Thursday: 26 June  2003

This site will be updated on: 03 July  2003 at 17:00

Business - Sakenuus

• Local business acts to save the environment
• R213m budget for district
• Tax amnesty option
• Distell ruling
• Is your home safe?

A COMPANY from Wellington has 'adopted' Bain's Kloof as part of their social responsibility and will now clean the pass on a regular basis.

Factory staff from Membratek, Weir Envig's membrane manufacturing plant, made a concerted effort last week to clean the 14 km stretch of road between Antoniesvlei and Tweede Tol.

Managing Director Danie Nel says they regularly receive foreign visitors who like to tour the Boland.

"One of the historic sites is Bain's Kloof, but there has been a decline in the maintenance and general awareness of the state of the pass.

"In recent years the problem with people using the pass as a general dumping site for everything from garden refuse to building material has escalated to such a degree that Weir Envig have felt the need to make a statement."

Mayor Herman Bailey and Municipal Manager Jacques Carstens were on hand last Thursday to hand over 100 refuse bags and gloves to the 25 volunteers and avowed the municipality's dedication to helping rehabilitate Bain's Kloof.

The volunteers finished the intended 14 km and then continued down the mountain towards Wellington, collecting trash as they went. At the end of the day they had managed to cover 20 km of the pass.

However, Nel warns that the clean-up will have no effect if no-one takes heed and people continue dumping their waste there.

"Education about the historical value and appreciation of the natural beauty of the surroundings will be needed to make people take note and assist in the conservation effort.

"I would also like to challenge other companies to become involved in the environment.

"The challenge is not to go out and seek a project - to see the problem in your backyard and address it.

"If we all did our part locally, we would save the world one backyard at a time," said Nel.

THE total budget of the Boland District Municipality for the 2003/2004 financial year amounts to R213 million, including R41 million allocated to improving infrastructure, and R39 million for land and housing.

In his budget speech district mayor Clarence Johnson (now executive mayor) announced that capital projects of R72 million will include the servicing of a new housing development at Hermon and the upgrading of services at Wemmershoek, La Motte, Lanquedoc and Pniel.

Another R3,2m is budgeted for clinic construction in the next year. The budget includes funds for the planning of an agrivillage at Niewedrift near Paarl, while a viability study of the Meerlust township is planned for next year.

An amount of R100 000 has been budgeted for the financing of the World Congress for mental health and the deaf to be held at Goudini Spa in October 2005, while an additional R200 000 was budgeted to address the crisis situation in informal settlements.

The total salary account amounts to R87 million, including R10 million which is budgeted for critical new posts to assist in the administrative restructuring and assist in the transfer of functions like trading services and refuse removal to local municipalities.

Provision has been made for a 10% salary increase for officials and Councillors (including ten full-time councillors....).

In the last three years the Boland district municipality has invested R13,4 million in new roads, R5,2 million to build new clinics, R62 million in housing infrastructure and houses and R27,8 million in other infrastructure projects.

Yet there is still a housing backlog of 37 000 units while many households still lack electricity, water and sanitation.

To alleviate poverty, the Council provides free health services, free basic services, water and sanitation subsidies to farm dwellers and subsidises housing projects.

The budget also includes a range of developmental programmes including support to new entrants in the tourism industry as well as grants to institutions and bursary funds.

The regional services levy remains unchanged, with a 12,5% rebate to bona fide farmers, while tariffs increase by an average of 5,5%.

Executive councillors are deputy mayor Dirk Oosthuizen (NNP), Deon Adams (ANC), Elizabeth Bushwana (ANC), Neil Hamman (NNP), Chris Leander (NNP), Edmund Pheko (ANC) and Appollis Solomons (ANC).

* The council has agreed that funding for the delayed Project 2 in Mbekweni, may be rolled over to the coming budget year.

SANLAM, a pioneer in offshore investment, has come up with an innovative option for investors who want to make use of the exchange control and tax amnesty for illegal offshore funds, but wish to keep the money offshore.

Sanlam now offers an enhanced option on its popular Stratus International Endowment, enabling investors to make direct single premium investments in the product in Sanlam Jersey in US Dollars, Pound Sterling or Euros.

After five years, these investments can then be converted into any currency of the investor's choice.

A major benefit of investing in the Stratus International Endowment in this way is that Sanlam takes away the administrative burden of declaring income and capital gains from these funds to the South African Revenue Service (SARS). Sanlam will pay these taxes directly to SARS on behalf of investors.

In this way, investors will also be paying an insurance fund tax rate on their investments - which is likely to be less than their individual marginal tax rate.

Since most investors in offshore products are on the higher end of the tax scale, this can mean a substantial saving.

Francois Marais, product actuary at Sanlam, says the amnesty period offers investors an opportunity for a clean slate in respect of their offshore money and the tax that they were liable for.

"However investors who want to keep their money offshore will become liable for tax after the amnesty period expires and this is where Sanlam comes in:

Instead of rushing around to find a reputable company overseas to invest their funds or worrying about reputable investment options, Sanlam offers investors the opportunity to choose between six funds in the Stratus International Endowment.

DISTELL, South Africa's leading wine and spirits group, is to terminate the marketing and distribution rights to Martell brandies, KWV 10 and 20 year old brandy and certain KWV fortified wines.

This follows a ruling by the Competition Tribunal, which took due cognisance of a proposal submitted by Distell.

In the instance of KWV, the ruling requires that neither company may nominate members to the board of the other, nor are they allowed to distribute the products of each other.

This reinforces the independence of the two parties from each other, although the investment by KWV in Distell remains intact.

The latest ruling draws to a close the final approval by the competition authorities of the merger between Stellenbosch Farmers' Winery and Distillers Corporation, which was initiated in 2000.

KWV will take over the marketing and promotion of its brands immediately, although Distell will still handle distribution until 30 June next year.

"Although it's not easy to give up these premium brands in which we have invested heavily and built market share in a keenly competitive market, we are relieved that the  lengthy proc lengthy process has now been finally settled," says Distell MD, Jan Scannell.

HAVE a wonderful holiday - but ensure that your assets are protected!

June holidays are a great time to relax and unwind, but it is also a time when criminals thrive, warns Wessel van der Merwe, Santam's Regional Manager in the Western Cape.

He advises policyholders to spend some time to ensure that they have taken the necessary precautions to protect their assets before they leave for the June holidays.

Wessel recommends the following preventative measures to make sure that your home is adequately protected:

* Inform your armed response unit of the period of your holiday, and request that they patrol your area as often as possible.

* Test your alarm system to ensure that it is working.

* Install or activate a timed-response light, to create the illusion that someone is at home.

* Cancel any newspaper or magazine subscriptions or ask a neighbour to fetch the deliveries.

* Cancel any housekeeping or garden services that you may have for the period you are away.

* Inform your trusted neighbours about your holiday and ensure that they have your contact details and those of your armed response units.

* Put your pet in a kennel if you don't have someone to take care of it during your holiday.

* Lock your valuables in a safe or any other secure area.

* Don't leave spare keys lying around.

* Before you leave, ensure that all the windows and doors are securely shut and that all electrical appliances are unplugged.

If you leave a vehicle at home:

* Pull your vehicle into the garage and make sure that the garage lock is firmly secured.

* Test your tracking device to ensure that it is working, and inform your tracking service of your period of absence.

* Remove valuables from the car and store in a safe place.

Contact Santam on 0860-122-747 for more information, a free quotation or a list of accredited brokers in your area.

Business Index