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Tune in tonight for the announcement of the CURRENT Top 20 Brands in KZN and the finalist in this years STANDARD BANK TOP BUSINESS AWARDS 2021 LIVE on our on KZN TOP BUSINESS CHANNEL tonight at 18.30 REGISTER here to get your live link for tonights LIVE Announcements Furthermore, if you subscribe to the KZN TOP BUSINESS CHANNEL you could win... one of two super prizes below: Torga Optical A full comprehensive visual examination and a pair of spectacles to the value of R3500. From Sarisha Haripershad, the owner and Optometrist of Torga Optical Ballito, Cornubia and Kwadukuza Mall. High Tea At Beverly Hills Hotel This weeks lucky draw prizes consisting of High Tea at the Beverley Hills Hotel for two people will also be awarded. Continue voting for your top brand by simply sending an SMS with the word 'KZN' to '33808' and follow the promps. Previouse winners of the luckey draw: Tracy Clare and Karen Esbend - enjoy ladies See you online.

As the South African tourism industry continues to recover from the devastating impact of the pandemic, Ugu South Coast Tourism (USCT) has initiated a dedicated marketing campaign aimed at highlighting the #KZNSouthCoast as a prime tourism location with the launch of its innovative #GoSouthKZN destination video. “Tourism is the lifeblood of our local economy and USCT is committed to igniting interest in the region, once again, to stimulate the local tourism market,” explained Phelisa Mangcu, CEO of USCT. “Before the arrival of the Covid-19, we were on a drive to position the KZN South Coast as one of the country’s key destinations, and we’ve now put this campaign into high gear, actively promoting the region across a number of dedicated platforms.” The three-minute marketing video promotes the many unique tourism attractions found within the #ParadiseoftheZuluKingdom, from the many coastal attractions for which the area is renowned, through to the hinterland tours, golf courses, extreme adventures and relaxing venues. Drawing on the incredibly relaxed yet invigorating #KZNSouthCoast spirit, viewers are given a glimpse of such sites as the Wild Gorge Swing, KwaXolo Caves Adventures and Aliwal Shoal while touching on activities such as surfing, beachside horse riding, mountain biking, boating and hiking. “The #GoSouthKZN destination video is a great marketing tool that we can use to create positive exposure for the KZN South Coast at events such as trade shows, trade workshops and various media engagements,”continued Mangcu. “It’s a really impactful visual tool that will also actively promote this area through social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the free-todownload Explore KZN South Coast app.” Check out the #GoSouthKZN destination video on https://youtu.be/kOm2w2e0RHQ or the website, www.visitkznsouthcoast.co.za , or #Visit the ‘South Coast Tourism’ Facebook page, or @infosouthcoast on Twitter. #KZNbusinesssense #kzntopbusiness

If we are what we eat, that’s even more true for the health of our teeth and gums. Healthy eating patterns and food choices can help prevent tooth decay. “We advise our patients that their dental health impacts their overall well-being, and that diet can affect dental health,” says Dr Fareed Amod of Crown Dental Studio. Plaque is the thin, invisible film of sticky bacteria and other materials covering the surfaces of your teeth. When the sugars or starches in your mouth come in contact with plaque, acids form. These acids can break down the hard enamel on the surface of teeth which results in tooth decay. The bacteria in plaque can cause an inflammatory response, resulting in the breakdown of the gums, bone, and other supporting structures of your teeth. Choose healthy food In order to counter the build up of plaque, eating firm, coarse, watery, and fibrous fruits and vegetables such as apples, carrots and celery are especially beneficial. Chewing helps to clean teeth by removing leftover food particles, washing away sugars, and rubbing off plaque. Eating food items which stimulate the production of saliva also helps you keep your teeth clean and neutralise the acids in the mouth. Chewy food, such as nuts, and leafy greens (e.g., kale, lettuce and spinach) which are high in calcium, folic acid and vitamin Bs aid in saliva production and help strengthen your teeth. The calcium and phosphates in dairy products help replace minerals your teeth might have lost and help rebuild tooth enamel. In addition, calcium in all food types is good for bones, including your jaw, which is an essential part of your dental health. Protein is also important for strong teeth and is found in lean meat, fish, eggs, and dairy, as well as in vegetables such as beans and lentils. When you drink and eat starchy or sugary foods you are also feeding the bacteria that can cause tooth decay and gum disease in your mouth. Even sugar-free biscuits and potato chips contain refined carbohydrates, which break down into sugars that can get stuck between your teeth, creating a source for bacteria. Hard sweets not only leave sugar in your mouth if you suck them and which is easily trapped between the fine grooves in teeth, but also pose a risk of chipping a tooth if you take a bite. If you eat sweets, rather choose those that can be eaten quickly. Some studies have shown chocolate is better than other sugary treats. As your mouth makes more saliva during meals, eating sugary foods with meals is preferable. This helps to reduce the effect of acid production and to rinse pieces of food from the mouth. Limiting in-between meal snacks is an important part of dental health. Chewing sugarless gum after snacks or meals will also increase saliva flow and wash out food and acid. Drink water Water remains one of the healthiest drinks for your teeth, particularly if it contains fluoride. Fluoride strengthens tooth enamel which can help prevent tooth decay. If you choose bottled water, check the label for the fluoride content. Green and black teas contain polyphenols that either kill or limit the production of bacteria. However, coffee and tea can stain teeth enamel, and if you drink them with added sugar, you are increasing the damage to your teeth. Fizzy drinks such as coke and sprite, contain a lot of sugar as well as phosphoric and citric acids that wear away tooth enamel. Many fruit juices and energy drinks are also high in sugar and acid. Alcohol such as wine and beer are high in sugar, are often acidic, and can lead to a dry mouth, which means a less clean mouth and potential tooth decay over time. Drink plenty of water if you are drinking alcohol and limit your consumption. Many medicines can also cause a dry mouth. Consult with your dentist about using a fluoride rinse, or a fluoride gel for brushing your teeth if required. “A regular dental appointment for an oral evaluation is essential. This allows any potential problems to be identified as early as possible. Dentists ensure that your mouth, teeth and gums are healthy, and will check for abnormalities, which also could be a sign of larger health issues,” concluded Dr Amod. Crown Dental Studio is one of the few truly 24-hour dental practises in Durban as this is not limited to emergency dentistry treatment. T: +27(0) 81 207 8621 E: info@dramod.co.za W: www.dramod.co.za

Alan Paton, the South African anti-Apartheid activist and author wrote in his acclaimed novel Cry, the Beloved Country: “There is a lovely road that runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass-covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it….if there is no mist, you look down on one of the fairest valleys of Africa.” Paton’s description of the picturesque landscape was penned more than 70 years ago, and while he may have referred to the Ixopo region, he could well have been extolling the beauty of the neighbouring, unspoilt KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Just over an hour away from Durban, between Pietermaritzburg and Drakensberg, is a delightful region filled with stretches of farmland, quaint little towns full of charm, a marvellous road of arts and crafts, restaurants brimming with gastronomic delights and scenic landscapes bordering the sublime region known as the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. As you soak up the landscapes, sounds and fresh air of the KZN Midlands, you will quickly realise that this is the ideal place to recharge your soul’s batteries in surroundings that resemble God’s canvas. At the heart of the KZN Midlands is the popular Midlands Meander – an itinerary of art, handicrafts, restaurants and farm holidays – that is a retreat for holidaymakers with many cafes, art galleries, beautiful guesthouses, cheese farms, seamstresses, cobblers, trout farms, potters, weavers and painters who have made this region their home. The Midlands Meander is a wonderfully refreshing combination of over 150 places to eat, drink and shop, and stretches from Rietvlei and Curry’s Post to Dargle Valley and Fort Nottingham – a total of about 80km of activities. One of the historical sites in the Midlands Meander is the Nelson Mandela Capture Site, one of the most-visited memorial sites in KZN with a visitor centre and a world-renowned sculpture of the peace activist and politician Nelson Mandela, designed by the South African artist Marco Cianfanelli. Ayanda Nyandeni, tour guide at the Nelson Mandela Capture Site, said, “After a year of pandemic-induced lockdowns, people are looking to travel again. I am so excited that leisure tourism is coming back with a bang. While natural beauty abounds in the KZN Midlands, people who are looking to travel this winter holidays will also be well advised to also take in some history linked to our nation’s hard-won freedom.” “The Nelson Mandela Capture Site is a cultural and historical exhibition that is situated at the site at which Nelson Mandela was apprehended for his anti-Apartheid activism acts in August 1952. There is a museum with videos and photographs that will give you goosebumps as the people’s Struggle is retold through sound and images,” said Nyandeni. Several owners of hotels, chalets, game lodges and holiday resorts cannot wait to welcome visitors to the KZN Midlands and have posted their amazing specials on Tourism KwaZulu-Natal’s website making travel fun and affordable – see www.zulu.org.za The general manager of the Midlands Meander, Marian Evans said, “The Midlands Meander is special because it offers its visitors an array of accommodation to choose from, beautiful autumn and cosy winter days, an abundance of wonderful cuisines and countless charming scenic areas to enjoy outdoor activities. “Parents are now more aware of focusing on creating special memories with their children and we encourage more of these family holidays or day outings together. Farms stays with the family is a must; children can enjoy a visit to Endeavour Alpacas at Nirvana Farm, fly-fishing and horse riding.” Mount Shekinah Country Hotel, near Michaelhouse School, just off the R103 in Balgowan, is a gem and a must-visit destination to include on your bucket list. The general manager of the hotel, Silindokuhle Bhengu, said, “Our location is ideal, private and peaceful, offering visitors’ scenic views and amazing hospitality. Guests can enjoy horse-riding within the property, go for a hike or get cosy in the lounge area next to the fireplace.” “We also offer group bookings for those interested in hosting a private dinner event. Whether it’s a business luncheon, a casual dinner or a celebration event, our goal is to make every meal a memorable experience.” For nature enthusiast and adventure seekers, Karkloof Canopy Tour, situated in a spectacular valley of the Karkloof Forest Reserve, offers 12 platforms and 10 zip-line slides, the longest of which is 200 metres. Kai Schulz, managing director at Karkloof Canopy Tour said, “The zip-line journey is safe and a fun adventure for people between the ages of six and 80 and over. It is the second largest indigenous forest in South Africa and is unique due to the incredible bird life which includes glimpsing emerald cuckoos, Knysna Turaco, a great variety of birds of prey and if you are lucky, the elusive Narina Trogon or endangered Cape Parrots.” “The forest also shelters a variety of mammals, but it is the loud cries of the Samango monkeys that you will remember best.” Wine lovers, couples and families will enjoy a trip to Highgate Wine Estate, which produces its very own wines, and is situated in the heart of KZN Midlands. Terri Evans, general manager of Highgate Wine Estate and Piggly Wiggly, said, “The Kassier family purchased the Highgate Farm which was then a small one-hectare vegetable farm. Thereafter, the Kassiers saw an opportunity, a need for fresh produce, and the concept of Piggly Wiggly was born. From this passion came Highgate Wine Estate, and in 2016, the first commercially produced bottle of wine was bottled and sold exclusively in their winery. Highgate now has five hectares of vines with a variety of Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz and visitors can relax and enjoy the wine-tasing and delicious foods.” Discover KZN by visiting: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU8rGVbBgCc  and www.midlandsmeander.co.za #KZNbusinesssense #kzntopbusiness

Judging is well underway for the Standard Bank KZN Top Business Awards 2021. We are delighted with the vast number of entries and the range of companies that have entered and our team is hard at work reading and scoring entries. GENERAL CATEGORIES The Awards recognise and celebrate some of the best businesses that operate in KZN across a range of different categories. Nominations of the various participants are made through Chambers of Business, CEOs, employees and clients of companies and organisations around KwaZulu-Natal. Being recognised as a top business is an important achievement, because it means that the organisation is worthy of recognition. To be eligible for a category award, entrants need to demonstrate how their companies have embraced the core values of business excellence, sustainability and responsibility, which are principles in line with the King IV Report on Corporate Governance in South Africa 2016. The companies must then motivate their reasons for being selected as a winner in one or more of the following categories which are totally new and a departure from the industry sector categories used in previous years. The first round of adjudication has been concluded and the following companies have been shortlisted in the various categories. Finalists will be drawn from these shortlists. CATEGORIES Business Innovation This category is open to businesses that can demonstrate an innovative approach to products, or processes, which has contributed to the success of the business. We are interested in businesses who have pivoted their operations as a result of the pandemic. How has innovation contributed to success? The large number of businesses that entered this category well indicates the emphasis on the need for change to succeed in today’s business environment. The shortlist includes: Imperial Armour Adah Investments Innovate Durban Durban Technology Hub t/a SmartXchange Future Farmers Chemsol Adhesives The Sharks Ocean Driven Media Greenheart Organics Shelley Residential Icebolethu Group Mi7 National Group (Pty) Ltd Woodford Group Boxer Superstores Entrepreneur Resilience This award is aimed at young business leaders between the ages of 18 and 35 who have shown exceptional leadership and exhibited entrepreneurial flair. Entrepreneurs are a different breed. They take risks where others play it safe. They see problems and answers where others see the status quo. They fend off comfort zones in the name of progress, even when it means potential failure. Dr Fareed Amod (Crown Dental Studio) Sizwe C Khumalo (Adah Investments) Njabulo Maphumulo (Borderless Investment Group (Pty) Ltd) Sihle Ndlela and Simphiwe Majozi (Majozi Bros) Digital/System Implementation The winner of this award will be implementing in the digital sector to provide results that have real impact. This award is for those businesses that employ digital thinking and technologies. Shortlisted are: Blue Security Tag Your Delivery Durban ICC The Wend Plennegy Group Toyota South Africa Motors Woodford Group Beekman Group Employee Wellbeing This award is for businesses that go the extra mile to engage their staff members and what difference this makes to the business. This may be through in-house training, flexible working, personal development, workplace wellbeing activity and teambuilding. The shortlist comprises: Illovo Sugar S.A. Imperial Armour Capitol Caterers King Shaka International Airport Blue Security Beverly Hills Hotel Toyota South Africa Motors MCS Debt Recovery The Harvest Table Beekman Group Small Business Start-up This award recognises start-up businesses that have translated an idea into a successful business venture in response to Covid 19. The judges want to see to see evidence of achievements to date, where the opportunities lie and how the entrants in this category have managed their challenges, especially given the circumstances of 2020. Shortlisted are: 1787 Wine Cellar Sikephi App (Pty) Ltd Tag Your Delivery Borderless Investment Group (Pty) Ltd Community and Social Responsibility This award is open to businesses or social enterprises that have made a significant positive impact on the community and region they operate in. We have had great interest in this category which is going to make it very difficult for the judges and we are astounded by the amazing initiatives that are underway in the province. King Shaka International Airport Blue Security Imperial Armour Capitol Caterers Pro Talent Tafta Tronox SLG Toyota South Africa Motors Ithala SOC Limited Phindavele Creche Tag Your Delivery The Sharks Illovo Sugar S.A. Icebolethu Group KwaZulu-Natal Joint Municipal Pension Fund Mi7 National Group (Pty) Ltd Mediterranean Shipping Company S.A. The Harvest Table Beekman Group Boxer Superstores Family Business Open to businesses where the majority ownership remains within a family (or multi-family) structure, and where more than one generation contributes to the success of the business. Judges will be evaluating why these entrants are a stand-out family business and how being a family business has helped them to succeed. Hirsch’s Ramsi Group Elangeni Buildings Supertech Group LHL Engineering Beekman Group The Magnolia Farm Trust (Macbanana) The Harvest Table Business Personality of the Year The Standard Bank KZN Top Business Personality award is an honorary award given to a businessperson who has demonstrated exemplary business achievement, industry influence and is a true inspiration to others. Our shortlist is: Henk van Bemmelen Louisa Garland Ashok Sewnarain Melanie Veness Nomfundo Mcoyi Ebrahim Patel Giles King Anthony McCleary Top Brand The Top Brand award is judged solely by public vote. This award is much contested and much coveted by all businesses in KZN HYBRID EVENT The Standard Bank KZN Top Business awards ceremony, which will be hold on the 10 June, will be a hybrid event with the live component hosted at the ONOMO Hotel Durban‘s Topaz Restaurant & Skybar. The winners in each category will be chauffeur driven in luxury vehicles to and from the venue by Woodford Car Hire to receive their awards. You are encouraged to extend the invitation to join us online to your employees, clients, families and friends. For more information contact tracy@topbusiness.co.za #KZNbusinesssense #kzntopbusiness

For every business owner, understanding the basics of payroll and knowing how to manage it efficiently is critical. By definition, payroll is the business process of paying employees, SARS, and third parties such as the service providers responsible for various employee benefits. A payroll system usually comprises calculating and distributing salaries, following your payroll policy, keeping payroll records, preparing financial reports for stakeholders and employees with a breakdown of payments, taxes, bonuses, overtimes, or holiday pays. Employee Morale Ensuring that you have a payroll system that pays your employees in a timely manner on a consistent basis will impact your employee morale. Late and inaccurate payment is likely to cause your employees to question the financial stability of the company. This might affect the overall culture of your company, resulting in a negative attitude from employees that could bleed into their day-to-day tasks and cause underperformance. Reputation A company has a financial obligation to their employees and must ensure that payroll activities are compliant with the country’s tax and employment legislation. Following legislative laws, efficiently meeting tax obligations, and obtaining Letters of Good Standing, establishes a company as a stable employer boosting reputation. Accuracy is vital! Errors, whether they occur during calculations or in payroll records, can lead to the wrong net pay issued to employees or failed amounts of taxes paid to SARS. Moreover, payroll goes into your business expenses, so proper management of payroll affects the accuracy of your business accounting. Running a payroll in-house is very complex for businesses. However, payroll management can be a pretty time-consuming task, especially if manual data entry work is involved. Moreover, the right payroll calculations, deductions, taxes, etc. can require a significant investment of effort if you are not specialised in payroll. Various types of payroll software can handle a business’s payroll processing and related tax filings and payments. There are plenty of options available, so you can choose the one that perfectly fits the bill for you, depending on your organisational needs. Given the complexity of the processes required, investing in a professional payroll service is best because you avoid much of the cumbersome administrative and tax-related work. Payroll Process Stages The payroll process can be split into three stages: pre-payroll, actual payroll processing and post payroll activities. Pre-Payroll Activities · Defining policy: It is important to establish a company’s policies such as pay policy, leave and benefits policy and attendance policy. · Ensure that these policies are well-defined and signed off by your company’s management so that standard payroll processing can be established. · Gathering input data: Interacting with multiple departments is often an integral part of the payroll process to gain access to information like attendance data. · The process might be more consolidated in smaller organisations and more robust in larger companies. · Input validation: The next step is checking the validity of the input data and whether it adheres to company policy. This is the time to make sure no active employee has been missed and no inactive employee has been included in salary payment. Actual Payroll Process · Payroll calculation: Input data is put into the payroll system to process the payroll. This results in net pay being generated after adjusting necessary taxes and deductions. After this process is complete, it is best practice to reconcile the values and verify accuracy to avoid errors. · Payroll audit before payment: A double-check process needs to be in place, and an audit trial will help to eliminate errors and ensure accuracy ahead of payment. Post-Payroll Process · Statutory compliance: At the time of processing all statutory deductions like Employee Benefit Deductions, PAYE and UIF Deduction and other third-party payments are deducted. · Payroll accounting: Every organisation must keep a record of all financial transactions for the payroll process. Payroll management should always ensure that all salary and reimbursement data is accurately entered into the company’s accounting system. · Pay-out: Salaries are paid out by bank transfers. Typically, employers deposit salaries directly into an employee’s bank account. Using payroll software helps generate proper employee payslips. · Reporting: After you’ve completed payroll for a particular month, the finance department or management team needs to be provided with reports on various aspects of employee costs, by gathering the data and extracting reports required. DRG Outsourcing is a provider of professional payroll management services taking full responsibility for this non-core activity. For more information contact T: +27 (0)31 7670625 E: nikita@drg.co.za W: www.drg.co.za

Curriculum reform needed to match the skills revolution HIGHER education institutions have long been considered to be the repositories of knowledge and learning and the structures through which knowledge is produced and disseminated. They have survived sweeping societal changes created by technology – the moveable-type printing press, previous industrial revolutions, information and communication technologies, electronic media and computers. Today, however, higher education institutions appear to be susceptible to technology disruption as much as other information-centric industries such as the news media, magazines and journals, encyclopaedias, music, movies and TV. This can be reflected in the fact that the transmission of knowledge does not have to be tethered to a fixed location or campus. The technical affordability of cloud-based computing, Artificial Intelligence-based learning platforms, massive open online courses, high-quality streaming video, and “just-in-time” information gathering have pushed vast amounts of knowledge to the “placeless” World Wide Web. This has sparked a re-examination of the role of contemporary higher education institutions within society. Indeed, higher education institutions are being disrupted by a wide variety of social and technological forces. Developments including the globalisation of services work, the increasing value of domain expertise, rapid developments in educational technology and the rise of online open courses are creating both challenges and opportunities for incumbents as well as new entrants. The unbundling of research, educational delivery, content and block chain certification means that new business models and ways of engaging students will be at the heart of future higher education landscape. With the world in a state of major transition, education in general, and higher education in particular, becomes critical in this seismic shift because the transitions being experienced are centred on two essential elements – knowledge and skills. In addition, the pace of the decay of knowledge has increased significantly. In the past, a university student would enrol for a degree, graduate, and live off the knowledge obtained for at least 10 years. Today, by the time a qualification is achieved, the knowledge and competencies need to be refreshed. By just about any measure, the pace of decay of knowledge is increasing. One of the implications of this rising pace of knowledge decay is that we must be specialists. Without world-class expertise in our domain we are reduced to being commodities. As these pools of deep knowledge around the world are connected, the phenomenon of collective intelligence is beginning to emerge. While this idea is not new, it is only in the last decade that we have become so richly connected through technology that collective intelligence is moving from a dream to reality. This is a major shift in who we are, our human identity, and in how we learn. A former director of Xerox PARC laboratory, John Seely, wrote in 2011 that the half-life of a skill is five years (and shrinking). This means that half of what is learnt today will become obsolete in five years or less. This idea is receiving a great deal of attention from leaders of higher education institutions, who must plan for a future in which students will need to keep learning new skills ever more frequently before and after they graduate. The advent of and necessity for continual re-skilling will impact most on the graduate professional education segment, which has traditionally been structured around one- and two-year Master’s degree programmes. A widely held view is that such graduates will consume this lifelong learning in short spurts when they need it, rather than in relatively lengthier blocks of time as is the case presently. However, the most important challenge will involve a shift in the way students consume higher education. Participation in tertiary education is set to increase. New educational technologies could open the doors to new knowledge for a wider audience, if the current social stratification of access and usage patterns could be overcome. Consequently, higher education institutions like Regent Business School are learning to be nimbler, entrepreneurial, student-focused and accountable for what students learn. New learning styles and mounting financial and sustainability pressures are impacting the education landscape. Equally, there appear to be many trends, pressures, and concerns that society through its political and economic leadership is imposing on higher education institutions. A cacophony of voices, a diversity of expectations and contradictory requests are all evident. There is no doubt that the world finds itself in a precarious situation where constant change is ubiquitous and responses are slow. Moreover, it has been frequently argued that higher education is a “consumer market”. Such a market would exceed a billion “customers” with varying behaviour and demands. Higher education institutions will have to adapt to changing consumer behaviour trends, while maintaining a focus on the balance between disciplinary skills, in demand skills and employability competences. In today’s job market there is an increasing need for training and retraining of individuals. Thus, a focus on job-oriented education and on economic participation is driving an emphasis on relevance or on what can be called vocationalism – and thus changing the demand structure for higher education with profound effects on the support of, demand for, and appropriate preparation of participants for a rapidly changing job market that requires 21st century skills and competencies. In the Fourth Industrial Revolution (and its attendant skills revolution) the number of jobs involving routine skills has shrunk as a result of increased automation. AI technologies like machine learning and computer vision are permanently eliminating low-skill jobs. The trend in economies is to turn from manufacturing to service, in which most new jobs do not require advanced education. Rather, human skill in creativity, imagination and problem-solving will become key differentiators in a hybrid workforce that involves collaboration between human talent and technology in the form of smart machines and robots. Finally, in conceding that education in general and higher education in particular are on the brink of huge disruptions, two questions have become paramount. What should young people be learning? And what credentials will indicate that they would be ready for the workforce? We believe that in order to remain relevant, higher education will have to fundamentally re-organise its current (post-industrial) model and engage in deep curriculum reform in order to match the skills revolution required for a complex and uncertain future. Visit our website www.regent.ac.za for more information. #KZNbusinesssense #kzntopbusiness

The Section 12J tax programme, which was introduced by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in 2009, is set to end on the 30 June 2021. “Essentially Section 12J is an incentive to get a country’s tax payers to invest in its own economy and in our case specifically the SMME economy because that is what makes the most jobs,” says Johannes Maree, CEO Destinata Capital. “This tax programme followed on the back of incentive programmes that were introduced in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia which were very effective. In order to incentivise us as taxpayers, SARS has given us a 100 percent tax break on these types of investments, which is extremely powerful.” “Let’s assume that we have an individual taxpayer who falls into the top tax bracket of 45%. If they make an investment of R1 million in a call account or on the JSE they will incur R450 000.00 tax. An investor that invests into a taxdeductible vehicle like 12J will get a million-rand tax deduction, which would mean a saving of R450 000 worth of taxes.” Any South African taxpayer can invest in a Section 12J programme including salaried employees paying PAYE, provisional taxpayers, companies and/or trusts. Destinata Capital strives to make the 12J programme more accessible to the average South African. Typically, the companies act requires a minimum investment of R1 million in this programme. Destinata Capital has registered as a public company which allows prospectuses to be registered with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) through which the R1 million minimum investment requirement is removed. Consequently, Destinata Capital accept investments of R100 000.00. In addition, Destinata Capital offers investors the opportunity to leverage a cash portion, much like purchasing a property through a bond, to invest a larger amount of money in a Section 12J investment. Apart from the benefits received, the tax savings obtained from SARS can be used as a down payment on the loan. Significantly, the sunset clause for these investments is the 30 June 2021 after which the tax deduction will fall away. “Practically speaking investors who have already taken part in a Section 12J investment programme will not be affected. The tax deduction still stands, and the funds still need to be managed in line with Section 12J legislation,” explained Maree. “However, investors qualify in the tax year that they make an investment and often wait until the last day of a tax year to make an investment, so they need to act a little bit sooner this tax year.” There is an opportunity for companies and trusts to make a large S12J investment even if it pushes them to a tax loss position because they then have the opportunity to offset that tax loss against future taxable income. The benefit of the assessed loss can be worked off over a number of years. The typical company that would benefit from this strategy is one that has identified Section12J as an investment vehicle that they wanted to make use of for a few years. While retirements annuities also offer tax deductions the key difference is in the investment limits. A retirement annuity is limited to R350 000.00 per annum or 27.5% of your taxable income. In a Section 12J investment, an individual can contribute up to 2.5 million per annum, a trust up to 2.5 million per annum, while a company can contribute up to R5 million per annum. Another difference is that a Section 12J investment stands for five years while a retirement investment can only be exited on retirement, unless the investor is 55 years of age. Destinata Capital has a stringent due diligence process and focuses its investments in hotel type accommodation which is a strong asset class. “There is safety in property as you always have strong assets on your balance sheet,” explains Maree. The company also focuses on security companies as security services are an essential service in South Africa. Destinata Capital also focus on asset rentals which give a slightly higher cash yield than property. For more information visit www.destinataholdings.com Johannes Maree from Destinata Capital talks to us about the S12J programme (Part One) Johannes Maree from Destinata Capital talks to us about the S12J programme (Part Two) #KZNbusinesssense #kzntopbusiness

According to Rajan Naidoo, managing director of EduPower Skills Academy, the topic of disability is still fraught with stigma and shame, particularly in the workplace. He believes that companies have to change this mindset, and this starts with creating a culture that embraces diversity and promotes disability inclusion. “Disability inclusion is about far more than hiring people with disabilities. An inclusive workplace values all employees for their strengths and abilities. It offers employees with disabilities an equal opportunity to succeed, to learn, to be compensated fairly and to advance. True inclusion is about embracing difference,” Rajan explains. But how do companies achieve this? As more than 80% of its learners are People with Disabilities (PWD), EduPower is a leader and enabler of skills development for PWDs. Based on actual experiences, Rajan shares five actions that companies can apply to create a truly inclusive workforce: 1. Commitment from the top PWDs and their inclusion in the workplace are now part of the business agenda. Disability inclusion however needs top-level backing to become a company norm. Prove you’re committed to disability inclusion by making it a company policy. This can be a specific policy or the inclusion of disability as part of more general policies on anti-discrimination, diversity or human rights. 2. Skills Development By recruiting PWDs, you will not gain real skills, you will be able to support national policy and legislation such as employment equity and B-BBEE targets. In the skills development space, you can use learnerships to train PWDs in the skills required by the business, preparing them for the world of work while also using the 12-month learnership as a screening process. You can claim back the majority of the spend through the higher tax rebates for PWD learnerships and provided you are paying your skills development levy; you can claim the mandatory grant too. In many cases, the rebates available mean that you can upskill your future PWDs at zero cost. 3. Think flexibly about individual needs You will need to prepare the work environment by making reasonable adjustments to accommodate your PWDs needs. These could include modifying floorplans and equipment or the content of the job itself. You may also need to adjust working hours, work organisation and the work environment. 4. Remove recruitment barriers Analyse every step of your recruitment process to make sure there are no barriers for PWDs. Adverts for jobs and learnerships should make it clear that you’ll provide reasonable accommodation for interviews and the job itself if needed. When it comes to the interview process, remember that your PWD candidates bring creativity, innovation, problem solving and commitment. 5. Make your people ‘champions of change’ The most effective way to promote inclusivity in your company is to empower and encourage all your people to champion the change. The more awareness and teamwork there is in supporting policy, the better the morale, wellbeing and productivity of all your employees. Your people may be apprehensive about someone in a wheelchair or who’s partially sighted in the office simply because of the stigma this carries in society. But guaranteed, when they start working worked together, the disability won’t be an issue. It’s about simply accepting each other as people who have a job to do. It’s about ability, not disability. Including PWDs and accommodating their disability related needs are important moves for companies in terms of talent resourcing and compliance with legislation. Inclusion however is everyone’s responsibility and with your team’s commitment to eliminating the misconceptions and biases that hold PWDs back, everything is possible. W: www.edupower.co.za

Our world is changing and even more so in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. More and more people are having to or choosing to work from home. Some of us are downscaling to live with their children, or adult children are moving back home with Mom and Dad. Building a Garden Office or Cottage is the solution to the increasing demand for extra living/working space. Elangeni Buildings provides a fast and cost-effective building method to meet this growing demand. The company provides full turn-key project solutions with over 40 years of industry experience specialising in constructing granny flats, offices, garages, cottages, homes, classrooms and RDP units. Elangeni meaning ‘where the sun rises’ is leading the way and is at the forefront of Alternative building technologies in South Africa. The family-owned company was established by Rob Gibb in 1979 and is located in New Germany, KwaZulu-Natal. Ten years ago, Rob was joined by his two sons, Justin and Neil, who have entrenched themselves into the core of the business and have contributed greatly to its growth and success. Currently, Elangeni Buildings is one of the leading family-owned building companies in KwaZulu-Natal. Elangeni Buildings is renowned for its innovative building method and almost unbelievable building speeds comprising of reinforced concrete walling with conventional roofing, windows, doors, and finishes. “Our construction projects are completed 80 percent faster and are therefore 40 percent more cost effective than traditional brick or block building methods. In just six to eight weeks, you could have a complete spacious new home office extension, garden office or new cottage making Elangeni Buildings a very attractive option for anyone requiring great value for money in a short space of time,” says Justin Gibb. Because Elangeni Buildings completes projects faster than conventional methods, it is the reduced construction time that saves you money. Also with the reduced overall time on site it promotes cleaner building sites and reduces the impact caused by building works to your property. Rob Gibb says that it is crucial to understand all the aspects involved when considering any build project. “Apart from the construction of the building itself, any construction project will require the involvement of professional services such as architects and engineers with specific municipality engagement. We offer full turn-key projects with our inhouse architect and engineer and include all aspects of the build. This assists the client in providing them a hassle free building experience, making for a smooth, seamless and efficient building project every time.” Elangeni Buildings offers you a selection of standard plans or you may have your own custom design, size, or layout to suit your exact needs. The turnkey project scope includes plan drawing and council submission, ground preparation, foundations, and floor slab, Elangeni steel reinforced concrete walling, complete roof including SABS timber roof trusses, barge board, facia, gutters, windows, doors, plastering, ceilings, painting, plumbing and electrical including connections. “Elangeni Buildings have the same look and feel as any conventional building and are just as strong, durable and long lasting. We can match the look and style to suit your exact needs including plaster bands, Tudor style, hipped or French gable roofs. The building is finished off with painting inside and out to your desired colour,” says Neil Gibb. Apart from building homes, cottages, in residential estates and in retirement villages, Elangeni Buildings has been involved and successfully completed many school projects. This includes building classrooms, admin blocks, storage and ablution blocks for schools around KZN with over 150 successfully completed projects. The company has also partnered with several non-profit organisations that focus on infrastructure development, specifically for Early Childhood Development (ECD) in KwaZulu-Natal. In addition, annually, for more than ten years, projects have been completed with the Key Foundation, Robin Hood Foundation, Imama Wild Ride and Foundation Corruseal (Krupa Foundation). Elangeni Buildings is registered with the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) and our quality and workmanship is guaranteed through full compliance with the National Building Regulations, including full municipal approval across all South African municipalities. The building system is fully approved by the SABS of the Construction Sector also known as Agrément. The buildings are also compliant with the latest energy efficient regulations that deal with insulation qualities and energy performance of buildings therefore eliminating the need for you to spend on additional insulation products to make the building compliant and liveable. “Elangeni takes immense pride in all our building projects and customer satisfaction is of the utmost importance to us,” concludes Neil. ‘Let Elangeni give light to new ideas and help you expand your space.’ Contact Neil T: +27 (0)31 705 8330 | +27 (0)82 613 3775 E: sales@elangenibuildings.co.za W: www.elangenibuildings.co.za

As the South African tourism industry continues to recover from the devastating impact of the pandemic, Ugu South Coast Tourism (USCT) has initiated a dedicated marketing campaign aimed at highlighting the #KZNSouthCoast as a prime tourism location with the launch of its innovative #GoSouthKZN destination video. “Tourism is the lifeblood of our local economy and USCT is committed to igniting interest in the region, once again, to stimulate the local tourism market,” explained Phelisa Mangcu, CEO of USCT. “Before the arrival of the Covid-19, we were on a drive to position the KZN South Coast as one of the country’s key destinations, and we’ve now put this campaign into high gear, actively promoting the region across a number of dedicated platforms.” The three-minute marketing video promotes the many unique tourism attractions found within the #ParadiseoftheZuluKingdom, from the many coastal attractions for which the area is renowned, through to the hinterland tours, golf courses, extreme adventures and relaxing venues. Drawing on the incredibly relaxed yet invigorating #KZNSouthCoast spirit, viewers are given a glimpse of such sites as the Wild Gorge Swing, KwaXolo Caves Adventures and Aliwal Shoal while touching on activities such as surfing, beachside horse riding, mountain biking, boating and hiking. “The #GoSouthKZN destination video is a great marketing tool that we can use to create positive exposure for the KZN South Coast at events such as trade shows, trade workshops and various media engagements,”continued Mangcu. “It’s a really impactful visual tool that will also actively promote this area through social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and the free-todownload Explore KZN South Coast app.” Check out the #GoSouthKZN destination video on https://youtu.be/kOm2w2e0RHQ or the website, www.visitkznsouthcoast.co.za , or #Visit the ‘South Coast Tourism’ Facebook page, or @infosouthcoast on Twitter.

Newly appointed SLG Group CEO Mzi Tyhokolo has a 20 year track record in the gas industry, with 14 of those years being at SLG and six at Sasol Gas. Mzi has been a member of the SLG executive team in charge of various functions in the business for the last five years contributing to the strategic management of the organisation and supporting the two previous chief executive officers in the implementation of the business strategy. Mzi has a proven track record in organisational strategy development and implementation, business development and sales, managing customer and stakeholder relationships, contract negotiations, implementation of key accounts management strategies, market development, formulating marketing and sales strategies, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) operations management and managing strategic projects. One of his notable achievements in SLG was the successful implementation and completion of the CNG project in 2016. Mzi led the development of the CNG concept, the development of the project to financial close, and subsequently managed the project to completion and commissioning, ultimately becoming the new business’s first general manager. This is now the largest CNG operation in southern Africa by volume compressed. Mzi is a motivated, driven and independent professional with strong relationship management, analytical, negotiation, decision making, problem-solving, communication and leadership skills. His leadership philosophy is firmly grounded on the premise that leaders need to achieve results through others and as such need to focus on developing people to realise their full potential. One of his favourite quotes is from Zig Ziglar who says, “You don’t build business, you build people, and then the people build the business.” He explains that this is one of the surest ways to create a sustainable business that has excellence in every aspect, every level and every function and most importantly, can continue to thrive long after its CEO or leader is gone. His academic qualifications include an MBA degree (UNISA), Chartered Industrial Gas Consultant (GTI, Chicago, USA), Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing ´ (UNISA),and BSc Honours (Chemistry), Rhodes University. Mzi has an interesting view about SLG and the leadership that the business needs to realise its vision “To be a first choice energy partner”. He wants to bring this vision into reality by turning SLG into the country’s leading commercial natural gas trader by 2025. He believes that SLG’s current track record, its entrepreneurial culture and the combined industry experience of its people are the three main assets to be leveraged to create this leading company. He also believes that galvanising SLG’s position in the natural gas space will create the foundation for the company to be a true energy partner and a significant one at that in the South African energy landscape. So in essence, his main objective is to lead SLG from good to great, and great companies are built mainly through people. The first order of this great mission is to build a culture of excellence such that the people in SLG become leaders in their respective functional areas of expertise. T: +27 (0)31 812 0555  W: www.slgas.co.za #KZNbusinesssense #kzntopbusiness