In Nelspruit, the stadium has a capacity of 43, 000 but as at this weekend, about half of the tickets – that’s about 24, 000 – still remain unsold. On the other hand, the stadium in Durban still has about 19, 000 available seats still left unsold. However, tickets for the finals are faring better as only 6, 000 tickets out of 94, 000 still remain unsold.

The chief executive of the Local Organising Committee Mvuso Mbebe says the amount of tickets still left unsold is of huge concern to organisers. According to him, “That concern is shared by all of us. We appeal to the South African public to support the tournament. It should be immaterial which teams are playing. We’ve got great stars here, the football has been great and we owe it to the continent to make sure the stadiums are full,” he added.

The first quarter final will take place on Saturday afternoon between Ghana’s Black Stars and the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde in Port Elizabeth but the venue has witnessed low attendances. However, Mbebe says plans are underway to address that.

Mbebe said: “We have increased our advertising [in Port Elizabeth]. We’re looking now at a system where the complimentary tickets will only be handed out once people have arrived at the bus or train stations. We’ll do that for Saturday’s match and see if that works. Beyond that really, there is little else we can do.”

Meanwhile, the Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) Secretary General Hicham El Amrani says the reasons why tickets are still left unsold may be because fans are yet to know who will qualify to the last four. According to him, “They [Nelspruit] need to work very, very hard [to fill the stadium] but we understand that some spectators don’t want to commit before they know who is going to play in those semi-finals.”

Also CAF did confirm that 433,053 tickets had been bought by the public for the tournament, while 278,596 have been given away as complimentary tickets.

The quarter finals of the 2013 AFCON will take place this weekend. Ghana will file against Cape Verde; hosts Bafana Bafana take on The Eagles of Mali; The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire play Nigeria’s Super Eagles while the final game is between The Stallions of Bourkina Faso and The Hawks of Togo

GHANA VS CAPE VERDE
Ghana’s Black Stars are one of the tournament favourites. Despite a slow start after their 2:2 draw with DR Congo, the Ghanaians have gone to secure two confident boosting victories – 1:0 against Mali and 3:0 against Niger – to show their class. Ghana topped group A with 7 points and are strong favourites to beat their opponents. Aside this, Each Ghana player received $35 000 after qualifying for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals, officials said on Tuesday. According to team manager Emmanuel Kyeremeh, “The bonuses have been paid. Had they failed to qualify for the quarterfinals, they would not have received anything,” he added. With this cash bonus, expect the Kwesi Appiah led team to go all out against the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde.

On the other hand, Cape Verde have nothing to lose. Reaching the last 8 after their pulsating 2:1 win over Angola is enough achievement for the tiny West African island of just over 500, 000 people. Captain Nando captures the mood in their camp when he says, “There will not be pressure on my team. Why would there be? People don’t tell us we have to win the cup. Nobody expects anything from us. If we beat Ghana, we would be 50 percent of the way to winning this competition. Ghana have to win this match. All the pressure is on [them].”

Well, not only will pressure be on the Black Stars but also an opportunity for the team to get another 22, 000 dollars each if they reach medal position.

VERDICT: Ghana 2:1 Cape Verde

SOUTH AFRICA vs MALI
SouthAfrica’s Bafana Bafana are in the knock out stages of the AFCON for the first time since their last quarter final appearance in 2002. This is a massive achievement for the 1996 champions. Co-incidentally, their opponents Mali were also the team to defeat them 13 years ago in the last 8. South Africa manager Gordon Igesund admits his opponents are strong and have the height to trouble his team.

“Mali are a talented team with very good players. They play differently from the other sides we have met so far. They like to slow things down; they like to knock the ball around.” Igesund said. He goes on to add that “the Malians are all big boys. I watched them draw against the Democratic Republic of Congo and all 11 are tall. We have to use the ball well, keep it on the ground, (and) get behind them.”

The Eagles of Mali on the other hand are expected to be without first choice goalie Mamadou Samassa, who is suspended. His place in goal is likely to be taken by penalty specialist Soumbeyla Diakite. Diakite famously (or notoriously if you support Gabon) saved from Gabon’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in a quarter-final shoot-out of last year’s edition in Libreville. More so, captain Seydou Keita has assured that a possible disagreement over player bonuses will not affect what he says is Mali’s ”priceless” campaign at the African Cup of Nations even if it means paying some of the money himself.

Despite saying there could still be a problem over extra payments for players if they reached the semifinals by beating host South Africa, the former Barcelona midfield general said he would help if it was needed. According to him, “you cannot imagine how moved and happy I am to be here today and be able to play a match that will bring joy to my country. This is priceless. Money doesn’t matter in such moments.”

VERDICT: South Africa 0: 1 Mali

COTE d’IVOIRE VS NIGERIA
This fixture promises to be the star attraction of all the games. Games involving both sides are usually fiercely contested. En route the 1994 USA 94 World Cup, both sides were in the same qualifying group and ended up sharing the spoils with home victories. But both teams did play what arguably is the best match ever at the AFCON is the 1994 semi finals which ended in a 2:2 draw but Nigeria’s Super Eagles triumphed 4:2 on penalties. But since then, Nigeria have lost twice to their Sunday opponents – in the group stages in 2006 and the semi finals of the 2008 edition.

Presently, Nigeria’s Super Eagles are the underdogs as Stephen Keshi’s team are in transition. In fact, most Nigerians already feel the team will be thrashed by their opponents who have better and more experienced players. To this end, the Nigeria Footbal Federation has offered each national team player $15,000 to beat the Ivorians. NFF spokeperson Ademola Olajire says each player will recieve a $90,000 bonus if they win the AFCON, $20,000 for reaching the semifinals and $25,000 for the final. Also, Federation secretary general Musa Adamu says the reward is meant “to motivate the players to make Nigeria proud.”

Well, the team needs enough motivation as midfield maestro Fego Ogude will be suspended while Chelsea man John Mikel Obi is expected to start. Despite contrary rumours that he will be suspended, Obi only has one yellow card.

VERDICT: Cote d’Ivoire 3: 1 Nigeria

TOGO VS BOURKINA FASO
The last quarter final games involves two teams who were not give much of a chance in the competition. The Stallions of Bourkina Faso topped Group C against all odds beating Ethiopia 4:0 and securing a late equalizer against Nigeria to secure a point as well ousting defending champions Zambia after a goalless draw. However, the Stallions will miss the services of striker Alain Traore who has a thigh problem.

On the other hand, the Hawks of Togo have put aside money related issues which almost marred their AFCON preparations. Captain Emmanuel Adebayor almost missed the competition after threatening to withdraw from the competition because of perceived ill-treatment coming from the Togolese football authorities. But those off-field issues now seem a thing of the past as Ade has lead his team to their first quarter final appearance in the competition.

VERDICT: Togo 1:1 Bourkina Faso (4:3 after AET and Penalties)

Opened on Monday, the COSATU meeting plays host to a number of trade union and government delegates. Usually an event to reflect on democratic and trade-union successes and discuss topical issues, paving the way for the coming year; this year, the atmosphere at the Congress has been chilled by the violent mining strikes that have taken place around the country.

President Jacob Zuma has addressed the Congress, urging miners and employers alike to adhere to the rule of law in resolving future disputes; while also detailing to the Congress the significant economic hit the country has been subject to due to the on-going halts in production.

Mining accounts for over 60 percent of South Africa’s export revenue, with trade in gold, platinum, and coal particularly high. While the miners’ strikes have been taking place over the past six weeks, production in some plants has completed halted, with other operations managing to resolve their disputes with only minor decreases in productivity. Nonetheless, the South African economy is suffering a substantial impact due to the strikes, with President Zuma declaring that the economy has already seen a detriment of 3.1 billion South African rand ($378 million).

President Zuma told the Congress that not only had the strikes caused difficulties in the production sector, but that pressure was being felt in other sectors, causing further financial losses. He spoke honestly to the COSATU attendees, saying: “The impact goes beyond the mining sector. The manufacturing sector, especially the Fabricated Metal Products sector is already showing signs of strain. We cannot afford to go into a recession, and revert to the 2008 and 2009 period where the country lost close to a million jobs, which we are still battling to recover.”

Calling upon the miners and employers to learn from this period of turmoil, and to take a peaceful and lawful approach to future conflicts, President Zuma said: “we have to find a way to restore workplace stability and labour peace. Violence cannot become a culture of our labour relations. Workers and employers need to use the laws of the land which spell out clearly how to handle disputes between themselves.”

Also present at the COSATU meeting is deputy chairman of the South African Institute of International Affairs, Moeletsi Mbeki. He has spoken out to voice his recommendation that the only way forward for South Africa is to diversify the economy and end such deep-seeded reliance on the mining and resources sector in order to prevent future fiscal downfalls. He told interviewers: “This is an old story that has been going on for 100 years. Successive South African governments have been told over and again that they have to diversify the economy of South Africa.”

Mbeki went on to add that South Africa should be following the models of rapidly developing Asian economies, such as China, and Thailand. Noting that he is not calling for miracles, he described that currently declining market sectors should be developed in South Africa: “You have to grow your manufacturing sector. You have to develop your agricultural sector. And South Africa has to rebuild its manufacturing industry, which is actually declining, which means we have to invest more and more and more in manufacturing, in education, all the things that the Asians are doing and succeeding to do them. South Africa has to do the same.”

Bunge and Senwes entered into a joint-venture agreement almost a year ago, on 1^st October 2011, in a bid to pool expertise and achieve greater growth across the countries of the South African Development Community (SADC). Both leaders in the agribusiness and food security sector, the pair hoped to expand business by focusing in the first phase of development on growing procurement and marketing through their joint wheat and grain import-export operations.

According to the partners, the join was advantageous for both parties, as Senwes would benefit from Bunge’s “expertise in international grain markets and risk management” while Bunge would rely on Senwes’ procurement prowess, and make use of the company’s extensive network of producer contacts around the region.

While the joint venture agreement of last year included a provision containing the option of Bunge acquiring a 50 percent stake in Senwes in order to allow for continuing Bunge investment, the option was not exercised until successful results started to filter through. The companies claim that the initial wheat and grain phase of expansion has seen satisfactory progress, prompting the renewed investment by Bunge as the pair decides on the next stages of the growth strategy. The value of the new acquisition was not, however, disclosed.

The joint venture, through Senwes’ African operations, already hosts operations in five of the fifteen SADC member states, namely: South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and Kenya, with imminent entry into the Zimbabwean market planned. In their announcement the pair underlined that they intend to speed up expansion into the remaining ten SADC countries in the next phase of their strategy.

Senwes Managing Director Francois Strydom indicated that the joint venture would broaden its focus to include other food products, such as soya beans, but that the end goal is to spread operations to other SADC countries and further. He stated: “We will be focusing on grains such as maize, wheat, soya beans within Sadc and gradually venture into the other economic regions of the continent”.

Meanwhile, the companies are continually considering new projects in which the pair might develop joint-ventures in the future. They recently decided to go ahead with the investigation of the feasibility of opening an oilseed-crushing plant in South Africa, potentially opening up a new market-dimension for farmers in the region.

The newly built Park Inn by Radisson Cape Town Newlands will be the first internationally branded hotel in Claremont / Newlands, a key upmarket business and residential node, in the affluent Southern Suburbs of Cape Town.

The hotel will be close to several legendary sport stadiums and institutions, such as the Newlands Cricket Ground, Newlands Rugby Stadium, South African Rugby Head Quarters and the Sports Science Institute of South Africa, Africa’s leading sports medicine, rehabilitation and high performance centre.

The new hotel will also feature 122 guest rooms, a club lounge, a business lounge, the RBG Restaurant & Bar, a breakfast restaurant, a kiosk and help desk, a gym, multipurpose meeting and function facilities including an outdoor terrace with sculpture garden and an outdoor swimming pool.

Rezidor already own two Radisson Blu hotels in the city, one in operation and one under development.

“South Africa is an important cluster for our young and dynamic Park Inn by Radisson brand, and we are delighted to further strengthen our presence in the key market Cape Town,” said Kurt Ritter, President & CEO of Rezidor.

The project confirms Rezidor as the largest international hotel operator in South Africa with 10 hotels and more than 1,800 rooms open or under development.

This development is a joint venture between Meridian Property Holdings, a Cape Town based developer, the Deaf Federation of South Africa (DEAFSA), and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC). DEAFSA represents some 800 000 hearing disabled members countrywide, and views the development as a key broad-based empowerment initiative in terms of income generating, skills transfer and employment opportunities for its members.

“Park Inn by Radisson hotels are highly efficient, fresh and innovative hotels that are global in outlook and local in operation, and we are committed to ambitious growth of this brand in South Africa,” commented Andrew McLachlan, Rezidor’s Vice President Business Development for Africa & Indian Ocean Islands.

Headquartered in Minneapolis, USA, and Brussels, Belgium, the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group has over 1,300 hotels in operation and under development with more than 60,000 rooms in 50 countries.

Carlson Rezidor recently opened its first hotel in Zambia. The 142-room Radisson Blu Hotel in Lusaka, Zambia makes it the group’s 22nd hotel in operation in Africa; and brings Carlson Rezidor’s total African portfolio of properties in operation and under development to 48 hotels with 10,889 rooms.

The group plans to open more Radisson Blu hotels in Maputo,Mozambique; Kenya,Nairobi; Luanda,Angola; and Kigali,Rwanda.

The Bank – which boasts over 54 million clients worldwide – will begin with a small operation in South Africa, with six or seven colleagues manning the branch and mainly providing corporate banking and lending services to Indian and South African corporate clients. BOI has a solid reputation for its SME funding services, and it intends to bring this reputation to South Africa, planning to act as a key funding and development agent for SMEs in the country.

At the opening ceremony, Alok Misra, chairman and managing director of BOI placed a great deal of emphasis on the expanding African market, and the development potential to be fulfilled by the growing SME trade sphere, stating that through providing solid financing services to the SME audience, BOI intended to be a: “key player in economic transformation in South Africa”.

With bilateral trade between the two countries on the rise, BOI claims that this is the opportune moment for a South African branch to be launched. Trade between the states has seen a doubling over the past five years. In the 6 months ended June 2012, the India-South Africa bilateral trade figure exceeded $10 billion, the highest figure to date, with BOI’s Misra predicting the figure to increase beyond $ 15 billion by the end of the year. Highlighting the Bank’s eagerness to forge ties with South Afria, Misra added that: “South Africa is the financial centre … the powerhouse of manufacturing and hub for Sub-Saharan trade.”

This spike in bilateral trade figures is largely attributable to increased trading of natural resources such as coal, oil, gas and gold, but also in products for the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors. India is now considered to be South Africa’s sixth largest export destination, and ninth largest source for imports.

The Indian state-owned Bank already has multiple offices on the African continent; spanning Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. However the bank intends the South African office to take a leading role in its African operations, and further global expansion. Misra told attendees at the opening ceremony that: “As a global extension of our operations and continued growth of outward Indian trade and foreign direct investment, in spite of recent economic challenges, our Johannesburg branch will provide strategic advantages to the Bank of India when competing in global markets.”

The South African hospitality industry has suffered over the past years. Strongly affected by the 2008 financial crisis which caused a serious decrease in the number of visitors partaking in the hospitality sector, hotel room occupancy rates fell 18.8 percentage points over a four year period, from 71 percent occupancy in 2007, to 53 percent occupancy by 2011.

A spike was seen in visitor rates in 2010, connected to the 2010 FIFA World Cup held in South Africa that year. This seems to have signalled a turning-point in the hospitality sector. Traveller rates grew suddenly by 14.8 per cent, providing a boost for the continuing regrowth of the sector. PwC Leader of Hospitality and Gaming, Nikki Forster, explained: “We had expected that in the absence of the tournament in 2011, the number of travellers would decline. However, this was not the case. The number of travellers continued to increase, rising by 4.3 percent to 13.77 million”.

Forster continued with the outlook, saying: “After 2012, the improving economic climate will lead to steady gains in both foreign and domestic visitors in South Africa”.

It is in fact the growth of the African traveller base that is expected to give the South African hospitality sector a significant boost. Given the financial troubles prevalent in Europe, travel and income from Europe is predicted to remain low. Visitors from the Asia-Pacific region continue to provide a stable source of income. However, the number of visitors from other African countries is seeing a substantial increase.

Furthermore, growth is to be expected in the domestic travel market as well, albeit slightly less aggressive growth. The report forecasts that the number of domestic travellers will see a 3.3 percent annual compound rate of increase, achieving a figure of 6.4 billion domestic visitors by 2016.

PwC expects to see total accommodation revenue increase significantly on all sides in the coming years. The majority of revenue will continue to be provided by hotel accommodation; with the report predicting that by 2016, total hotel room revenue will reach 14.6 billion rand ($2 billion). Caravan and camping sites, bush camping, and other alternative accommodation solutions are set to become the fastest-growing accommodation family, with the report estimating an annual compound increase of 11.1 percent spanning 2012-2016.

In conclusion, Forster makes a case for continuous investment and innovation – as ever, the keys to remaining at the forefront of an industry. She advises that: “The major players in the industry are continuing with their capital refurbishment programmes to keep their products current and to maintain their competitive edge”.

Image via south-africa-tours-and-travel.

According to African news website allafrica.com, developer relations lead for IBM South Africa, Clayton Booysen, said the “Global Entrepreneur Programme is focused on helping early-stage entrepreneurs to capture emerging business opportunities, especially in fast-growing industries such as energy, utilities, healthcare and telecommunications.”

The programme is an invitation to start-ups that have been in operation for not more than five years in the business of software development. The start-ups would be facilitated and also used to provide the latest technological solutions to the organizer’s clients.

Booysen said: “We want to help these start-ups to get to market faster and at the same time, provide IBM clients with the hottest new technologies.”

SmartCamps, an initiative of IBM, will also hold in October as part of the Global Entrepreneur Programme in South Africa.

SmartCamps provide mentorship, resources and networks to young entrepreneurs, connecting them with investment firms, serial entrepreneurs, marketing, communications academics, and technology experts to help accelerate their growth.

IBM’s Global Entrepreneur Programme holds in 10 countries – including Brazil, China, Mexico, Spain and Germany.

It has been a big year for the South African ICT giant. The company won three Microsoft awards at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in July, achieved “Best Employers South Africa 2012/2013” accreditation by the CRF Institute, and was listed as an “Innovator” by the Info-Tech Research Group. It is on the back of these achievements that the company announces its next big success.

DiData signed the BEE transaction in September 2004, with the Black Economic Empowerment consortium led by Andile Ngcaba. At the time, the consortium comprised 9 groups, including a number of broad-based groups, and 2,177 Previously Disadvantaged Individuals (PDIs) who were in the employment of DiData South Africa (now DiData Middle East and Africa: DiData MEA). The consortium purchased a stake of 25.01 percent in DiData South Africa, which at the time was valued at 380 million rand ($46.4 million).

Over the seven years of the transformation, DiData has implemented a number of empowerment schemes. Of particular mention is the Employee Empowerment Trust, which not only provided financial assistance to 2,177 of the company’s employed Previously Disadvantaged Individuals, but also saw the provision of training courses, and skill and self-development initiatives to the group of employees.

Coupled with the company’s growth, the empowerment scheme has achieved significant results. While at the launch of the transaction, DiData comprised only 3,000 employees in three countries, the company now boasts 5,800 employees in 20 countries. Revenue from the African continent alone has grown from 700 million rand ($85.4 million) in 2004, to 1.5 billion rand ($183 million) at the end of 2011. Much of this increase is linked to the growth in public sector revenue – for which BEE status is a legal requirement – which soared from 162 million rand ($20 million) in 2004, to an estimated 1.4 billion rand ($171 million) in 2011. As such, DiData attributes its growth to the transformation transaction, with DiData Plc. CEO Brett Dawson explaining: “Transformation has opened up massive business opportunities during the period, with revenues in the public sector market, and across the rest of Africa growing over 750 percent and 110 percent respectively… Without question, the business would not have been able to achieve such outstanding growth rates without driving an aggressive transformation strategy”.

One of the initial projects implemented in 2004 on the signing of the transformation agreement, was the creation of the Broad-Based Empowerment Trust. The Trust saw the then nine broad-based community organisations become empowered and enabled in their work. Since the inception of the Consortium, broad-based membership has risen from nine groups to 35, with the groups providing a range of services and care to over 45,000 vulnerable individuals in South Africa. Consortium leader and chairman of DiData MEA Ngcaba detailed the success: “We have empowered 35 broad-based community groups…These groups align with the government’s national priorities of health, HIV/AIDs, education, women and children, job creation, and rural development.”

DiData also created an entrepreneurship programme, which boasts 75 percent PDI participation with a substantial number of PDI women entrepreneurs taking part in the programme. The programme involves the financial and general support of entrepreneurs as they build their start-up businesses, with assistance spanning 12 to 24 months after initiation. 57 broad-based entrepreneurs have already benefited from the programme.

On announcing the 1.26 billion rand($154 million) pay-out at the conclusion of the seven-year transaction last week, it is with some surprise but overarching pleasure that DiData heard the response from the Consortium. While the PDI Employee Empowerment Trust will draw to a close, with each of the 2,177 PDIs receiving their share of the 1.26 billion rand, the Consortium with its 35 broad-based community groups will re-invest the money into the Empowerment project for a further five-year term. As such, DiData will retain its (BEE) status.

Commenting on the double-success of the transformation transaction, and the future to come, DiData Plc. Chairman Jeremy Ord said: “Dimension Data is testament to the overwhelming positive impact transformation has made in business and society as a whole. We are a proudly South African company that has remained headquartered South Africa, while building a dominant global business and leadership position in the worldwide ICT industry. Transformation is not about a point in time transaction for us, but an on-going strategic journey which we remain committed. This is a very proud day for us.”

Mérieux NutriSciences plans to grow its portfolio under the new “Swift Silliker” service to match the global offerings of Silliker. The partnership gives Swift immediate and continuous access to the state-of-the-art systems and services of Mérieux NutriSciences.

Swift is the largest privately-owned commercial food and product safety company in South Africa. Swift Micro clients include food processors, retailers and food services. The farming, government and cosmetics sectors also rely on its analytical expertise.

“To date, we have declined partnership approaches from global corporations, but the venture with Mérieux NutriSciences, and in particular Silliker, its Food Safety & Quality Division, is a natural fit. We not only share similar food and product safety approaches, but we also share global clients that operate in Southern Africa. As part of Silliker, Swift will benefit from the strength of the group, and accelerate our development with the introduction of new services for faster expansion in Africa,” said Valmé Stewart, Managing Director of Swift Silliker.

According to President and CEO of Mérieux NutriSciences, Philippe Sans;“This joint venture investment is in line with our strategic goal to further expand our international presence and answer the many requests from customers to develop a presence in South Africa and the fast developing African market.”

Formerly known as Silliker Group Corporation, Mérieux NutriSciences Corporation is an American company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with global presence in 17 countries abd over 65 laboratories in North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific.