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THE CASE FOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT
(ltr) Gareth Borchardt (operations manager), CEO Alan Borchardt,
Shimone Pretorius (training co-ordinator), Alletha Breedt (quality manager), Karen Botha (administrator) and Christine Bunge (debtors).

City-based Isomark is marking 15 years of its efforts to instill a culture of safety, health and environmental compliance in the workplace. With an eye firmly fixed on the future, it also identified training as a key trend going forward in what is a synergist approach to its quest, no better illustrated than by recent media reports about the city’s degraded air quality.
 

According to Isomark CEO Alan Borchardt, at issue is inadequate emission controls and the policing of errant polluters. “The best laws in the world are no good if they aren’t monitored,” Borchardt said.
 

Borchardt’s son Gareth, who is operations director, said sound legislation is the product of extensive engagement with industry to encode the minimum standards of the SHEQ (safety, health, environment, quality) industry. “Side stepping the law is counter-productive in that these questionable practices tend to entrench bad systems that, over time, prove neither viable nor sustainable,” Borchardt said.
 

The opposite is equally true in that deeper implementation of the prescribed policies and procedures translates to better organisational performance, said Borchardt. Isomark has been walking the SHEQ talk and adopted a quality management system that complies with the requirements of ISO 9001:2015 to ensure its offerings are up to standard.
 

In this regard, its training portfolio aims to meet future needs and address current shortages. Apart from presenting more than 130 training courses, it also offers a full portfolio of training and co-ordination services, including the placement of safety officers, SHE administrators and managers, and training co-ordinators, among others.
 

Its consulting services are equally flexible, ranging from site consultation, audit preparation, system implementation and maintenance, and site risk analysis. In what is a specialised industry, much of Isomark’s success over the past 15 years is attributable to its standing among peers. “By far the largest portion of our business is through word-of-mouth,” said Borchardt, “for that we’re very grateful and appreciative’” (DA)

   
   
 
     
  Today in History  
     
 

1932: Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic, five years before her mysterious disappearance in her round-the-world attempt.
There is however, no connection with a day celebrated today among some religious sects, Rapture Day.

 
     
  News worth knowing  
     
 

VOLVO EMBRACES TECHNICAL TRAINING

The Volvo Group plans to invest ZAR25 million during 2018 on apprenticeship training‚ automotive education and internships. The announcement, at the company’s assembly plant in Umbogintwini near Amanzimtoti was attended by president Cyril Ramaphosa who lauded the investment. Torbjörn Christensson‚ president of Volvo Group South Africa said it will also establish a specialised driver training academy to address the shortage of skilled drivers in the region at an investment of ZAR1.4 million. Ramaphosa‚ who was accompanied by economic development minister Ebrahim Patel and education minister Naledi Pandor‚ said Volvo’s investment in the country’s economy was motivated by a desire to contribute to building a better South Africa. Volvo’s initiative is in line with the Youth Employment Service (YES) led by Ramaphosa which aims to see more than one million young South Africans being offered paid work experience over the next three years. (BDLive)

 
 

RAND TANKS ON EXPROPRIATION TALK

The Rand reacted badly to president Cyril Ramaphosa affirming the ANC’s expropriation without compensation policy on Friday, swinging from ZAR12.51 to ZAR12.82 to the US Dollar. Ramaphosa made his statement that "we are going to take land and when we take land we are going to take it without compensation" a week before S&P Global Ratings is scheduled to give its latest verdict on SA’s sovereign credit rating. Populist rhetoric from Ramaphosa ahead of the 2019 national election raises the fear that the credit ratings agency will lower its outlook on SA from stable to negative when it releases is new report on the country on May 25. Today is also a busy day on the JSE results front, with Barloworld, Pioneer Foods, Reinet and several property companies scheduled to release results. Statistics SA is also scheduled to release March’s tourist accommodation report, land transport, and food and beverages sales at 1pm. (BDLive)

 
 

PIC BOSS IN NENE’S CROSSHAIRS

The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) board is set to clash with Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene over corruption claims against its CEO, Dan Matjila. A letter from Nene indicated he was looking afresh at corruption allegations made in 2017 against Matjila and asked the board to provide him with the details of the matter by today.However, the PIC said the board was of the "view that the matter has been sufficiently dealt with". The allegations include that Matjila channelled funds for corporate social investment to a girlfriend. The board investigated in 2017 and found the claims had no foundation. A renewed police investigation into Matjila has reignited the claims, causing Nene to write last week to the PIC chairman, deputy finance minister Mondli Gungubele, requesting a full briefing and a record of its deliberations. The reason for the renewed interest is not clear. (BDLive)

 
 

ABOVE-INFLATION WAGE INCREASES FOR CIVIL SERVANTS

Unions representing South African civil servants and the government agreed to above-inflation increases for workers, the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council said. This ends a stand-off between the government and unions allied to the ANC. The deal, to be signed today, will see the lowest-paid government workers get an increase of 7%, and those on the highest salary level, 6%. The pay rise will be backdated from April 1. However, the Public Servants Association that represents about 238 000 workers and is not part of Cosatu, has not committed to sign yet. (Bloomberg)

 
 

MOHAIR SA ON BACKFOOT OVER CRUELTY ALLEGATIONS

As Mohair SA intensifies its investigation into the gruesome abuse of animals, particularly goats during shearing, two Karoo farms have already been suspended from participating in mohair sales. Worsening the situation, big international brands such as Inditex, the owners of Zara stores; Gap; H&M; and the Arcadia Group, which owns TopShop, have ordered their stores to stop selling any product with mohair. Mohair SA said it viewed the “allegations” of animal cruelty “in a very serious light”. However, it denied that production had been stopped. Mohair generates ZAR1.5 billion in foreign currency, exports 3.5 million kilograms of mohair (50% of the world’s supply) and has about 30 000 people who directly or indirectly depend on the industry. (Fin24)

 
 

MURRAY & ROBERTS’ AVENG DEAL FAR FROM DONE

Murray & Roberts has agreed to buy construction firm Aveng Limited, although its biggest shareholder ATON said it will not support the ZAR1 billion takeover. The proposed deal announced by both firms on Friday would give additional scale in Murray & Roberts' (M&R) key markets such as Australasia and Africa, while shoring up liquidity in loss-making Aveng in the near-term. The deal comes after a month after Murray & Roberts (M&R) rejected a takeover bid by German investor and biggest shareholder ATON. (Reuters)

 
 

DODGY INTERCOMPANY LOANS DEEPEN STEINHOFF WOES

Steinhoff’s web of intercompany loans was brought to light for the first time on Friday, raising questions about the value of its hitherto prized South African assets. The embattled furniture retailer, which admitted to accounting irregularities in December 2017, must urgently restructure €9.6bn (about ZAR145 billion) in external debt held primarily by its Austrian finance companies, Steinhoff Europe and Steinhoff Finance Holding. This arises as it faces mounting litigation over possible fraud, including a ZAR59 billion claim from its former chairman, Christo Wiese. The group undertook to provide an update on the discussion with lenders by June 29 at the latest, when it issues interim earnings. (BDLive)

 
 

CIG LIFELINE COMES AT A HEFTY PRICE

Cash-poor Consolidated Infrastructure Group (CIG) is getting the financial lifeline it needs, but at a price. The owner of Conlog and ConCo and a player in SA’s renewable energy sector on Friday signed a ZAR300 million loan from Canadian investment group Fairfax, at prime plus 4% The loan is a prelude to an ZAR800 million rights offer, which Fairfax has agreed to underwrite and priced at ZAR4 per CIG share, representing a premium of about 23% and is larger than CIG’s market cap of about ZAR700 million. In the event that CIG shareholders approve the deal, Fairfax will earn an upfront fee of 2.5% on the ZAR800 million. But Fairfax and CIG also have the option of converting the ZAR300 million loan into shares, in which case the interest reduces to prime plus 2%. If no CIG investors follow their rights then Fairfax will end up with a 52.7% stake in CIG, which builds up to a 58.7% stake if the loan is converted. CIG will ask shareholders to waive Fairfax’s obligation to extend a mandatory offer to minorities. (BDLive)

 
 

AFRICA HUNTING DOWN ITS STOLEN ASSETS

Former British prime minister David Cameron two years ago was caught talking about an anti-corruption summit and calling Nigeria "fantastically corrupt". But meanwhile his country ranks among the top destinations for stolen assets from African countries. Nigeria and ex-British colonies in Africa hope to change that by working together to repatriate billions of dollars in offshore accounts from London and beyond. At a regional conference held this week in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, the heads of anti-corruption agencies from around Africa met to discuss strategies to overcome bottlenecks in the recovery of stolen assets. They further pledged in a joint statement to encourage African countries to commit to greater corporate transparency and called for investment in anti-corruption agencies to "trace, recover and return assets." (AFP)

 
 

IS TESLA STILL THE E-CAR FOR THE MASSES?

Elon Musk’s Model 3, once touted as Tesla’s US$35 000 (about ZAR448 00) car for the masses, can now set a buyer back almost US$80 000. Musk unveiled specifications for a faster and more powerful version of the Model 3 in a series of tweets over the weekend. It will cost $78 000, more than double the $35 000 base-model starting price discussed into the run-up before the electric car’s deliveries started last year. The increasingly expensive configurations for the Model 3 are planned steps, if somewhat counterintuitive ones, toward Musk’s vision of Tesla as a mass-production player with vehicles affordable to a broader swath of buyers. The US$78 000 sticker puts the electric sedan beyond reach of many consumers, and, by Musk’s own estimations, brings it closer to the realm of luxury cars. (Fin24)

 
     
  Advertorial  
     
 

EXCEPTIONS: Labour Court takes strong exception to an Exception

 

The purpose of an Exception is to object to a defect in the opposing party’s pleadings. Typical exceptions are that the statement of claim is “vague and embarrassing” or that it “does not disclose a cause of action”.  The main case can’t proceed until the Exception has been dealt with.

The problem is that the exception procedure is often used as a deliberate strategy to delay and obstruct the progress of the case. A party can dig around for technical legal points to construct an Exception for this purpose. Apart from the delays, legal costs pile up because you need an experienced lawyer to argue the case for an Exception in open court.

To read more click here

Article by Patrick Deale


Cell: 083 375 8771
Email: Patrick@venns.co.za
Website: www.venns.co.za

 
     
  WELCOME TO NEW MEMBERS  
     
 

The PCB welcomes the following new members:

 

Just Group – Supplier of construction materials -  033 897 2151
Amberglen Body Corporate - Retirement Village – 033 239 4111 
Stallion Boot & Shoe – Leather shoes – 033 387 6738
Brian Anderson Brokers – Insurance, Medical Aid, GAP cover and Employee Benefits – 033 342 0330
Supertech BMW PMB – Retail new and pre-owned BMWs and service and parts – 033 897 8800
Maritzburg United – Professional sports club – 033 345 5666
Sanlam Life Insurance Limited – Financial services and insurance products - 033 355 4111
Pietermaritzburg Eye Hospital – Independent specialist eye surgical hospital – 033 812 2020
Majiya Built In Cupboards – Kitchen units, bedrooms and TV stands – 083 989 7719
Ketelo Logistics (Pty) Ltd – logistics, removals for residential and commercial – 033 346 0752
Emzansi Foundation – Non-profit organisation focusing on education, infrastructure development and youth skills development – 033 345 1853.


To find out more about chamber membership and the many benefits click here.

 
     
  QUOTE  
     
 
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You’re only one workout away from a good mood.

Unknown

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