Tag: job creation

In South Africa, businesses are required to contribute to the social and economic development (SED) by the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) Act of 2003. This legislation stipulates the assessment of SED performance through a scorecard covering enterprise development, skills training, job creation, socio-economic projects, and preferential procurement.

In a first for the local financial services sector, a diverse collaborative industry work group established following the inaugural SA Market Surveillance Conference held last year, has developed a draft industry code of conduct to guide financial institutions and align with international standards to bolster market surveillance in the country.

The rise of financial technology (fintech) in Africa is not just a story of innovation; it's a narrative about empowerment and transformation. As the continent continues to grapple with the challenges of limited access to traditional banking services, fintech has emerged as a beacon of hope, offering a path towards financial inclusion and economic growth.

South African policymakers learn all the wrong lessons from other countries. Rather than look to the free and prosperous societies of the United States and Europe, politicians and pundits would rather push us to imitate Russia, China, Venezuela, Cuba and Zimbabwe. And even when policymakers identify genuinely good role models, they take the wrong lessons.

The formation of South Africa’s new Government of National Unity (GNU) bodes well for the consolidation of state reform and pro-growth initiatives, including better performing parastatals, such as Eskom and Transnet. Given that economic growth is essential to spur social development, I believe now is the time to act.

There is a rare opportunity to right a lot of South Africa’s wrongs in one go. Corruption and unemployment are two major roadblocks. Permit me to explain how they can be simultaneously addressed within the current administration. I suggest an amnesty largely on the African National Congress (ANC’s) past wrongdoing in office in return for liberalisation of labour laws. This may be for a bit further down the line.

Infrastructure has been named a top priority for South Africa over the next few years as we seek to bounce back from global economic shocks such as the pandemic and war in Ukraine and refocus attention on promoting socio-economic development. 

Every aspect of our everyday lives involves the use of plastic in one form or another. From electronics to water bottles and cars to children’s toys, there seems to be an insatiable demand for products crafted from fossil fuel-based material. This results in immense environmental strain as landfills spill over into the natural environments and oceans, leaving traces of plastic in our soil and water sources.

With South Africa getting closer to rolling out a digital nomad visa, it is a mix of good news for the economy but also a cause for concern about how it might affect our local coders. Remote work is gaining popularity, allowing individuals to combine travelling the globe with maintaining full-time employment.

In 2020, the National Treasury published for public comment a draft Conduct of Financial Institutions Bill, as an update of its draft two years earlier. This 2020 draft bill aims, ambitiously, at revising the separate laws which regulate the conduct of financial institutions of all kinds, be they banks, insurers, pension funds or medical schemes; and which regulate the conduct of providers of financial advisory, administration or payment services.