Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
• Welcome to the southern tip of Africa. Here, two great oceans meet, warm weather lasts most of the year, and big game roams just beyond the city lights.
• This is where humanity began: Ancestor traces are still evident
in fossilized footprints 80,000 years old, and in the world's oldest rock paintings.
• Today, South Africa is the powerhouse of Africa, the most advanced, broad-based economy on the continent, with infrastructure to match any first-world country.
• You can drive on wide, tarred highways all 2,000 km from
Messina at the very top of the country to Cape Town at the bottom. Or join over seven million international travelers who disembark at there airports every year.
• Two-thirds of Africa's electricity is generated here in South Africa. 40% of the phones are here. 20% of the world's gold is mined here. And almost everyone who visits is astonished at how far a dollar, euro or pound will stretch.
South Africa is a culturally diverse country, one nation made up of many peoples. With 11 different official languages, a multiplicity of traditions and skin tones ranging from ebony to sun burnt pink, we are, as Archbishop Desmond Tutu once put it, the rainbow nation
of Africa.
Under the terms of the new constitution, which was adopted on 8 May 1996 and entered into force on 4 February 1997, legislative power is vested in a bicameral parliament, comprising a National Assembly and a National Council of Provinces (formerly the Senate). The National Assembly is elected by universal adult suffrage under a system of proportional representation and has between 350 and 400 members. The 90-member National Council of Provinces comprises six permanent delegates and four special delegates from each of the provincial legislatures. The president, who is elected by the National Assembly from among its members, exercises executive power in consultation with the other members of the cabinet.
• South Africa has 21 universities, many of them world class, and 15 technicians, some which offer degrees up to doctoral level
• South Africa has 12 million learners, 366 000 teachers and around 28 000 schools - including 390 special needs schools and 1 000 registered private schools. Of all the schools, 6 000 are high schools (grade 7 to grade 12) and the rest are primary (grade 1 to grade 6).
• School life spans 13 years - or grades - although the first year of education, grade 0 or "reception year", and the last three years, grade 10, 11 and grade 12 or "metric" are not compulsory. Many primary schools offer grade 0, although this pre-school year may also be completed at nursery school.
• South Africa occupies the southern tip of Africa, its long coastline stretching more than 2,500 km from the desert border with Namibia on the Atlantic coast southwards around the tip of Africa and then north to the border with subtropical Mozambique on the Indian Ocean.
• The low-lying coastal zone is narrow for much of that distance, soon giving way to a mountainous escarpment that separates it from the high inland plateau. In some places, notably the province of KwaZulu-Natal in the east, a greater distance separates the coast from the escarpment.
South Africa’s climate is generally sunny and pleasant. Winters are usually mild, although snow falls on the mountain ranges of the Cape and Natal and occasionally in lower-lying areas, when a brief cold spell can be expected throughout the country.Average temperatures in ºC
Summer Winter
Cape Town
20 12.6
Durban 23.6 17
Johannesburg
19.4 11.1
Pretoria 22.4 12.9
Source: Lew Leppan: The South African Book of Records. Cape Town, Don Nelson, 1999.
South Africa’s Government
• South Africa is a constitutional democracy with a three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary. The national, provincial and local levels of government all have legislative and executive authority in their own spheres, and are defined in the Constitution as "distinctive, interdependent and interrelated".
• After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics.
• The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants.
• The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races.
• The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule.
• Gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas.
• Railways: total: 21,431 km narrow gauge: 20,995 km 1.067-m gauge (9,087 km electrified); 436 km 0.610-m gauge (1995)
• Highways: total: 534,131 km paved: 63,027 km (including 2,032 km of expressways) unpaved: 471,104 km (1998 est.)
• Pipelines: crude oil 931 km; petroleum products 1,748 km; natural gas 322 km
• Ports and harbors: Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mosselbaai, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha
• Merchant marine: total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 274,797 GRT/270,837 DWT ships by type: container 6, petroleum tanker 2, roll-on/roll-off 1 (1999 est.)
• Airports: 744 (1999 est.) • Airports - with paved runways:
total: 143 over 3,047 m: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 46 914 to 1,523 m: 73 under 914 m: 11 (1999 est.)
• Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 601 1,524 to 2,437 m: 33 914 to 1,523 m: 303 under 914 m: 265 (1999 est.)
•South Africa is a nation of over 46-million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages and beliefs
• Africans are in the majority at 37.2-million, constituting 79.4% of the total population. The white population is estimated at 4.4-million (9.3%), the colored population at 4.1-million (8.8%) and the Indian/Asian population at 1.1-million (2.5%).
•While more than three-quarters of South Africa's population is African or black, this category is neither culturally nor linguistically homogenous. Nine of the country's 11 official languages are African, reflecting a variety of tribal/cultural groupings which nonetheless have a great deal in common in terms of background, culture and descent.
•Africans include: the Nguni people, comprising the Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Swazi; the Sotho-Tswana people, comprising the Southern, Northern and Western Sotho (Tswana); the Tsonga; and the Venda.
•South Africa's white population descends largely from the colonial immigrants of the late 17th, 18th and 19th centuries - Dutch, German, French Huguenot and British. Linguistically it is divided into Afrikaans- and English-speaking groups, although many small communities that have immigrated over the last century retain the use of other languages.
• Social grants contribute more than half the income of the poorest 20% of South African households
• Education, health, skills development, the various social welfare grants, the police, justice department and prisons were all given above-inflation increases in their allocations from the Treasury.
•South Africa's economy is capable of growing considerably faster than it has in the past. That's the view of a panel of international experts roped in by the government to evaluate its economic growth plan and come up with new ways to boost the country's growth rate.
The Economy• Economy - overview: South Africa is a middle-
income, developing country with an abundant supply of resources, well-developed financial, legal, communications, energy, and transport sectors, a stock exchange that ranks among the 10 largest in the world, and a modern infrastructure supporting an efficient distribution of goods to major urban centers throughout the region. However, growth has not been strong enough to cut into the 30% unemployment, and daunting economic problems remain from the apartheid era, especially the problems of poverty and lack of economic empowerment among the disadvantaged groups. Other problems are crime, corruption, and HIV/AIDS. At the start of 2000, President MBEKI vowed to promote economic growth and foreign investment by relaxing restrictive labor laws, stepping up the pace of privatization, and cutting unneeded governmental spending. His policies face strong opposition from organized labor.
• South Africa is the economic powerhouse of Africa, with a gross domestic product (GDP) four times that of its southern African neighbors and comprising around 25% of the entire continent's GDP.
• The country leads the continent in industrial output (40% of total output) and mineral production (45%) and generates most of Africa's electricity (over 50%).
• South Africa's economy has been in an upward phase of the business cycle since September 1999 - the longest period of economic expansion in the country's recorded history.
Source: IMF country report 2005
•South Africa is one of the most sophisticated and promising emerging markets in the world, offering a unique combination of highly developed first world economic infrastructure with a vibrant emerging market economy.
Sound economic policies
• Key economic reforms have given rise to a high level of macro-economic stability. Taxes have been reduced, tariffs lowered, the fiscal deficit brought under control, and exchange controls relaxed.
•In 2005, the government began formulating a new strategy to boost the country's economic growth rate to 6% of GDP by 2014 and reduce unemployment. Implementation of the strategy - involving large-scale state investment in infrastructure, small business and skills development, and interventions targeting specific areas of the economy - has since begun
Favorable legal and business environment
• South Africa has a world-class, progressive legal framework. Legislation pertaining to commerce, labor and maritime issues is particularly well developed, while laws relating to competition policy, copyright, patents, trademarks and disputes conform to international norms and conventions.
• Sanctity of contract is protected under common law, and independent courts ensure respect for commercial rights and obligations. The independence of the judiciary is guaranteed by the Constitution.
• South Africa's financial systems are sophisticated, robust and well regulated. South African banking regulations rank with the best in the world, while the sector has long been rated among the top 10 globally. Foreign banks are well represented and electronic banking facilities are extensive, with internet banking a growth feature of the sector.
World-class infrastructure
• South Africa has world-class infrastructure - including a modern transport system, low-cost and widely available energy, and sophisticated telecommunications facilities.
Access to markets
• Located at the southernmost tip of the African continent, South Africa is ideally positioned for easy access to the countries comprising the Southern African Development Community (SADC) - with a combined gross domestic product (GDP) in the region of US$160-billion and some 185-million people - the islands off Africa's east coast, and even the Gulf States and India.
• South Africa also and serves as a trans-shipment point between the emerging markets of Central and South America and the newly industrialized nations of South and Far East Asia.
Access to markets Continued
• Major shipping lanes pass along the South African coastline in the South Atlantic and Indian oceans through its seven commercial ports, which form by far the largest, best equipped and most efficient network on the continent.
• These ports are not only conduits
for trade between South Africa and her partners in the SADC and the South African Customs Union, but also function as hubs for traffic emanating from and destined for Europe, Asia, the Americas and the east and west coasts of Africa.
Trade reform, free trade agreements
• Since signing the Global Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1994, South Africa has become a player in the global trading system, and a series of trade reforms - including a tariff reduction and rationalization programmed - have been introduced.
• Market access has been enhanced through free trade agreements with the European Union and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the implementation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act by the US. South Africa is also seeking to develop bilateral trade relations with markets in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
SA-EU Free Trade Agreement
• Provides 95% of South Africa's exports with duty-free access to the EU within the next 10 years. The agreement pertains to industrial goods and agriculture, with commodities such as steel, ferro alloys, aluminum, furniture and automotive products standing to gain substantially. In turn, South Africa is to remove duties on 86% of its total imports from the EU. The agreement makes provision for the establishment of new industries to produce for the EU.
• To be implemented by 2008, the agreement will play a key role in fostering regional prosperity, as it encourages intra-regional trade and promotes investment and technology transfers.
Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa)
• Supplements existing US programmers aiming to increase trade and investment between the United States and developing countries. Agoa expands the duty-free treatment under the GSP programmed to September 2008, eliminates most of the limitations of the GSP programmed for sub-Saharan African countries, and expands the product coverage of the GSP programmed exclusively for products of sub-Saharan Africa. The Act includes duty-free treatment of 1 800 tariff line items (in addition to the standard GSP list of roughly 4 600 items currently available to non-Agoa GSP beneficiary countries), while providing duty-free and quota-free access to the US market without limits for apparel manufactured in sub-Saharan countries using US fabric, yarn and thread.
Cost of doing business in SA
• A recent survey by The Economist Intelligence Unit ranked South Africa as highly cost effective (10th out of 31 countries surveyed).
• South Africa's exchange rate makes it one of the least expensive countries in which to do business - particularly one with a first-world infrastructure and high living standards. Even though stronger local currency has strengthened against other major currencies in recent years, the rand exchange rate still makes commercial and residential property, quality hotels and restaurants inexpensive by world standards.
• South Africa's energy costs are also among the lowest in the world. Eskom supplies most of Africa with electricity, and is known for its superior supply quality. The country also compares favorably for petroleum prices, with private sector and multinational oil companies refining and marketing nearly all imported petroleum products in southern Africa.
• The licensing of a second fixed-line operator is expected to bring down the cost of telecommunications in South Africa. The new operator is due to begin operating by the end of 2006, giving state company Telkom its first taste of real competition.
• South Africa's unit labor costs are significantly lower than those of other key emerging markets, including Mexico, Hungary, Malaysia and Singapore. In addition, recent years have seen a surge in the country's labor productivity. South Africa has a comprehensive labor legislation in place, facilitating labor relations and contributing to a marked decline in the number of man-days lost due to industrial action since 1994.
• South Africa's corporate tax rate - down to 29% for 2005/06 - compares favorably against a number of developing companies, and the prospects of further reductions are good.
Ease of doing business in SA
• South Africa is among the top 30 countries in the world for ease of doing business, according to a 2005 World Bank report. The finding suggests that South Africa is making progress in creating an environment conducive to investment, which the government has identified as key to achieving a 6% growth rate.
• The survey ranked 155 countries according to the number of procedures, time and costs involved in: starting a business; dealing with licenses; hiring and firing workers; registering property; getting credit; protection for investors; paying taxes; trading across borders; enforcing contracts; and closing a business.
• South Africa ranked 28th, ahead Spain (ranked at 30), Austria (32), France (44), Russia (79), China (91) and Brazil (119). Overall, SA had the highest ease-of-business ranking on the African continent.
• South Africa Exports $41.97 billion a year in gold, diamonds, platinum, other metals and minerals, machinery and equipment, and imports $39.42 billion a year in machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum products, scientific instruments, foodstuffs. Its major trading partners are UK, U.S., Japan, Germany, China, Italy, India, Saudi Arabia, and France.
• In South Africa there are there are 728 airports in South Africa, 144 of which are paved. There are 275,971 Km of highways in South Africa, and the most important ports and harbors are in Cape Town, Durban, East London, Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth, Richards Bay, Saldanha. There are 22,298 Km of railways in South Africa. The current issues of South Africa are: lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation and control measures; growth in water usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion; desertification.
South Africa is growing most rapidly everyday and we would like to contribute to it’s economical growth, and success. Due to the large population, and lack of vehicle transportation we feel that South Africa would be the most beneficial place to start our business venture.
In Conclusion South Africa is among the top 30 countries in the world for ease of doing business. South Africa is making progress in creating an environment conducive to investment, which the government has identified as key to achieving a 6% growth rate.
