President Jacob Zuma officiated over the official opening of the first provincial InvestSA One Stop Shop in the Western Cape on Friday. InvestSA is a division of the South African Department of Trade and Industry (the dti). They support investors exploring opportunities in South Africa.
Speaking in Cape Town, Zuma described the launch as historic following the launch of the national One Stop Shop in Pretoria in March this year.
“For a long time there have been concerns from the business and investor community that bureaucratic hurdles in the state make investing in South Africa difficult. The launch of InvestSA One Stop Shop for the Western Cape Province this morning is our concrete response as government to these concerns,” he said.
The facility will house 14 partners, including national, provincial and local government departments, to facilitate easier access to the South African market for investors.
Zuma acknowledged there was concern among investors, both domestic and foreign, about the South African economy, including sluggish growth, growing government debt and the poor performance of state-owned companies.
“We share these concerns, they are our concerns too, and we are taking steps to address them,” the president said.
“We are accelerating the implementation of the National Development Plan because we believe that it is the only plan that will lead us to inclusive growth and help us create jobs.”
The One Stop Shop would provide a host of professional services for establishing businesses in the province.
“All an investor needs to do is to make an appointment with the relevant government representative at the One Stop Shop to explain the services required and the government representative provides guidance and support to the investor.
“From permits to water or electricity services, tax issue, licensing – it should be easy for an investor to get all these services under one roof,” said Zuma.
Two other provincial InvestSA One Stop Shops are expected to be launched in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal later this year.
Uber Launches Petition Calling On Ministers To Assist With Violence Against Drivers
Transportation company Uber launched a petition on Friday calling on Transport Minister Joe Maswanganyi and Police Minister Fikile Mbalula to assist with the violence against their drivers and allowing consumers to choose who they want to travel with, following recent attacks allegedly by metered taxi drivers.
“Last night in Sandton, a vehicle registered to use the Uber app was set on fire by unknown individuals. I am relieved that the driver of the vehicle was not injured and I met with him this morning to offer him our support,” Alon Lits General Manager for Uber Sub-Saharan Africa said in a statement.
“However, we are extremely disappointed that this violence against Uber driver-partners continues and that policy makers and regulators are blaming this violent behaviour on a “turf war”.”
Videos showing two Uber vehicles that were set alight allegedly by metered taxi operators in Sandton went viral Thursday night, with Uber drivers retaliating by torching a metered taxi and throwing stones at any metered taxi they came across. Metered taxi drivers have been against Uber operating in South Africa, saying that their low fares were taking away their clients.
“Despite ongoing discussions with regulators and policy makers, most recently with the Police Ministry on 27 July 2017, there has been over 200 recorded incidents against driver-partners since the July meeting, and still no meaningful intervention or arrests have been made,” Uber said.
“Thousands of driver-partners choose to use the Uber app to connect with their passengers in order to provide transport services because they are completely free to choose if, when and where they drive, with no shifts or minimum hours.”
The transport company said that their driver-partners wanted to exercise their freedom to do their jobs and earn a living for their families, without fear of intimidation and violence by some metered taxi operators, however the authorities and regulators whose responsibility was to protect citizens had not taken sufficient action. (via African News Agency)
Gauteng To Host Meeting Africa For The Next Five Years
Following a comprehensive bidding process, Gauteng has emerged the successful bidder to host Meetings Africa, South African Tourism’s strategic business events show, for the next five years.
The event will be hosted by the Gauteng Tourism Authority and the Johannesburg Convention Bureau at the Sandton Convention Centre through a province-city partnership annually in February.
“We would like to thank all the bidding tourism authorities for their submissions, and congratulate the province of Gauteng on winning the right to host Africa’s largest business events trade show. We look forward to continuing our strong partnership with the Gauteng province and once again showcasing the province’s world-class venues and infrastructure for meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions and events (MICE),” said Sisa Ntshona, CEO of South African Tourism.
With 22,000m² of flexible event space, contemporary Afro-chic décor and technologically advanced facilities, the Sandton Convention Centre is perfectly suited to showcase the continent as an attractive, value-for-money destination to host international and regional meetings and conferences.
“Through this partnership, and as we continue with our efforts to achieve our strategic goal of five million more tourists in the next five years, we will also reinforce Meetings Africa’s status as Africa’s premier business and professional events trade show committed to positioning and, of course, growing the number of business events hosted on the African continent,” concludes Ntshona.
In the last five years (between 2013 and 2017) Meetings Africa has hosted over 1,000 international and regional buyers, 1,336 exhibitors and over 7,000 visitors. Meetings Africa 2018 will take place from 26-28 February 2018. (via Bizcommunity)
