Waal also questioned Cabinet’s decision to increase Tobie Aupindi’s (CEO of NWR) salary to N$140 000 per month.
He said this situation is unwarranted as many people in the country have to live on N$200 or N$300.
“I do not know if Cabinet thinks or whether they think at all. Now if you travel this country you will see that people are really suffering so how can the same Cabinet who says it is pro-poor give one person a salary of N$140 000 per month when there are so many poor people? We do not agree with this. This shows that this government does not care for the poor, it is only the few elite in SWAPO who are getting richer every day,” de Waal said.
[McHenry Venaani, Secretary-General of the DTA of Namibia] Namibia Wildlife Resorts’ (NWR) decision to award Public Private Partnerships to companies with ties to the ruling party, has once again re-affirmed that only “black cousins” benefit from such deals, said McHenry Venaani, Secretary-General of the DTA of Namibia at a press conference this week.
He said black economic empowerment (BEE) only benefits a certain number of people. According to Venaani, there is serious inter-trading within government as office bearers who are related issue government tenders to each other. “A person who works in a certain ministry has a cousin in another one who starts a business. They then receive tenders from government, not because thery are good, but because they are related to someone. These tenders are moving around between certain people,” he said. He said civil servants should not be the ones to receive business from government as they are already part of government.
Venaani further said that this inter-trading is affecting other good businesses that need actual empowerment.
According to reports, Tungeni Africa, Prosperity Africa and Reho Spa received tourism concessions from NWR because of their association to SWAPO.
Johan de Waal also questioned Cabinet’s decision to increase Tobie Aupindi’s (CEO of NWR) salary to N$140 000 per month.
He said this situation is unwarranted as many people in the country have to live on N$200 or N$300.
“I do not know if Cabinet thinks or whether they think at all. Now if you travel this country you will see that people are really suffering so how can the same Cabinet who says it is pro-poor give one person a salary of N$140 000 per month when there are so many poor people? We do not agree with this. This shows that this government does not care for the poor, it is only the few elite in SWAPO who are getting richer every day,” de Waal said.
Kenyan president protests U.S. warning letters
NAIROBI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has sent a protest note to U.S. leader Barack Obama over warning letters issued to 15 prominent Kenyans Washington says are blocking political reform, a statement said on Saturday.
The recipients include government ministers, members of parliament and top civil servants on both sides of Kenya's coalition government, the U.S. embassy in Nairobi said.
The letters, from U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson, warned the recipients their future relationship with Washington was directly linked to their support for reforms and opposition to violence.
"President Mwai Kibaki has written to President Barack Obama ... expressing displeasure and concern about letters written ... to some ministers, some members of parliament and some civil servants in their personal capacity on matters of Kenya's public policy," a statement from Kibaki's office said.
"The action by the U.S. government official is considered out of step with international protocols in the conduct of relations between friendly nations."
Kenyan authorities have yet to bring to justice top perpetrators of post-election violence in 2008 that killed some 1,300 people and displaced 300,000 Kenyans.
Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo admitted this week that Kenya would not meet a Sept. 30 deadline to set up a special tribunal to try those behind the violence, raising the possibility of prosecutions by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The recipients include government ministers, members of parliament and top civil servants on both sides of Kenya's coalition government, the U.S. embassy in Nairobi said.
The letters, from U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Johnnie Carson, warned the recipients their future relationship with Washington was directly linked to their support for reforms and opposition to violence.
"President Mwai Kibaki has written to President Barack Obama ... expressing displeasure and concern about letters written ... to some ministers, some members of parliament and some civil servants in their personal capacity on matters of Kenya's public policy," a statement from Kibaki's office said.
"The action by the U.S. government official is considered out of step with international protocols in the conduct of relations between friendly nations."
Kenyan authorities have yet to bring to justice top perpetrators of post-election violence in 2008 that killed some 1,300 people and displaced 300,000 Kenyans.
Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo admitted this week that Kenya would not meet a Sept. 30 deadline to set up a special tribunal to try those behind the violence, raising the possibility of prosecutions by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Zimbabwe should seek HIPC debt relief, minister says
LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe should aim to have its debt to international financial institutions cancelled by seeking access to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative, a Zimbabwean minister said on Saturday.
Gorden Moyo, minister of state in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's office, said it would be immoral for Zimbabwe to pay off its debts to the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and African Development Bank when it could not pay teachers.
"We should be having conversations with the international financial institutions to get them to either reschedule our debt or to cancel our debt," he said, speaking at a Zimbabwe investment conference in London.
Moyo noted that the IMF and World Bank had launched the HIPC initiative in 1996 to help countries unable to pay their debts.
Some people did not want Zimbabwe classified as a heavily indebted poor country, "but that's what we are, if you look at our debt ratios, if you look at our economy", he said.
"We just need to be reclassified and get our debt cancelled. Once we get our debt cancelled, the country will begin to have access to World Bank resources," he said.
Gorden Moyo, minister of state in Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's office, said it would be immoral for Zimbabwe to pay off its debts to the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and African Development Bank when it could not pay teachers.
"We should be having conversations with the international financial institutions to get them to either reschedule our debt or to cancel our debt," he said, speaking at a Zimbabwe investment conference in London.
Moyo noted that the IMF and World Bank had launched the HIPC initiative in 1996 to help countries unable to pay their debts.
Some people did not want Zimbabwe classified as a heavily indebted poor country, "but that's what we are, if you look at our debt ratios, if you look at our economy", he said.
"We just need to be reclassified and get our debt cancelled. Once we get our debt cancelled, the country will begin to have access to World Bank resources," he said.
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