Joanie Hofmeyr achieves early stardom with Juilliard scholarship

This afternoon I tabled a Motion Without Notice in Parliament, congratulating Joanie Hofmeyr on her achievement of winning a scholarship to the prestigious Juilliard school of dance, drama and music in New York. (A Motion Without Notice is an opportunity for MPs to table matters of local or national significance in Parliament).

The motion is set out below, as well as a fuller account of her musical background. 

I met Joanie for the second time after singing evensong on August 2nd at St George's Church, Parktown, Johannesburg where she performed some exquisite solos. She blew everyone away, and I have never seen the church as packed for an evensong as it was then.

What I did not tell Joanie was that I first met her at my good friend JP Landman's 60th birthday at the Cape Town club in June where she performed to the delight of the 50-or-so guests. She really is a remarkable talent and I am sure we will see a lot more of her in the years to come.

Confusion reigns over who controls township industrial parks

Recent statements by DTI Director General Lionel October and Small Business Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu illustrate government’s inability to provide clear direction over the future of South Africa’s industrial parks.

These parks were set up in the 1970s and 80s in the former homelands and townships to provide work spaces for black-owned small and medium enterprises which were prevented from operating in white-designated areas under the Group Areas Act. The parks have been left to decay over many years with virtually no investment in maintaining the buildings, transport infrastructure or marketing.

South Africa’s development finance institutions not doing enough for SMMEs

South Africa’s development finance institutions (DFIs) only contribute about 5% of the country’s GDP whereas in Germany it is closer to 20%. This startling comparison was revealed by the IDC’s Divisional Executive for Corporate Strategy, David Jarvis, at a workshop convened by the Portfolio Committee on Small Business Development last week.

The purpose of the workshop was to understand the funding environment for small businesses and cooperatives and come up with strategies for improving it.

During three days of deliberations, the picture became more and more depressing as we listened to the difficulties facing entrepreneurs seeking financial support.

Letter to Business Day on triangulation and al-Bashir

Today's Business Day publishes my letter on why triangulation in the al-Bashir case is a bad idea. Read it here or below. You can read Michael Harris' article which prompted my letter, here. The article caused quite a bit of debate and correspondence. It is interesting the EU delegation in SA last week also said South Africa should have detained al-Bashir. This controversy is not going to die down, especially since the government is contesting the court order ex post facto.

Empowering women traders and entrepreneurs in Cape Town

On Saturday and Monday I attended two events which show how much is going on quietly behind the scenes to empower women in business in Cape Town.

The first was the Ward 57 Women Economic Empowerment Symposium, the second was the launch of a campaign to equip small traders with a sales kit to sell cigarettes backed up by the very innovative M4JAM system of making extra money. Women make up the bulk of informal traders in this part of the world, particularly on the Cape Flats. Though on the margins of the economy, some of them are breaking into bigger markets and developing products that can compete in the formal economy. Events such as these give a boost to that momentum.

Interview with the Sunday Tribune on measures to assist small businesses

Today's Sunday Tribune business section features a Q&A with me on Page 4. Here is the article.

You can read my full answers below. 

      NOTE: There is an error in the article on the BBBEE scores for procurement and enterprise development. It says the combined points is 25, whereas the correct number is 25 for procurement and 15 for enterprise and supplier development.

Speech to the British Chamber of Business in Southern Africa

This evening DA leader Mmusi Maimane and I addressed a gathering of business people at the Inanda Club in Johannesburg at the invitation of the British Chamber of Business in Southern Africa. Their monthly meetings are an opportunity for discussion and networking among an important collection of leaders in the SA business community.

Below is the text of my prepared speech.

It is an honour and my pleasure to be invited to speak to you here this evening. The decision to re-establish the British Chamber of Business in Southern Africa is to be welcomed by everyone with a stake in building relations between Britain and this region.

British – South Africa trade relations have traditionally been very close. South Africa is Britain’s sixth biggest trading partner globally, while Britain remains South Africa’s seventh largest export market.