June 14, 2012

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Reggie Sikhakhane

Making headlines:

A planned R100-million fund from Wal-Mart and Massmart to help South African suppliers source more goods locally should be increased to at least R500-million, suggests a regulator-affiliated panel.

The majority decision released this week from an expert panel advising the Competition Appeal Court could put pressure on the retailers to boost funding, but will not alter the deal.

Wal-Mart last year spent $2.4-billion on a majority stake in South Africa's Massmart, raising concerns of labour and left-leaning forces in the government that union jobs could be lost while a flood of cheap Asian imports would come into the country.

Despite weak growth and increasing uncertainty in high-income countries, medium-term growth prospects for sub-Saharan Africa look promising.

According to the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects report, the region is expected to record 5% growth during 2012, up from 4.7% in 2011, and 5.3% is predicted in 2013, as global demand firms and domestic demand remains robust.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s economic growth is projected to slow to 2.7% this year, from 3.1% in 2011, but will pick up to 3.4% in 2013 and 3.5% in 2014.

The Gauteng Provincial Government is to earnestly start taking advantage of its status as the "smart province" by embarking on innovative ways to reduce unemployment among young people.

Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane says her government will this year do more to inform young people of the economic opportunities available to them in the province. She adds that the Office of the Premier is now active on Twitter and Facebook in an effort to communicate with a technology-savvy youth generation.

Further, the provincial government will be rolling-out Phase 2 of the e-Recruitment model, which includes electronic short-listing, SMS notifications, report generation, an advertisement library, and an electronic and searchable database.

Also making headlines:

international Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo believes Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo should be sentenced to 30 years in prison for using child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

And, the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey reveals that the strong hiring prospects for the third quarter of 2012 reported in nine of the ten measured industry sectors, augures well for job seekers.