HCI's Golding and Hogan both quit

The intrigue surrounding Hosken Consolidated Investments (HCI) deepened when executive chairman Marcel Golding quit along with Barbara Hogan‚ a non-executive director and former cabinet minister‚ over allegations of political interference at TV station e.tv.
 

Investment group HCI is a controlling shareholder of e.tv through its Sabido Investments subsidiary. HCI said last week it had suspended Golding and was instituting disciplinary action against him after he had allegedly bought R24m in shares in Ellies‚ a distributor of set-top boxes and other digital equipment‚ without board approval.

Golding challenged his suspension in the Labour Court last week‚ but it ruled that he should face disciplinary proceedings. He announced his resignation shortly thereafter.

eNCA‚ an e.tv news channel‚ reported on that Golding is looking at pursuing a claim for constructive dismissal against HCI at the Commission for Conciliation‚ Mediation and Arbitration.

Golding claimed in his court papers that he was being pushed out of the group because he had been trying to protect e.tv’s editorial independence.

Annexed to his papers were e-mails and letters exchanged between him‚ Johnny Copelyn (the other co-founder of HCI)‚ e.tv’s Chief Executive Bronwyn Keene-Young (who is married to Golding) and HCI director Yunis Shaik. These relate to the station’s coverage of government infrastructure projects.

Secret agreement to broadcast dam opening

In one of the letters Shaik says e.tv had an “agreement” with Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel to broadcast an event where President Jacob Zuma would open a new dam.

Patel is a former general secretary of the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu). Golding and Copelyn are both former unionists. The largest shareholder of HCI is Sactwu with a 32% stake.

However‚ Judge Anton Steenkamp said in his ruling that while there could be substantial evidence of editorial interference and it was “worrying”‚ it was not central to Golding’s application.

In one of three regulatory statements‚ HCI said: “We note the resignation of Barbara Hogan and express our surprise at the hostile manner in which it is couched and publicly distributed. We thank Barbara for her services to HCI and assure the public that‚ perhaps other than Marcel himself‚ no other board members see this matter similarly.”

According to Bloomberg‚ Hogan’s letter said Shaik had told her that Sactwu was frustrated that e.tv was not giving Patel enough coverage.

“I am mindful of the briefing that Yunis Shaik gave me when he claimed that Sactwu had lost patience with the editorial practices of e.tv‚ citing the failure to give prominent coverage to Patel’s economic pronouncements‚” she wrote in a letter dated October 26.

The eNCA website said Hogan had claimed that the Ellies share-deal investigation was done in an “unprofessional way”.

 

For more about these allegations of political interference at TV station e.tv click here.

 

Source: Bizcommunity

April 8, 2015 Articles, Entertainment, Leisure, Sport & Adventure, Financial, Legal & Business Services 0

Good news for diesel, paraffin users

The price of octane 93 petrol will increase by two cents a litre next week and octane 95 petrol will decrease by five cents.

The price of diesel would decrease by 13 cents a litre, and that of illuminating paraffin wholesale by 14 cents a litre, the energy department said.

The price of LP Gas would increase by 12 cents a kilogram.

The new prices would come into effect on Wednesday.

Source: City Press

April 7, 2015 Articles, Automotive & Services 0

Gloo merges with WPP's Ogilvy & Mather SA

Another move by advertising giant WPP, has resulted in it acquiring Gloo Digital Design, one of South Africa’s largest digital agencies, through Ogilvy & Mather South Africa.

“The marketing communication landscape is shifting towards an integrated future, where digital is no longer a separate silo. For us as a company, it radically changes how we deliver communications solutions to our clients in a world where platforms and channels have converged. Consumers across the continent are increasingly nimble in how they move between platforms, and it is critical that the solutions we offer our clients are scaled to capitalise on this effectively. This transaction will allow us to introduce our latest House of Dynamic Content offering effectively into the South African market,” said Ogilvy & Mather SA chairman, Nunu Ntshingila-Njeke in a statement.

The acquisition will see Pete Case, Founder and CEO of Gloo, take up a central role in Ogilvy & Mather SA as co-Chief Creative Officer. The statement further explains that other senior employees at Gloo Johannesburg will take up positions across the agency and its digital and CRM business, OgilvyOne Worldwide SA.

Gloo will reportedly be absorbed into the Ogilvy & Mather SA Johannesburg office and will form part of an internal technology and innovation hub to the 15 companies within the O&M SA Group. According to the statement, Gloo Cape Town will continue to operate as an independent and separate digital specialist, with the added resources of the groups’ international innovations lab to accelerate its focus on leading-edge technology and innovation.

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April 8, 2015 Articles, Entertainment, Leisure, Sport & Adventure, Financial, Legal & Business Services 0

Getting a wedding photographer

Getting a wedding photographer is either at the top or at the bottom of your list. There’s no grey area here. You either like good photos or you are at a place where it really doesn’t matter to you.

I hope this article will help you decide. For us personally it was easy, we loved photos and we wanted good photos for our big day.

The most important part of getting a wedding photographer is getting someone who can take good photos of you. You need to find a style you like. Then you must do enough research about the photographer to make sure that he or she is what you are looking for.

Take a good look at photos they have taken, go through their portfolio together and make sure you as a couple you have the same expectations. It is also good to talk to people who have already made use of their services.

It is good to meet up with them, either do an engagement shoot or something smaller to make sure that the photographer will be able to capture what you want. This will also give you an idea of the timelines the person sets and keeps to and the quality of the photographers work.

Now if you think it’s not a good idea to spend so much money on a wedding photographer. Think of all the money you are already spending on everything and the amount of time you are putting into this day. Now you have no one to capture it all. What will your children and grandchildren see of this day? You will never be able to show anybody your beautiful dress in detail, any of your table decoration and your first kiss will be lost as well.

Getting a wedding photographer is maybe one of the most important decisions you will have to make.

April 8, 2015 Articles, Weddings & Events 0

Gallo Records acquires Sheer Sound

This is the second record label acquisition for Gallo Record Company this year, shortly after the Bula acquisition in mid September 2014.

 

Gallo Record Company, having been a leader in local music since 1926, holds some of the greatest South African music catalogue of all time including Lucky Dube, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Stimela, The Soul Brothers, Bhekumuzi Luthuli, Manhattan Brothers, Simphiwe Dana, Thandiswa, Ge’ Korsten, Lusanda Spiritual Group and Mango Groove to name just a few.

 

Sheer Sound is an independent record label founded in 1994. The label was primarily focused as a jazz and world music label with a stellar line up of artists including Busi Mhlongo, Gito Baloi, Paul Hamner and McCoy Mrubata, who were established through Sheer Sound during the late 1990’s.

 

Later the label signed Sipho Gumede, Ernie Smith, Gloria Bosman and Zim Ngqawana amongst others. Sheer has also been label host to the multi-platinum Zimbabwean music super star, Oliver Mtukudzi. The Sheer Sound domestic roster grew into various other genres adding an adult contemporary line up including Farryl Purkiss, Jeremy Loops and The Graeme Watkins Project.

 

Sheer’s international lineup houses some of the most prestigious independent labels including World Circuit (Gold-selling Grammy-winning label Buena Vista Social Club and Ali Farka Toure), PIAS (Tiesto, Alt-J, Editors), Cooking Vinyl (Prodigy, Marilyn Manson), Telarc (Grammy-winning label featuring Fourplay, Peter White, Gerald Albright, Jeannie Bryson, Ray Brown) as well as Mack Avenue (home to Jonathan Butler and Kirk Whalum).

 

“Sheer & Bula now form part of Gallo Record Company and Times Media’s broader strategy to build our music business into a formidable player in South Africa. The acquisition brings an upsize in staff from Sheer Sound who will be joining the Gallo team effective immediately. We are expecting major impetus in the industry with these two major music acquisitions,” says Andrew Gill, managing director Broadcast & Content at Times Media.

 

Source

April 8, 2015 Articles, Entertainment, Leisure, Sport & Adventure, Financial, Legal & Business Services 0

Focus on police as business crime increases

RISE in crime against business has drawn attention to the ability of police intelligence to keep pace with sophisticated syndicates.

 

Police Minister Nkosinathi Nhleko and national police commissioner Riah Phiyega released the 2013-14 crime statistics last Friday, revealing that nonresidential (business) robberies have almost doubled in the past decade.

 

While commercial crime increased 46.7% over the previous decade, there was a 13.6% decrease in these crimes in the year ending March. But there was a massive spike of 31.5% in robberies at business premises in the Northern Cape in the reporting period.

 

Gen Phiyega and Mr Nhleko cite their relationship with business as a benchmark as they call for society’ s involvement in tackling contact crimes, a priority for the South African Police Service (SAPS).

 

Gen Phiyega cites as an example of this collaboration the police working with Eskom and large metros to tackle cable theft, which costs the economy R5bn a year.

 

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) cites the failure to combat crimes against business as proof that “the current ability of the SAPS crime intelligence division is in question”. The organisation says the police’s inability to combat commercial crime backs those who question whether years of suspensions, resignations, and criminal allegations against crime intelligence management has undermined the division.

 

The ISS warns that the crime statistics could hide the extent of commercial crime as criminal organisations become better at identifying high-value targets.

 

Gauteng has recently experienced a spate of shopping-mall robberies, which are not covered by the latest crime statistics. The Consumer Goods Council of SA says retail robberies have reached “the highest recorded level”.

 

“The continued targeting of the retail sector by organised crime syndicates is of considerable concern to the industry,” says the head of the council’s consumer goods crime risk initiative, Graham Wright.

 

He urges retailers to organise to share information and “develop solutions and strengthen partnerships with all relevant stakeholders and role players”.

 

Insurer Santam says the decrease in commercial crime figures reflects the results of four years of successfully working with numerous state entities. The South African Insurance Crime Bureau has set up numerous initiatives with the SAPS to address economic crimes, says Santam’s head of audit and forensic services, Helen du Toit.

 

According to PwC’s 2014 global economic crime survey, 69% of South African organisations had experienced some form of economic crime in the previous 24 months, compared with 37% globally. PwC found that senior and middle management are the main perpetrators of economic crimes — collectively committing 77% of such crimes. “While it is alarming that we’re the country most affected by economic crime, it is positive that the penny has dropped and the industry now understands the severity of the problem and is taking steps to rectify the problem,” says Ms Du Toit.

 

Gen Phiyega says SAPS crime intelligence has to address business robberies that turn out to be “inside jobs”. The syndicates involved are often sophisticated and “in some cases we are seeing collusion between workers, those working for security companies as well as some police officers”, she says.

 

She says the 200% growth in bank robberies was from a low base in the previous reporting period, and SAPS crime intelligence foiled a bank robbery last Thursday.

 

Earlier this year Gen Phiyega announced a restructuring of the SAPS crime intelligence division that will allow it to “become a highly focused unit which delivers on its core mandate of crime information gathering, and crime pattern analysis, in close collaboration with other SAPS environments”.

 

ISS justice, governance and crime programme head Gareth Newham says the increase in robberies is a clear sign that “the police are not on top of it”.

 

He says there are several highly qualified individuals employed by crime intelligence, and its functioning can improve if the problems, of political appointments and responsibilities are addressed.

 

Commercial crime statistics are an indicator of the health of crime intelligence, Mr Newham says. Crimes with social roots may require social responses, but with syndicates “this is simple policing, there is no other way”, he says.

 

 

Source: Business Day Live

April 2, 2015 Articles, Financial, Legal & Business Services 0

Five ways to market your business on a shoestring budget

Marketing is absolutely essential for any business to achieve real success and stay relevant, but a traditional marketing campaign can be costly for a small company. How can you reach new customers and retain your existing ones if you have a lot of time, but very little money?

 
1. Use social media

Social media is free to use and is an extremely effective way to communicate with current customers and encourage new ones. You can use it in multiple ways, so set aside at least a few hours every week to work on the following:

  • Start a blog related to your industry and updated it regularly – at least once a week, preferably more. Talk about projects you’re working on or give tips related to your business.
  • Be active on your Facebook and Twitter pages. If you aren’t tweeting and updating regularly, your customers won’t be thinking about you.
  • Create a Pinterest account. It is now more popular than Twitter and is a great way to reach clients in certain industries.
  • Make a low-cost video and share it. People love entertaining or informative videos and are likely to share them with friends. Videos can also make you more visible on Google.
  • Regular activity on social media can improve your SEO results and reminds your clients that you exist.

2. Encourage referrals

Customer referrals are, traditionally, a good way to build up your customer base. Offer existing customers discounts or small rewards in “refer-a-friend” promotions. For example, a customer could earn a 10% discount for referring a friend, and the friend could earn a 5% discount on their first purchase.

3. Get reviews

On a similar note, encourage customers to review your services online. A survey in 2013 found that 79% of customers trust online reviews as much as recommendations from their friends, and 73% said good reviews make them trust a business more. Some commonly used online review sites include Yowzit and HelloPeter. Remember, reviews can be negative too, so make sure that you follow up with customers who have complaints and resolve them!

4. Collaborate

Find a local business with a target market that crosses over with yours and work with them to promote both your businesses.

Some ideas:

  • Give them a special offer to hand out only to their customers.
  • Trade products or services with a nearby business in exchange for advertising space.
  • Combine your efforts to create something newsworthy that will promote both of you
  • As long as that business is not a direct competitor, you can both benefit!

5. Support fundraisers

Supporting fundraisers is a great way to raise awareness of your business name. It has the added benefits of giving your business a reputation for caring and of raising customer goodwill towards you, and the cost is limited to services or products given away. You can also use creative strategies like donating R1 for each product sold on a certain day.

Just because your business doesn’t have a huge budget for marketing doesn’t mean that you have to give up the possibility of marketing altogether. These are only a few of the strategies your business could use. Most cost little more than time, and, done right, they can be extremely effective at drumming up business.

Source: Bizcommunity

April 7, 2015 Articles, At Your Service 0

Facebook Rooms: what it could mean for your company

Facebook, Inc. have just launched their new app, “Rooms” across iOS devices in the US, with an eventual rollout to more devices and areas, what could this mean for your company?

The basis behind the Rooms harkens back to the old chatrooms of the IRC days, where users could interact, communicate and share on a particular topic. And what Rooms does, is take that a step further in an Instagram style layout allowing large images and video, captions, posts and link sharing.

That, coupled with privacy settings that allow users complete anonymity and group moderation options gives Rooms a potential to be a useful tool for conversation and sharing online.

At this stage, the app is only receiving a small rollout in the US App Store, and having spoken with Facebook’s Josh Miller, the man behind the app’s development, the plan is for a larger scale rollout worldwide within the next few weeks. Plans are also underway to iron out small details and work on releasing a few more core facilities (like search possibilities as an example).

But what could this mean for your brand?

There are a lot of opportunities that Facebook Rooms could bring for a company or brand – but let me preface everything by saying that by no means am I advocating you creating a Room about your brand and flooding the market with your invite. This is the internet – you will be eaten alive.

What rooms does allow for a brand, is an opportunity to connect and communicate in an existing community about your brand – as a person. Seek out conversations around the space in which you play, and monitor the conversations. It will give you key insights into your consumer, and every so often you have the ability to comment, or help someone. There cannot, and should not, be an advertising motive in any interaction you have.

And while there is the option to create specific, anonymous usernames across various rooms, don’t be tempted to create a fake persona that advocates your product – be who you are – be your brand.

Just be it, the right way. And if you’re not sure what that “right way” is – ask.

What could this mean for your company?

I think one of the lost arts within companies in 2014, surrounded by the miasma of social media is the ability to not feel fear. Companies fear what their employees will say about them online, and pose harsh restrictions on communication.

Although I’m of the opinion that if you’re worried your employees will complain about you – it’s probably you doing something wrong, but that’s another story.

Fostering meaningful, constructive communication and criticism is a vital aspect of corporate communication and something that has fallen by the way side in so many companies over the years. I’ve often likened this to the “Suggestion Box” concept, which is generally followed by rolled eyes and groans.

This is the space within which Facebook Rooms could occupy for your company – a place to allow your employees to anonymously communicate within your organisation. Whether this becomes a hub of bile and vitriol or a place to share and inspire should be left entirely up to your employees, and this is an ideal litmus test for your corporate culture.

Adoption rates for these kinds of things are, regrettably low, I’ll admit. However, companies have found success in similar ventures when their employees are empowered and feel safe that their communications are in fact private and that recourse is not an option.

And it is up to you, the organisation, to honour that agreement. To monitor the conversation. And above all else – to listen.

Then do something about it

This is the sensibility that applies internally and externally. Listen to the employees, and listen to your consumers. Then act on what they want. Not what you want.

By shifting your own paradigm, you will find a tremendous opportunity ahead of you. Whether you adopt Facebook Rooms or not.

Source: Digital Platforms

April 8, 2015 Articles, Electronics, IT & Technology 0

Ebola price tag will be $32 billion-plus: World Bank

If efforts to halt its spread out of a three-country core – Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea – are not successful by December, the entire region faces a real threat of economic catastrophe, the World Bank said in a new report.

“In broader regional terms, the economic impacts could be limited if immediate national and international responses succeed in containing the epidemic and mitigating aversion behaviour,” it said.

“If, on the other hand, the epidemic spreads into neighbouring countries, some of which have much larger economies, the cumulative two-year impact could reach US$32.6 billion by the end of 2015.”

The bank noted that small outbreaks in Nigeria and Senegal have been quickly stifled, showing the potential for fast and resolute reactions.

The disease, which has so far killed nearly 3 500 people, has already taken a toll on the economy of the three countries, stifling production and consumption.

In the best case, Ebola being brought under control by the end of 2014, the Bank says, the economic cost will be about $359 million (R4 billion) in the three countries this year and another $129 million (R1,4 billion) next year.

For all of West Africa, the cost will run from $3,8 to $9 billion (R42,5 billion to R100,8 billion).

But in the case that containment comes more slowly in the three core affected countries, and outbreaks surface in neighboring countries, the costs will soar for all, it said.

“The economic impacts of Ebola are already very serious in the core three countries – particularly Liberia and Sierra Leone – and could become catastrophic under a slow-containment, high-Ebola scenario.”

The study called for concerted international support not only during the outbreak, but after it is contained, to revive the economies most affected.

Source: Destiny Connect

April 7, 2015 Articles, At Your Service 0