South African auditor general Thembekile Kimi Makwetu announced on Wednesday 5 February that Government entities racked up more than R2-billion in wasteful expenditure in the past financial year, incurring another R26.4 billion in irregular spending. Head of the College of Accounting at UCT, Professor Mark Graham, says that such results often occur because non-financial personnel, for the most part, do not understand financial statements and financial jargon sufficiently to spot the irregularities. Graham, who also convenes the Finance for Non-Financial Managers programme at the UCT Graduate School of Business (GSB), said that whether it’s a government organisation, a major corporation, or a small business, if... Continue Reading
Many of us in business – and in life – play leadership roles. But what should leaders be doing? And how can you become a better leader? Eleanor Scott shares her advice. The first step to becoming a better leader is to have a clear understanding of what a leader embodies. My definition of a leader is: “A person out in front – influencing and paving the way for others to first follow, and then imitate.” Author, speaker and pastor John Maxwell puts this another way. He says: “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and... Continue Reading
“There has been a new scramble to conduct business in Africa, particularly by South African companies. The double edged sword is MTN. A lot of local companies see MTN making a lot of money north of the Limpopo and assume they can do the same,” says Kofi Amegashie, Adcock Ingram Managing Executive – Africa What many South African companies tend to overlook, however, is the country’s insular economic history. “Numerous local companies have not had to operate in a highly competitive business environment and the reality is there is competition from every quarter on the continent. Notably, there are the... Continue Reading
By Nawa Mutumweno – Zambia’s finished copper production is expected to double to 1.4 million metric tonnes in the next four years, the Chamber of Mines of Zambia has disclosed. According to the chamber’s president Emmanuel Mutati, with the projected rise in the country’s major export commodity production levels, the mining industry will be able to pay more in terms of taxes to Government. ‘’Since 2000 when production levels had been at 250 000 metric tonnes of finished copper, we are back again where we used to be at 700 000 metric tonnes of production levels in the 1970s,’’ Mr Mutati... Continue Reading
By Nawa Mutumweno – Kapiri Glass Products is scheduled to resume operations in July this year after the successful recapitalisation of the company. The glass factory, which will operate under a new name called Kapiri Glass Manufacturing (KGM) Limited, is expected to create over 200 jobs for the locals once fully operational. According to KGM general manager Sunil Malik, the firm is currently installing equipment at the plant to replace obsolete ones. The new equipment will enable the company produce over 75 tonnes of glass per day. ‘’We will be producing about 21 000 tonnes of glass and 20 million... Continue Reading
