Letter From Our CEO - July 2022

July in South Africa marks the birth of Nelson Mandela which is celebrated worldwide. We can only wonder today about his thoughts would be of our beautiful country today. Looking back at S A History in July with the links below our country has been through a lot and yet we have survived. Challenges there are, but we are a diverse bunch of people and as long as we all focus, we will survive.

Load shedding is far worse than Covid it appears. Companies are struggling to adapt, and this puts us all in a negative frame of mind but how is South Africa really performing?

The cumulative value of exports during the first five months of the year amounted to R791-billion, which is a record.

Wholesale trade sales figures were R260-billion in May, the second highest ever. For the first five months of the year, they were R1.2-trillion, which is a record and 18% higher than in the same period last year.

The value of mining production was R89-billion in May, 92% higher than the same month in 2019, i.e., pre-covid.

New vehicle sales, which have been higher every month this year than last year, in marked contrast to almost every other large and medium sized country in the world. Car sales in SA increased by more than 7% in June and export sales by 18%.

So, with all the challenges we face it’s not all doom and gloom.

It looks more and more like Zimbabweans in South Africa potentially will no longer be given work permits unless they meet the critical / scares skills requirements. This will have a major effect on business, and you need to take special note of this as both an employer and employee.

The department of labour is reviewing Employment Equity currently regarding sector specific targets per industry, this too will have a major effect on how business is structured moving forward.

President Ramaphosa has selected his delegates for a review of the B-BBEE codes what is concerning to me that once again the panel does not have a single verification company on the panel. This is a major shortcoming that always results in a lot of back and forth.

We are being called on more and more to fix ownership structures in companies that were implemented. Before you implement a structure that sounds too good, I suggest you get a second opinion from a different consultant or a verification company – this will save you a fortune. It’s not a simple task in simply unwinding an existing structure.

Half of the year is now well over please do not leave your BEE, EE and Skills requirements to the last-minute start now it will save you money and hassle.

As always take care

Sincerely

Hilton Johnson

CEO – Compliance Hub

Gen. J.B.M. Hertzog founds the Free State National Party, 1 July 1938 South African Press Association is established 1 July 1968 SA signs Nuclear Non, 2 July 1988 A car bomb explodes at Ellis Park Rugby Stadium 3 July 1946 A Cape Passive Resistance Council is formed 3 July 1992 SA’s Fifa membership reinstated 3 July 1900 Anglo-Boer War 2: The British evacuate Rustenburg to occupy Commando Nek and Silkaatsnek 4 July 1879 The Battle of Ulundi begins 4 July 1973 The Bantu Labour Regulations Amendment Bill becomes operative 4 July 1961 UN committee is barred to enter SA 5 July 1989 Nelson Mandela meets President P.W. Botha to begin negotiating the end of apartheid 5 July 2004 Start of blood classification controversy 6 July 1987 Dr. Federik Van Zyl Slabbert leads delegation to meet ANC 6 July 1977 Coloured Labour Party strengthened its stance against apartheid 6 July 1976 Language crisis in schools resolved 7 July 1996 SA President Nelson Mandela to step down 7 July 1974 New Zealand imposes a blanket ban on sports teams from South Africa 7 July 1988 Five prominent anti-apartheid activists released 8 July 1949 The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act commences 8 July 2004 SA to host future Pan African Parliament 9 July 1991 South Africa allowed to compete in the Olympics again 9 July 1915 Imperial German Forces forced to unconditional surrender by Union of South Africa Forces during World War I 10 July 1991 SA accepted back in international cricket 10 July 1991 SA signs Nuclear Treaty 11 July 1963 Police arrest members of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) High Command at Lilliesleaf Farm 11 July 2006 First Black Test cricket captain in SA is announced 12 July 1954 ANC President Albert Luthuli banned 12 July 1972 Black People Convention is formed 12 July 1998 Pres. Nelson Mandela accompanies Queen Elizabeth II on a coach drive through the streets of London 12 July 1984 A car bomb explodes in Durban, killing five and injuring 27 people 12 July 1988 Nkuma and Mahlalela sentenced to death 13 July 1947 Memorandum on housing conditions in Fietas, Johannesburg 13 July 1963 India intensifies struggle against apartheid 13 July 1984 The last sitting of an all-white Parliament 13 July 1992 Tripartite Alliance plans mass action 14 July 1998 Violence erupts in Richmond 15 July 1916 Battle of Delville Wood starts 15 July 1960 The first Boeing 707 jet aircraft arrives in South Africa 15 July 1856 Natal is formally separated from the Cape Colony 15 July 1976 Jimmy Kruger announces amendment to the Internal Security Act 16 July 1901 Anglo-Boer War 2. The British Colonial Office appoints a Ladies Commission to investigate the concentration camps in South Africa. 16 July 1990 The ANC sends a report on police violence to President F. W. de Klerk 16 July 1966 Number of banned persons in South Africa totals 936 16 July 1989 COSATU intensifies campaign against apartheid 17 July 1964 Mandela is awarded the Joliot Curie Gold Medal for Peace 17 July 1950 The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) introduces its first national news service 18 July 1914 Gandhi leaves South Africa 18 July 1997 Max the gorilla is shot 20 July 1969 South African invention lands on the moon 20 July 1988The Angolan-Namibian peace plan is accepted 20 July 1970 SA Prime Minister, B.J. Vorster reveals that SA scientists have succeeded in developing a new process for uranium enrichment 21 July 1967 Chief Albert Luthuli, Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President of the ANC, is killed in Groutville 21 July 1901 Three cases of Buboinic plague are reported in Cape Town 21 July 1981 Umkhonto We Sizwe, military wing of the ANC, claims responsibility for power station blast 22 July 1974 The full citizenship of Coloured people is called for 23 July 1954 Sisulu is served with two notifications 23 July 1986 Passbook laws relaxed 23 July 1989 Blast opposite the Athlone Magistrate’s Court and police complex kills two people 23 July 1996 South African swimmer, Penny Heyns, wins a gold Medal at Atlanta Olympics 24 July 1980 Johannesburg municipal workers strike 24 July 1978 Margaret Gardiner becomes Miss Universe 25 July 1993St James Church massacre 25 July 1990 Members of the ANC and SACP are detained due to Operation Vula 27 July 1999 Natal Law society apologises to Gandhi 27 July 1992 Nelson Mandela says general strike will go ahead 28 July 1914 World War I begins 28 July 1998 Amy Biehl’s murderers receive amnesty from TRC 29 July 1921 CPSA is founded 29 July 1951 The African National Congress (ANC) calls a meeting to chart a way forward for the Defiance Campaign 30 July 1987 An ANC car bomb directed at the headquarters of the Wits Command, Johannesburg, kills one person and injures 68