[Source: gdrc.org]

War against the poor is deepening

The main reason why people become informal traders is the relentless rise of unemployment, and casualistion of labour. More and more jobs consist of casual labour, seasonal and part time work, like Uber drivers and food delivery staff who work for one company, but are told that they are self-employed contractors, with none of the rights and protection that they would get if they were defined as employees.
That is why millions of workers have opted to take their chance in the informal economy.

[Adapted from article in Politics Web, 20 June 2018] 

IDZ brings economic boom to Saldanha Bay

Trade and industry minister Rob Davies said a study had shown that Saldanha Bay was strategically located to serve the oil and gas sector on the African continent due to an increasing number of oil rigs requiring maintenance and passing by the West coast to the East coast of Africa. The focus on oil and gas facilities will include maintenance and repair, fabrication, supply and other services. The study, Minister Davies added, found that development in the area has the potential to create 11 975 new jobs.
The IDZ is an industrial area linked to an international sea port which has areas that are suited for the manufacturing and storage of goods to boost beneficiation investment, economic growth and the development of skills and employment.

[Source: sassda.erg.co.za] 

SOUTH AFRICA MUST REDUCE CORPORATE CAPTURE OF AGRICULTURE

by David Fig

Unlike most other countries on the continent, South Africa’s agricultural sector is heavily skewed to industrial farming. Its 40 000 commercial farmers produce most of the country’s food. The official number of households engaged in small-scale farming is around 1,3 million, although this could be a low estimate.
The country’s commercial agriculture sector relies on expensive and polluting genetically modified seed, pesticides and chemical fertilisers. It is also heavily reliant on irrigation: the commercial agricultural sector extracts 63% of the country’s available surface water. None of this is good for the environment.
South Africa urgently needs to rethink its existing agricultural model. The current preference for large-scale, high-input farming enterprises fails to trust in small-scale family-based producers’ ability to provide more efficiently for the market. Employing agroecology – farming without GMOs, chemical pesticides and artificial fertilisers – small-scale farmers can, with sufficient policy and practical state support, contribute significantly to food and nutritional security. This has been accomplished successfully elsewhere.

[Source: www.news.uct.ac.za] 

There are two main industries in Nelson Mandela Bay namely: 1) automotive and 2) harbour facilities.
The automotive industry comprises major vehicle manufacturers that are based in Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage, such as Volkswagen South Africa and General Motors.
In addition to these companies, which are dedicated to the construction and production of commercial and other vehicles, the automotive industry in Port Elizabeth-Uitenhage is also made up of the entities that manufacture components of these vehicles. These companies must make the batteries, catalytic converters, tyres, wire harnesses, etc., that make the car companies work as well as they do. The main harbour has a valuable container terminal, fruit terminal and manganese terminal. In addition, the onsite railway trains make the transport of goods to and from the harbour quicker and easier (and, therefore, cheaper). Much of the container traffic is caused by motor vehicles and their components being shipped, although steel, wool and other machinery are also transported frequently. Agricultural products are handled by the breakbulk terminal.
In 1999, the Coega Development Corporation was begun with the aim of making Port Elizabeth the preferred investment destination. The deepwater port of Ngqura has been positioned along the international east-west trading route.

[Source: mbda.co.za]