BE.Africa by Business Excellence Magazine

BUSINESS EXCELLENCE Issue 11 | www.bus-ex.com

Basil Read

AFRICAN EDITION

African Minerals

Aerosud

Seed Co Ltd

Flying high With more than 3,000 Airbus A320 and around 4,000 Boeing 737 aircraft having come off the production lines fitted with parts manufactured by Aerosud, the South African brand has truly come of age

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contents

Cover story

Aerosud

Transport & Logistics

Aerosud Executive Insight

Dr Paul Potgieter The Chairman of Aerosud Aviation discusses the lessons he has learned throughout his career.

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SWACAA

A royal start to a new aviation era The opening of King Mswati III International Airport was the proudest moment to date for the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority.

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SWACAA Executive Insight

Solomon Dube Director General of the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWACAA).

Kishugu

Battling for the greater good Kishugu which has its roots in forest and wildfire combating, suppression and prevention, is set to light up the global stage with its international experience of delivering integrated fire management services.

Infrastructure

Mangaung Municipality

Poswa Incorporated

DHL Nigeria

Delivering growth to Nigeria DHL has been present in Nigeria since 1979. Today its unrivalled service and expertise is helping to drive Africa’s largest economy to new heights of prosperity.

The heart of South Africa A spate of important developments, initiatives and infrastructure projects are contributing to the city of Mangaung living up to its position as the “heart of South Africa” and 2014 will see the “city of roses” blossom further still.

Creating unbounded potential A progressive, wholly black-owned law firm, focused on delivering tailor made legal solutions designed to broaden its clients’ business horizons.

40 66

Basil Read

Synonymous with excellence Basil Read has successfully spread its wings in order to bring its reputation for excellence and professionalism to many of Africa’s most important markets.

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contents

Mining & Minerals

82 African Minerals

A year to remember Head of Corporate Development and Investor Relations, Mike Jones, discusses the incredible progress made by African Minerals during 2013 and why 2014 is shaping up to be even better.

Central Rand Gold

All that glitters is gold By utilising innovative methods and technologies Central Rand Gold is bringing commercial gold mining back to the City of Johannesburg.

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102

Palabora Mining Limited

Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s copper bottom Palabora Mining is preparing for an ambitions expansion programme to maintain production for another decade.

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ] food & drink

112

136

Seed Co Tanzania

Abundance from African soil Africa’s biggest seed company is establishing a presence in Tanzania that promises a more prosperous future for small scale farmers.

112

Tata Zambia

146

King Pie

152

Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL)

A deep partnership The Tata group has a long-standing association with Zambia which it chose many years ago as its gateway into Africa. energy

118

Geothermal Development Company (GDC)

A vision for Kenya’s future Electricity derived from geothermal resources will play a key role in Kenya achieving its Vision 2030 objectives. Responsibility for this rests on the shoulders of the GDC. Telecoms

126 Angola Cables

Nothing but the best King Pie has grown dramatically over the 20 years since it hit the South African fast food scene: now it is expanding regionally while sticking to the principles that made it a success in the first place.

Liberia’s road out of poverty GVL is developing a sustainable palm oil industry in West Africa, at once meeting growing global demand and lifting a nation out of poverty.

152

Out of the depths Angola Cables is laying a cable across the Atlantic Ocean: this is a project with profound implications for global and regional telecommunications as well as for Angola itself.

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Aerosud

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Airbus A400M taxiing

erosud is the biggest manufacturer of aircraft parts and assemblies on the African continent, producing 1.5 million parts and assemblies a year and on the back of an established track record of quality and delivery it has become a single source supplier for almost all of the products it supplies. It is a fantastic success story, so much so that the company was declared a strategic industrial national asset by South Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s government owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

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On the back of this success, the present time is one of unprecedented opportunity for further growth, says Dr Paul Potgieter, Executive chairman of Aerosud Holdings. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We decided that it is now time to reposition for the future, and we identified two main goals, the first of which was to upgrade our broad-based black economic empowerment (BBBEE) status. This is a company that is acutely aware that as a South African company we have to operate with compliance and be seen by the government as a responsible industrial

Aerosud

“Both Boeing and Airbus have ramped up production of their narrow body single aisle planes from 18 or 20 a month to numbers in the 40s”

partner.” The second goal was to position Aerosud Aviation strategically to achieve the capital investment needed to grow for further expansion, he explains. The result was that in June 2014 the business went through a comprehensive restructuring process. Having a history of involvement in the military side of aviation, Aerosud now found it had evolved into a major civil aviation supplier servicing contracts with Airbus, Boeing and tier 1 groups like USA based Spirit AeroSystems and the French

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An Aerosud employee on the assembly line

company Labinal. It made sense to unbundle these activities, so two standalone companies were formed. Aerosud Aviation remains as a wholly owned company of Aerosud Holdings, while Aerosud Aerospace Systems is now aligned to Aerosud Holdings’ shareholder, the military and security systems specialist Paramount Group. At the same time IDC confirmed its commitment to the industry by taking a 26 percent shareholding in Aerosud Holdings, strengthening this highly entrepreneurial private company strategically by aligning it with government industrial growth objectives. However IDC is also going to be a vital financial partner going forward, like a bank but more of a true partner than a commercial bank could ever be, as Johan Steyn, Managing Director of Aerosud Aviation, puts it. “In fact we have been working with IDC since 1996, but now they have an equity stake in the business and by doing that they have reconfirmed and extended their commitment to fund Aerosud going forward.” For IDC, he adds, there is a direct link between Aerosud as a company that exports close to 100 percent of its production and the government’s need to promote South Africa’s leadership in the production and beneficiation of titanium and other high tech minerals. Steyn has a state of the art manufacturing facility under his oversight, one that has for more than twelve years been accredited to AS 90100, the global aviation standard of excellence. It is constantly audited by his customers, though the onus of this has been reduced and duplication cut by the NADCAP

“We are seen by the aviation industry to be relevant, cost effective and competitive, and that can lead to new opportunities”

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Aerosud

Simulator at Aerosud’s training centre

conformity assessment scheme and lean principles, he believes. Did you know? that minimises duplicate audits “TOC is simply a stronger growth that added to everyone’s path than we believe we have workload, without adding value. achieved with lean.” $60 million Three or four years ago saw It is worth taking a closer Aerosud’s 2014 the introduction of theory of look at one particular product turnover constraints (TOC) concepts. range, track cans. These are “In the last 18 months we have highly specialised deep-drawn 14,500 started to roll out specific aluminium pressings. “Track cans Number of workshop level improvements on are banana-shaped cavities that Boeing and Airbus the back of TOC learnings,” says are let into the wing fuel tanks parts delivered Steyn. “It is about prioritisation to receive the leading edge monthly mechanisms and the principles of flap supports when these are managing flow improvements as retracted,” he explains. “So they opposed to capacity balancing are absolutely flight-critical. We - it is both an improvement initiative and a manufacture these for the A320 and A350 and pillar of the business going forward. We they are high volume in our terms - there are have upskilled ourselves to take that process 22 of them on each A320.” This component is forward.” It’s an example of choosing what currently manufactured in the USA on a press works for Aerosud, he adds, rather than do developed in cooperation with the supplier things as they have always been done in the there. The resulting 16-10-7BD Triform press industry, but there is no conflict between TOC has lowered part production costs by 25

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percent, scrap rates have been reduced to less than one percent, weld quality has been greatly improved and the overall appearance of the final parts has been significantly enhanced. During the course of 2015 that press will be brought to South Africa where it will be operated by specially trained staff. Aerosud is not struggling for work by any means - rather it is being dragged along by the booming aviation industry, says Dr Potgieter. “Both Boeing and Airbus have increased from producing 18 or 20 a month of their narrow

body single aisle planes to numbers in the 40s. Because we are a single source supplier for these aircraft that means we have more than doubled production volumes of the components.” That growth is continuing, he says. These OEMs are now talking of ramping up to 60 a month, and Aerosud will have to get ready for that, increasing capacity, capital equipment and floorspace as well as staff and training, just to service existing contracts. So far the company has been able to cope with the growth, but looking to the future,

“We have been too vertically integrated, by virtue of necessity because we do not have a broad support base in South Africa. Now is the time to start doing something about that.”

Aerosud employ a core team of experienced engineers and designers

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Aerosud

Aerosud has the largest CFRTP press system in the world with 600 ton capacity

plant expansion and rationalisation have to be tackled Potgieter emphasises. He uses the word co-location a lot. The production facilities need to be on the same site for all kinds of logistical and communication reasons, but Aerosud is running out of space in its existing facility, and crucially it cannot accommodate and support local suppliers and develop what he calls a sub-tier supply chain. For these reasons he (along with everyone in the aerospace industry) is keen to see the fruition of the long-awaited Centurion Aerospace Village on Aerosud’s doorstep. “We have been too vertically integrated, by virtue of necessity because we do not have a broad support base in South Africa. Now is the time to start doing something about that.” But if it is to spin out significant quantities of work to entrepreneurial new suppliers, Aerosud needs to be sure they are co-located.

Then, he says, they will receive the benefit of equipment sharing, training, quality, safety and production best practices. The sooner the Centurion Aerospace Village becomes a reality, the sooner this can happen. And of course this closely aligns with the government’s and IDC’s goal to promote the development and growth of a strong SME sector in South Africa. As a long-term strategic partner, IDC is in a position to help Aerosud achieve these goals, he says. Looking to future opportunities, this is a company with an amazing track record that the global aerospace industry can’t fail to have spotted. It won its Airbus contracts, both on the A400M programme and the A350 which between them account for 52 percent of this year’s turnover, without the benefit of offset leverage. “What that means is that we are seen by the aviation industry to be relevant, cost effective and competitive, and that can

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Thermoplastic part production

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Aerosud

“With CFRTP the forming cycle of a component is between four and six minutes, compared with eight to nine hours of autoclave curing for a conventional composite component” lead to new opportunities. I think the global industry is taking notice!” Airbus, Boeing, Labinal and Spirit are names to conjure with - but there are many other OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers that could be drawn in, he feels. Additionally, the national carrier SAA is in a process of fleet renewal, which will inevitably lead to increased volumes from Aerosud. There can be no complacency, no standing still in this rapidly advancing industry, he cautions. There will always be lower cost economies than South Africa and the long term sustainability of the company rests on its development of techniques that others can’t match. One way of staving off the threat from global competitors is to become a risk-sharing partner in OEM projects, as happened with the A400M project (it is worth pointing out that though the M identifies this as a military variant, the components supplied by Aerosud have nothing to do with its military capability or weaponry). The other is to create new IP around relevant technologies like the production processes it developed for continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastic (CFRTP) composites. This process allows much more energy- and cost-efficient manufacture than can be achieved with conventional composites, he points out. “For example, to illustrate just one of its significant advantages, with CFRTP the forming cycle of a component is between four and six minutes, compared with eight to nine hours of autoclave curing for a conventional composite component.”

It was a key moment this year when a new CFRTP press was commissioned, the biggest of its kind in the aerospace industry, developed by Aerosud and co-funded by Airbus. This facility will position Aerosud for the supply of large CFRTP parts and will undoubtedly add to the growth of the Aerosud manufacturing portfolio. Though make-to-print may be the order of the day for some time to come at Aerosud the emphasis is thus shifting to new technologies. Expect announcements in the coming months on advanced titanium manufacturing processes, he hints. It is easy to understand why aerospace industry loves titanium. Titanium parts are light, weigh only half as much as steel parts, but its strength is far greater than the strength of many alloy steels. Laser based additive manufacturing (LAM) is an effective way to process titanium alloys, potentially a lot cheaper than machining from solid, reduces waste dramatically, and could be a lot quicker too for the manufacture of complex aerospace parts. Meanwhile Boeing has announced the fourth renewal of its contract with Aerosud, Paul Potgieter says says. “Everybody talks about recurring business and this is it!”

Aerosud

+27 (0) 12 662 5000 info@aerosud.co.za www.aerosud.co.za

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Dr Paul Potgieter Chairman of Aerosud Aviation

Executive insight Have you always liked aeroplanes? ‘Fraid so! I don’t know where it came from, but for as long as I remember flying has always been a passion of mine.

What’s so special about Aerosud? I had the privilege of starting Aerosud as a one man company in 1990, albeit in the context of an agreement with my five other partners who would be following me later.

What do you consider your proudest achievement (in life or business)? The fact that, despite lots of pressure and stress, my sons in the end opted to join me in the business; so maybe I have gotten at least something right, and that gives me great joy.

If you could hit just one more goal in life, what would that be? That we should become an OEM in our own right, successfully manufacturing and supplying an aircraft of South African origin.

You’ve proved South Africa can compete at the top table – where next for manufacturing here? We have to move firmly beyond make-to-print, by adding value using our own Intellectual Property (IP), such as we are already doing for CFRTP parts. Next to come must be our emerging Laser Additive Manufacturing technology.

Which pieces of wisdom would you pass on to your successor? I believe the single most important trait in business is to be brutally honest with yourself. In responding to any problem, challenge or opportunity, believe what you need to, and not what you want to. Saying the same

thing differently – being in denial renders it impossible to finding a solution.

Nobody’s perfect. What quality or ability do you wish you had? Patience, patience, patience! And with that, the ability to better listen.

Name someone who has been an inspiration to you. The late Dr. Tom Hugo, our Chief Director at the National Institute for Aeronautics and Systems Technology of the CSIR during the 70’s, where I started my engineering career (and where we did the first helicopter project called the XH1, a tandem version of the Alouette III). If only I could rekindle half his wisdom and insight ....

What mistakes have you made (professional or otherwise), and what did you learn from them? Probably in getting the timing wrong – sometimes the idea is good, but the environment may not be ready for it. Comes back to impatience. But generally I have few if any regrets.

How has technology changed your working – and personal – life? Cell phones, computers, emails, internet, TV of course, communications and information more generally, all of which have contributed to a vast change in the pace at which we live and do things. But the most profound change has been in computing power and related applications. Could you imagine having been able to have done the Rooivalk helicopter using CATIA?

Learn more about Aerosud Aviation www.aerosud.co.za

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SWA

A royal start to a n

The opening of King Mswati III International the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWAC who spoke to us of his vision 20

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ACAA

new aviation era

Airport was the proudest moment to date for CAA) and its Director General, Solomon Dube, n for Swazilandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prosperity BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

n March 7 this year King Mswati III of Swaziland officially opened the new international airport, also known as King Mswati III. A key component of the Millennium Development goals (MDG) programme, the $280 million project is not unattended by controversy, but is seen as essential if Swaziland is to make the most of its geographical advantages and become a mini hub within southern Africa, providing a complementary role to OR Tambo Airport only a couple of hundred miles to the west.

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Like all civil aviation activity in Swaziland, King Mswati III International Airport is administered by the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWACAA). This organisation was established in 2009 as a parastatal organisation, with the mandate to provide, on a commercial basis, air transport services and the regulation of civil aviation activities in Swaziland in accordance with international standards. A robust regulator was much needed, as Swaziland was not up to speed with international practice, explains Director

SWACAA

Mr James Danga (SADC),Mr Serge Divounguy (ICAO TCB) Mr David Waller (EASA),Mr Solomon Dube (SWACAA) Mr Jacinto Lopez Naval (EASA)

“It became necessary to establish an autonomous body that would focus on the growth and professional management of the industry”

General Solomon Dube. “The State of Swaziland had been audited in July 2007 under the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme agreed to by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) member states in an assembly of 2004. The overall level of effective implementation (LEI) of ICAO standards and recommended practices was found to be 16.7 percent.” Clearly this would not do. A corrective action plan (CAP) detailing what Swaziland needed to do to correct the deficiencies

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found by the audit was submitted to ICAO and Dube, who had been involved in developing the CAP, was appointed to lead the newly set up authority. Dube is the only executive member of the Board. As managing director of SWACAA he presides over Executive Committee (senior management) meetings. “As civil aviation is a very technical and heavily regulated global industry,” he explains, “it became necessary to establish an autonomous body that would focus on the growth and professional management of the industry, with the Minister of Transport as its political head.” The

inauguration of the authority set the stage for modernisation of civil air communications in Swaziland, and by far the biggest task in hand was the construction of the new Sikuphe International Airport, now renamed King Mswati III, as a fitting gateway to the country for the tens of thousands of tourists who fly in annually to visit Swaziland’s game parks and the nation’s rich culture. The new airport can accommodate fully laden Boeing 747 Jumbo jets and other large aircraft like the Boeing 777 and Airbus 340. KMIII is located on flat terrain with good visibility and is a strategic gateway to

“To attract foreign direct investment and foreign exchange, overseas visitors to the country and the region need direct access”

Aviation Security Officers: Saneliso Mabuza and Likhwa Dlamini

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SWACAA

Aerial view of King Mswati III International Airport

the airport staff offices; and Swaziland and the surrounding Did you know? on the first floor a further region for tourism and business. passenger concourse and arrival The new airport will boost and departure lounges. Swaziland tourism because the 300 KMIII is now the Kingdom’s old airport in Matsapha could Hourly passenger major international hub receive only regional aircraft. capacity at KMIII connecting Swaziland directly Tourists used to have to land in with the world. The airport is South Africa and take a bus to $280 million designed to accommodate get to Swaziland, and cargo from Cost of the projected future air passenger all over the world was dropped new airport and cargo demands for the in South Africa and had to be region, and incorporates brought in on trucks or by rail. terminal buildings, a VIP This is a thoroughly 21st passenger lounge, air navigation century facility that currently and ground handling equipment, and all has more bells and whistles than the amount associated airport operations equipment. of tourist traffic – currently around one million Despite a slow start two airlines have now a year – really requires. The 7,000 square confirmed operations at the airport with metre passenger terminal can handle and additional flights to Johannesburg, South process about 300 passengers an hour, while Africa and new routes directly to Durban, the parking area caters for 200 vehicles. Mozambique and Cape Town. The three levels of the terminal building The former international airport will now house, from the bottom up: the passenger be used for other ventures since the new concourse and baggage handling facilities;

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facility can cope with all the international and regional traffic for a long while to come, continues Solomon Dube. “The plan is to develop Matsapha Airport into an army base and general aviation facility. There is also a viable proposal on the table to develop an aviation training centre there – Swaziland is the ideal place for pilots to learn their skills because of our quiet skies!” Though SWACAA will now have the job of attracting more international carriers to join in with Swaziland Airlink and choose Swaziland as a destination or stopover, further development is already being planned, says Dube. “Phase 1 was just enough to enable aircraft to land on a certified airport. Phase two is planned but will only be implemented once there is a business case in response to traffic demand. Swaziland is close to the tourism nodes of South East Africa. It is peaceful and friendly with all African countries. The potential exists to create an alternative gateway for tourists to the SADC region and more specifically to the East Three Route developed by the tourism departments of Swaziland, Mozambique and South Africa. There is also a substantial number of people from East Africa who visit Swaziland for training purposes. It is expected that as Africa increases its use of air transport, there will be an increased number of direct flights between cities.” But tourism is the sector that must at all costs be targeted, he continues: “In order to attract foreign direct investment and foreign exchange, overseas visitors to the country and the region need direct access. The new airport provides that access and does it in

a simple but elegant manner to the highest international standards.” SWACAA has been tasked by the government to make sure that ICAO’s CAP is fully implemented and good progress has already been made towards raising the scores. “We have led the implementation and also roped in experts from developed

“Swaziland is the ideal place for pilots to learn their skills because of our quiet skies!”

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SWACAA

3.6 km runway of King Mswati III International Airport

countries and ICAO Technical Cooperation Bureau to give practical on job training to our inspectors. An ICAO Validation Mission is planned for April 2015. And we are implementing compliance with the ICAO safety management systems standard, which encourages safe working practices among employees at all levels. Strategic objectives for SWACAA over the next twelve months include growing traffic at KMIII, and developing the entire air transport industry in Swaziland, not forgetting the Nhlangano airstrip in the southern part of the country, which is predominantly used by the forestry farming community. Dube would also like at least ten percent of the

1.2 million population of Swaziland to start using air transport .He would also like to see an increasing flow of goods and cargo, in both directions, through the airport. All of these objectives are brought into focus by the presence of the new airport, he says, and SWACAA will continue to work tirelessly to deliver them.

swacaa

(00268) 2518 4390 info@swacaa.co.sz www.swacaa.co.sz

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Solomon Dube Director General of the Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority (SWACAA)

Executive insight

What motivated you to choose engineering as a career?

great influence upon me, with their selfless service to my country in the education sector.

I completed my studies at the Salesian High School, Manzini, in 1973 where I studied metalwork and woodwork and thereby developed a love for creating things. In 1975 I was called before the Chairman of the Scholarship Selection Board, Prince Khanyakwezwe Dlamini, who told me I was being offered a scholarship to become one of the engineers for the Mpaka Airport. I had no idea at the time what he was talking about; I just wanted to become an engineer! My tertiary studies were in electrical and electronics engineering. On return from my initial studies in Canada in 1977, I joined the Government Ministry of Public Works in order to serve my country.

What do you count as your greatest personal asset, and what quality or ability do you wish you had?

Specifically, what attracted you to aviation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; how do you view the industry?

What mistakes are you aware of having made, and what did you learn from them?

After completing a Post Graduate Diploma in the same field, this time at Cranfield Institute of Technology in the UK in 1984, I returned to Swaziland and was assigned by Government to join the engineering department at Matsapha Airport. This was my first contact with aviation.

In top management I have found that the major mistakes emanate from having to juggle different important stakeholder needs in the fulfilment of my mandate. These include, I have found, good governance from a Board of Directors point of view, political expectations and international requirements.

What person or persons influenced you and inspired you?

Which one piece of wisdom would you pass on to your successor?

The priests at Salesian School where I did all my primary and secondary schooling were a

Work smart, with dedication to doing the right things in the right way.

Honest love for service is what I would consider as my greatest personal asset. It would also have been nice to have the ability to generate wealth simply because this would help me to serve humanity even better.

Of which achievement in your business life are you proudest? Starting SWACAA from scratch and sustaining it up to the present time is something that gives me profound satisfaction.

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“Don’t leave until tomorrow what needs to be done today”

Do you have a motto, or principle, that you live (or work) by? Don’t leave until tomorrow what needs to be done today.

What single social, economic or political change would you like to see happen globally? I would love to see the day when the world’s wealth is shared among by all citizens of the world.

What are the best things about Swaziland? Too many to enumerate! But if I have to pick, I would say its small size, making it a peaceful, homogeneous country.

How would you like to be remembered after your retirement? I feel blessed and honoured to be part of the unfolding history of air transportation in the Kingdom of Swaziland. I would like to be remembered as someone who made previously unconceived of things possible in the development of the aviation sector in Swaziland.

Learn more about Swaziland Civil Aviation Authority www.swacaa.co.sz

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Executive insight

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

[ Issue 83 ] BE Weekly

Kishugu

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ire is a friend to mankind - until it gets out of hand: then it can become a formidable enemy, one that can only be subdued by an army versed in both conventional and guerrilla warfare and co-ordinated ground and air operations. As Johan Heine, co-Managing Director of Kishugu (formerly the FFA Group) speaks always passionately - about the business he founded 28 years ago in 1986, he relies heavily on military imagery. Well, that is natural enough for a former air force pilot, but it is much more than a habit of speech. Firefighting, which is Kishugu’s raison d’être, is a lot like war, he says. Reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, getting to understand the enemy and the reason why there has been a local uprising is

farming. But fire is capricious, and so is the weather. It only takes a change in wind speed or direction and what was a controlled burn can turn into a conflagration. Heine, one of the most experienced firefighting pilots in Africa with more than 25 years of aerial firefighting experience under his belt, established a voluntary association of forestry landowners, the Forest Fire Association (FFA) in 1996. FFA hired in equipment and resources as required, focusing on aerial firefighting, dispatch and coordination. By 1995, the organisation had grown to cover up to 70 percent of South Africa. Along the way, Johan Heine had assisted the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry with the drafting of South Africa‘s veld and

“Aerial support needs ground support. Without that it is like fighting a war without boots on the ground” vital. Whatever units there are on the ground near the outbreak have the task of reporting back to HQ so that reinforcements are ready if needed. If the initial skirmishes end in victory, then the troops can stand down. If not the conflict escalates, and an extended attack plan is put in place and carried out by a strike force. Sometimes that first crucial battle is also lost, and you have a war on your hands. In the more arid parts of Africa fire has always been part of the natural environment and nature takes it in its stride. Lightning ignites the savannah, burning large tracts, and when the fires peter out and the rains come the vegetation renews itself and wildlife returns. And controlled burning is likewise is a part of traditional agricultural practice that has been carried on into modern large scale

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forest fire laws in 1989 and was instrumental in driving the development of Fire Protection Associations (FPAs) in South Africa. However by 2003 it was becoming clear to him that aerial attack was only half the solution to successful fire control. “Aerial support needs ground support. Without that it is like fighting a war without boots on the ground - if you only have air attack in your strategy there is no way you will be really successful. That led to the birth of the FFA Group, now rebranded as Kishugu (which is the Swahili word for anthill - appropriately for an organisation in which every individual works for the common good). It also gave rise to the mantra he coined, and which has now gained currency in global firefighting circle - ‘Integrated Fire Management.’ “A lot of

Kishugu

Working on Fire addresses the prevention and control of wildland fires

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firefighting agencies in the world have fallen flat because they do not have a sufficient level of integration between dispatch, coordination, aviation, ground support, research, logistics and all the other things that go to make up an efficient operation. So we try not to approach each issue in a silo!â&#x20AC;? Today Kishugu Aviation alone operates a fleet of 50 aircraft, of which it owns 70 percent. These provide national and international aerial firefighting services with resources made up of command and control aircraft, helicopters

and helitac crews, and single engine air tankers with water carrying capacities of between 2,000 and 3,000 litres. The most recent of these are four Air Tractor AT 802F aircraft, the largest single engine water bombing aircraft in the world. This plane rivals the performance of twin-engine tankers, but at a fraction of the cost. It uses a patented, computer-controlled firegate to deliver precise coverage levels with extreme accuracy. You could call these Air Tractors the sharp end of the operation, but the division employs

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of firefighting agencies in the world have fallen flat because they do not have a sufficient level of integrationâ&#x20AC;?

Ground firefighting operation

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Kishugu

Kishugu provides specialised and certified training

around 200 people in all, certified training globally Did you know? including 70 pilots who between focused on but not restricted to Integrated Fire Management them fly up to 18 Cessna spotter, and fire-fighting related or command and control planes, 50 training; Integrated Forestry a fleet of 20 helicopters, and a Aircraft in Services, which provides endnumber of fixed wing water Kishuguâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s fleet to-end forestry and silvicultural bombers. The division has its own services such as harvesting, Aviation Training Organisation 5,000 transport and fire protection (ATO) to ensure that the pilots Young people to plantation owners and Fleet fully understand the special helped by WoF Management, which furnishes a demands of firefighting. When it programme in wide range of high quality and comes to the big beasts though, South Africa reliable vehicles to its clients, pilots who are going to fly the applying global best practices to Air Tractors go for conversion its fleet management principles training to Avialsa in Spain, the to ensure the safety and standardisation of biggest Air Tractor dealer in the world, to vehicles and equipment. benefit from the experience of a country with Working on Fire (WoF), today the largest unique experience in aerial firefighting. private supplier of Integrated Fire Management When its ten subsidiaries that each adds Services in the world and operating in seven value to the core proposition, the Kishugu countries across four continents, started in group as a whole employs more than 6,000 2003 as a government-funded job-creation people. Among these divisions are Kishugu programme within South Africa. Now its Training, which provides specialised and

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“It is very satisfying to be able to be solving the problems of firefighting and tackling youth unemployment at the same time” largest operations are in South Africa and Chile. Implemented by Kishugu in the domestic market, where it currently benefits more than 5,000 people, 85 percent of them are youths, and 37 percent female (the highest level in any comparable fire service in the world). The model has exported successfully and today

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

Kishugu under the Fire International brand works with minority partners in Brazil, Chile, and Australia. “There was a huge problem of the youth unemployment in Spain and other countries. It is very satisfying to be able to be solving the problems of firefighting and tackling youth unemployment at the same time.”

Kishugu

The Air Tractor-802F is capable of delivering retarding foam and water on fires in places that most other craft struggle to reach

WoF has given Kishugu massive credibility and authority internationally, and also allowed it to develop contracts tailor made for parastatal and private companies to provide air and ground fire services and training. Almost nonchalantly Johan Heine drops the information that the company has grown at 30 percent per annum for the last ten years. That stellar performance could eventually lead Kishugu to go public but for the time being it has its work cut out keeping its services at the level they need to be in South Africa, while expanding its footprint in South America and Australia. 2014 has been a drought year and consequently very demanding. Kishugu had

far exceeded its planned flying hours before September – always the worst month – had even started. “But we are winning the war,” says Heine. “We have made a huge difference over the last ten years and have come out on top of the whole fire management problem, no question!”

Kishugu

013 741 6400 info@kishugu.com @kishugu www.kishugu.com

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

DHL N

Delivering grow

DHL has been present in Nigeria since 1979 is helping to drive Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest ec

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

Nigeria

wth to Nigeria

9. Today its unrivalled service and expertise conomy to new heights of prosperity

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DHL employees scan parcels

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

DHL Nigeria

reviously seen as being hindered by years of mismanagement, Nigeria has risen like a Phoenix in recent years with the economic reforms of the past decade contributing towards the country finally beginning to realise its immense potential. In the last two years alone Nigeria’s expanding financial, service, communications and technology sectors have contributed towards it being recognised as Africa’s largest economy, being ranked 26th in the world in terms of GDP and being on course to become one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020. DHL, the world’s largest courier company, which today is active in more than 220 countries and territories, was first incorporated within Nigeria in 1979. “Like all businesses in the country, DHL Nigeria came from very humble

“From a workforce of just a few individuals, DHL Nigeria has since expanded to the point where today it employs in excess of 700 people in the country, all bar one of whom are Nigerian nationals,” Okereke continues. “Meanwhile, in terms of volume growth, we began by handling less than ten shipments per day, whereas today we are responsible for the movement of more than 20,000 shipments into and around Nigeria on a daily basis.” DHL Nigeria’s fleet of vehicles has also come on leaps and bounds since those early days, going from two motorcycles to a fleet of approximately 260 vehicles as well as the recent addition of a dedicated cargo aircraft, the only one of its kind operating in the country. For the majority of the time that DHL has been in existence within Nigeria its economy

“DHL Nigeria has expanded to the point where today it employs in excess of 700 people in the country, all bar one of which are Nigerian nationals” beginnings operating out of a single office in Lagos,” explains Chrys Okereke, Country Commercial Manager for DHL Nigeria. In the beginning the company was primarily tasked with the transportation of documents in and around Lagos, Abuja and other major Nigeria cities. In time it also became responsible for the distribution of goods and documents on behalf of other DHL divisions shipping into the country, before ultimately growing into a fully-fledged entity, delivering all of the essential services that DHL has become a household name for across the country. The service has basically entailed the transportation of documents and parcels both within Nigeria and to other countries across the world, as well as the delivery of inbound materials into Nigeria.

has been driven by oil and gas activities. While oil and has remained the economic lynchpin of the country, with DHL Nigeria continuing to operate services both into the country and out of it to major oil producing locations such as Scotland, Norway and the US for transportation of equipment and resources, the growth of other sectors have brought about the prosperity covered at the beginning of this article, and indeed the continued success of DHL Nigeria. “We have watched consumer demands evolve massively in recent years, bringing with them an ever-increasing need for our services,” Okereke says. A sizeable percentage of this demand for DHL’s services in the country is today coming from players in Nigeria’s booming e-commerce market. “In

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

T +234-1-2773767 ext: 4068 E So_supply@sahara-group.com

www.sahara-group.com

So Energy - Fueling businesses across West Africa with quality products and services A member of the Sahara Group

DHL Nigeria

the space of 18-24 months we have seen a tripling in the number of e-commerce related shipments that we are handling on a regular basis. The ability for consumers to make electronic payments has gone from being a rare luxury to a widespread activity and this has subsequently become a core driver for our own growth.” The emergence of the country as Africa’s largest economy has also resulted in a surge of imports into Nigeria, particularly from the likes of the large supermarket and retail chains based in South Africa which are looking to capitalise on increasing consumer wealth. Despite having watched Nigeria develop into the thriving country that it is today, DHL Nigeria continues to take great pride in its commitment to helping support the people, communities and environments around which it itself have managed to blossom since those humble beginnings in the late 1970s. Aside from the previously stated fact that the company presently provides employment to more than 700 local individuals, DHL Nigeria carries out its corporate social responsibility efforts via three pillars dubbed Go Green, Go Help and Go Teach. “Go Green is all about environmental conservation and it is through this initiative

“We have watched consumer demands evolve massively in recent years, bringing with them an ever-increasing need for our services”

Within the distribution centre

So Energy So Energy is the downstream, retail operation arm of the Sahara Group, a leading privately owned Power, Energy, Gas and Infrastructure Company established in 1996 with operating companies active in the downstream, midstream, upstream, infrastructure and power sectors. Sahara has presence in different locations including Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. So Energy has operational retail outlets in Nigeria, Ghana and Cote D’Ivoire, and is currently expanding its retail network into other African countries. So Energy introduces to each marketplace a new model of innovative stations with distinctly

African, yet modern architecture. So Energy also provides dedicated diesel supply dumps for some of its business partners such as DHL Logistics, Mass Rapid Transport Ltd, Mbonny Logistics, NIBOL and many others logistics services to industrial companies that require fuel for their articulated trucks and heavy duty machinery needs. So Energy is committed to delivering quality fuels and service with customer satisfaction as the key to our partnerships. So Energy, quality fuels and so much more…. www.sahara-group.com

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Aco construction compAny Limited

Aco construction compAny Limited has a well equipped in-house project design and planning unit, manned by qualified professionals that enables us to undertake building designs for the execution of turnkey projects. We specialize in the construction of Industrial, Commercial, Social and Residential Buildings. We also undertake Remodeling/Refurbishment of existing buildings including Maintenance/Facilities Management.

tel. 0803 306 5900 | 0812 225 7804 email. aco.niqs@yahoo.com or aco.niqs@gmail.com

We don’t just sell, we service Our scope of work embraces: · Design of Air Conditioning system · Direct sales of Air Conditioning products · Leasing / Hiring of Air Conditioning products · Installation services · After sales service · Maintenance / service contract

inspired PERA - BEAM LTD. Tel: +234-8095389001 | +234-8093951066 +234-8093950999 | +234-8093951022 | +234-8093951033

Email: info@perabeam.com | www.perabeam.com

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

Your weekly digest of business news and views

www.bus-ex.com

DHL Nigeria

Fast dispatch by courier

“DHL Nigeria carries out its corporate social responsibility efforts via three pillars dubbed Go Green, Go Help and Go Teach”

that we work with various NGO’s and agencies to ensure that the environments in which we operate are preserved for future generations,” Okereke enthuses. “Our work in this field also includes the monitoring of our own carbon footprint, supporting programmes that are working to conserve native flora and fauna, and encouraging people both within and outside the business to work towards guaranteeing a sustainable future for Nigeria.” Go Help is all about supporting local people and communities in times of need. This can include undertaking tasks including the recent renovation of an old peoples’ residential

home in Yaba, Lagos, supporting children with Down’s syndrome and blind members of society, all the way up to providing financial and material support to corporate and government agencies involved in disaster and emergency management. “Go Teach is all about ensuring that the future leaders of this country have access to a high standard of education,” Okereke says. “Through this initiative we have partnered with other likeminded corporate bodies to build/ renovate schools, and distribute books and educational materials to institutions within our areas of operation. We also continue to fund

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

scholarships for children of both our staff and the wider community on a regular basis.” In line with DHL’s global focus, DHL Nigeria’s priority going forward is to expand its activities and presence across the country. To do this the company plans to improve its logistical capabilities by expanding its fleet, specifically its more unique modes of transportation. “We introduced our dedicated cargo aircraft in September 2012 and in less than two years we have already exceeded the capacity for that 737-400 model,” Okereke reveals. “As a result we have decided that,

in order to continue delivering the same high level of service we pride ourselves on, we need to introduce a second aircraft as soon as possible.” A separate, but equally unique, member of DHL Nigeria’s fleet is the boat that it launched only a matter of weeks ago, which is today being used to navigate the waterways surrounding Lagos and is resulting in a much faster means of transportation than that which is experienced on the heavily congested roads of Nigeria’s most populous city. “We are also in the process of expanding our gateway facilities within Lagos International

“At the end of the day we only ever gauge ourselves and our performance on how satisfied the customer is once they have dealt with us”

DHL’s new river service at Lagos

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

DHL Nigeria

The fleet has grown from two motorcycles to more than 250 vehicle

Airport,” Okereke says. “We are the only air express company present in Nigeria with its own separate gateway facility at the airport, however having gone from handling around eight or nine tonnes of goods per day to in excess of 16 tonnes in less than four years, we no longer have the capacity that is required. Therefore we will be working to expand these facilities in the coming months in order to meet ever increasing demand.” During the first 32 years of its existence in the country, DHL Nigeria operated a total of 19 offices at its peak. In many ways this relatively small presence created a situation where the majority of the population felt they could not access its services. Today DHL Nigeria boasts a network of over 250 offices and collection points across the country, a rate of growth that has brought it closer to the customers on whom it places such a high level of importance. DHL Nigeria’s commitment is to make its services even more accessible to the

teeming population by setting up more service centres in the months to come. “We have just introduced a new concept within the business that we call our Insanely Customer Centric Culture (ICCC),” Okereke concludes. “This concept captures the essence of what we are about as a company. Everything we do and every action we take is carried out with the ultimate aim of satisfying our customers. At the end of the day we only ever gauge ourselves and our performance on how satisfied the customer is once they have dealt with us. This has been our approach since day one and will be as we continue to grow.”

DHL Nigeria

0803 907 7000 info@dhl.com.ng @DHLAfrica www.dhl.com.ng

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Mangaung M

The heart of

A spate of important developments, initiatives and infrast living up to its position as the â&#x20AC;&#x153;heart of South Africaâ&#x20AC;? a

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

Municipality

f South Africa

tructure projects are contributing to the city of Mangaung and 2014 will see the â&#x20AC;&#x153;city of rosesâ&#x20AC;? blossom further still BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Free State Botanical Gardens in Bloemfontein

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Mangaung Municipality

ith a name meaning “place of leopards” in the language of Sesotho, Mangaung, also widely referred to as Bloemfontein, is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa and one of the country’s three national capitals. Officially founded in 1846, “the city of roses”, as it is affectionately known due to both the abundance of the flowers in the city and its annual rose festival, is today home to approximately 370,000 people, while the Mangaung Local Municipality boasts a population of more than 645,000. Last year was a very significant year for the city of Mangaung in that it reaffirmed its position as being what it proudly dubs, “the heart of South Africa”. It has long been the belief of the city that it is mandated to

tackle the problem head on and bring an end to underground pipe leaks that have cost Mangaung considerable sums of money in years gone by. As with any major city, Mangaung also has to deal with the issue of crime, particularly that which occurs within its booming Central Business District. To ensure the safety of its inhabitants and visitors, the city has gone about installing CCTV cameras at strategic points in all major towns and at several entertainment hot spots. Together with its established law enforcement centres and continued trafﬁc police visibility, this has helped Mangaung in its ﬁght against crime. In its efforts to make Mangaung the ideal city in which people can live, work and invest, the municipality has developed an extensive

“It has long been the belief of the city that it is mandated to deliver excellent service to the men, women and children who reside there” deliver excellent service to the men, women and children who reside there. Not unlike other municipalities across the country, Mangaung faces daily service delivery challenges, for instance backlogs in areas such as housing, water, sanitation and unemployment. In order to combat said issues the municipality has identified a number of possible interventions, for example identifying areas of land in areas such as Vistapark, Ceciliapark, at the airport and Hillside View to accommodate the rising demand for housing. Water pipe leaks have historically been a source of lost revenue within the city. To address this, South Africa’s Minister of Water Affairs has committed to assisting it in financing programmes designed to

Spatial Development Framework (SDF), which is aimed at improving the lives of Mangaung residents, while attracting investors and those seeking better opportunities – from businesses and schools, to pleasure and leisure pursuits. The projects earmarked under the SDF include the N8 Corridor Development and the Bloemfontein Airport precinct development. New industrial development and human settlements will predominantly be taking place towards the east of Bloemfontein, particularly along the vicinities of the N8 Development Zone. The municipality promises that the N8 Corridor Development Project will be one of the most signiﬁcant investment opportunities that will guarantee jobs to many residents

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Navigating Commercial Law Poswa Incorporated (Poswa Inc) is a medium-sized wholly black-owned law firm committed to breaking new ground in commercial law, balancing close attention to detail with a wider worldview. The firm was established in March 2010 by its founder and CEO, Luyolo Poswa. It is a progressive law firm which provides services across all aspects of commercial law, including the structuring of transactions, negotiation and drafting of agreements, legal opinions and legal due diligences. Poswa Inc also offers conveyancing and notarial expertise as well as general legal advice and litigation through commercial, civil and labour spheres. Poswa Inc’s head office is based in Johannesburg and they have expanded their national footprint to operating offices in Bloemfontein and Durban. Poswa Inc’s proven track record spans over 90 years of combined legal experience in the corporate, private and financial sectors – Through specialist insight and personalized service, they focus on tailor made legal solutions that broaden business horizons.

Johannesburg office: Bloemfontein office: 1st Floor Block A Palm Park 1 Sandton Close 2 Suite 7 Cnr. 5th Street and Norwich Close 94 Kellner Street Sandton Westdene Johannesburg Bloemfontein Tel: +2711 783 8877 Tel: +2751 430 0296/7

www.poswainc.co.za

Durban office: Business Centre 2 Ncondo Place Ridgeside Umhlanga Ridge Durban Tel: +2731 830 5369

Mangaung Municipality

and contribute towards building a better life for all. The envisaged development at Naval Hill is expected to become one of the municipality’s world-class recreational facilities and tourism destinations that will give the local economy a great boost in the years to come. Similarly, through the ongoing development of the Bloemfontein Airport, Mangaung is working hard to position itself as one of a number of emerging aero-cities in the country. The proposed Bloemfontein Airport precinct, to the south of the airport entrance, is a multi-billion rand infrastructure and property development project that has already commenced with the implementation of the first phase. The project comprises the development of an international convention centre, a government complex, a regional shopping mall, and an array of sustainable housing typologies. It is being viewed as an opportunity for discerning property investors to widen and improve their investment portfolios. The municipality is keen to stress that youth are the core of its economy and its future prosperity, hence their development is a priority for Mangaung. Whatever the plan, the municipality wants to ensure that these plans do not exclude young people, as well as women and children. Some of the important projects being undertaken include a new furniture factory run by youth, firefighters training at Ehrlich Park Fire Station and youth centres.

“The municipality is keen to stress that youth are the core of its economy and its future prosperity”

poswa During January 2014, Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality appointed Poswa Inc as its sole legal counsel for the establishment of its DMTN Programme and inaugural note/ bond issue. The establishment of its DMTN Programme will facilitate an alternative way of raising finance as opposed to borrowing from commercial banks through the medium of conventional loans and facilities and will create a platform through which the Municipality can issue notes/bonds in the domestic market. Poswa Inc is proud to be instrumental in the establishment of the DMTN Programme for the Municipality and looks forward to an on-going relationship with the Municipality. www.poswainc.co.za

Aerial view of the City of Bloemfontein

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Bloemfontein Supreme Court

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Mangaung Municipality

“Mangaung Municipality aims to work continuously in order to fast-track service delivery and grow the economy of the city”

To augment its vision for Currently, the city’s ﬂagship Did you know? the city, the municipality has housing project is the soonalso commenced with several to-be-occupied Brandwag 370,000 huge water and sanitation Housing Project, a mixed Population of the housing project for middle projects. It is also improving city of Mangaung income earners who are not the city’s road infrastructure, which is particularly important eligible for state housing but 645,000 because Mangaung is a cannot access bank loans. Population of the central link for South Africa. Land has also been earmarked Mangaung Local Specific individual projects in certain areas in and around Municipality include the construction of Mangaung for future mixed the Naval Hill Water Reservoir development initiatives, which to supply water to the east of will encompass residential Bloemfontein, the extension units ranging from low income of the capacity of the Longridge Reservoir, and rental to social and commercial initiatives. and road rehabilitation, construction and The city’s tourist attractions include maintenance of major roads including Naval Hill, whose status was further elevated Andries Pretorius, Eeufees, Church, Haldon upon the unveiling of the Nelson Mandela and Fort Hare Streets. statue last year and an overhauling of the An amount of R436 million has been area to make it even safer. Naval Hill gives budgeted for roads and storm water, tourists a bird’s eye view of the sprawling sanitation, waste management and water city of Bloemfontein. projects for the period of 2013/14. Through Through its various ongoing programmes, these projects and many others, 2,823 job Mangaung Municipality aims to work opportunities have been created, with 802 continuously in order to fast-track service of those being permanent. delivery and grow the economy of the city. The municipality is particularly proud that Above all else it will ensure that all the strides since the dawn of democracy, it has been made in 2013 do not fall away and that 2014 able to provide more than 176,000 stands and beyond will be even better! or households with access to sanitation, while more than 155,000 stands have access Mangaung Municipality to basic water supplies in Bloemfontein, Botshabelo and ThabaNchu. 0800 111 300 One of the objectives in terms of housing info@mangaung.co.za developments is to earmark the city for social www.mangaung.co.za integration, eradicate informal settlements and consolidate dysfunctional settlements.

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Poswa Inc

Creating unbou

A progressive, wholly black-owned law firm, Posw tailor made legal solutions designed to

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

corporated

unded potential

wa Incorporated (Poswa Inc.) focuses on delivering o broaden its clientsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; business horizons

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

stablished in 2010, Poswa Incorporated (Poswa Inc.) is a progressive law firm, which specialises in providing services across all aspects of commercial law, including the structuring of transactions, negotiation and drafting of agreements, legal opinions and legal due diligences. Through specialist insight and personalised service, Poswa Inc. focuses on tailor made legal solutions that broaden business horizons. The firm also offers conveyancing and notarial expertise as well as general legal advice and litigation through commercial, civil and labour spheres. Poswa Inc. prides itself in its ability to see beyond the obvious. A wholly black-owned firm committed to breaking new ground in commercial law, it successfully balances close attention to detail with a wider worldview in order to give its clients the full benefit of what it calls “unbounded potential”. The proven track record of the firm spans over 120 years of combined legal experience in the corporate, private and financial sectors. Boasting a level 1 Contributor BBBEE Accreditation, Poswa Inc.’s mission is to be recognised as one of, if not the leading commercial law firm in Africa. In order to achieve this aim, the firm looks to leverage what it calls “legal solutions that go beyond the ordinary”. Its range of services cover a wide variety of areas including banking and finance, corporate and commercial, conveyancing and notarial , loc al government, litigation, labour, infrastructure development, maritime law and aviation. Mr Luyolo Poswa is the Chief Executive Officer of the firm and its Director of Banking and Finance. Luyolo obtained his BA (Law) and LLB Degrees from the University of KwaZulu Natal in 1994 and 1996 respectively. He served his Articles of Clerkship with Deneys Reitz Attorneys and was duly admitted as an Attorney in March 1999. During his term at Deneys Reitz, Luyolo was primarily focused on Maritime Law. He spent a year in the United Kingdom between 2000 and 2001 pursuing a

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

Luyolo Poswa, Chief Executive Officer

Poswa Incorporated

Master of Laws Degree (LLM) (International Business Law) at the University of London. He also obtained a Diploma in Import and Export and a Certificate in Mechanics of Financial Markets from the Beaufort Institute. In 2002, Luyolo joined Absa Corporate and Merchant Bank (Absa Capital) where he worked in the Debt Capital Markets division, specialising in securitization, Domestic Medium Term Notes and Corporate Bonds, loans and asset backed commercial paper conduits. He also managed a ZAR 15 billion commercial paper conduit vehicle. In April 2007, Luyolo joined Investec Capital Markets as an in-house Legal Adviser, working in various areas of Banking and Finance law including Aircraft Finance, Acquisition Finance, Property Finance, Securitisation, Domestic Medium Term Note Programmes and Principal Finance. Today, Luyolo is a Director for a number of companies within the Debt Capital Market space. Notably, he is a Director for ED Trust INL Investments (Pty) Ltd (Investment Bank Limited BEE Company), Commissioner Street No. 5 (RF) Limited, Commissioner Street No. 6 (RF) Limited, Commission Street No. 7 (RF) Limited, Commission Street No. 8 (RF) Limited, Autumn Storm Investments 359, DBX Trackers (Pty) Ltd, Protea Conduit (RF), HCL Axon (Pty) Ltd, KlipheuwelDassiefontein Wind Energy Facility (Pty) Ltd, Sevenstones 159 (RF) (Pty) Ltd and Winners-Circle 199 (Pty) Ltd. A few of Luyoloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent transactions include, the PPC DMTN Programme (ZAR 6 billion), the Land Bank DMTN Programme (ZAR 10 billion), the Transnet GMTN Programme (USD 2 billion) and the Rea Vaya BRT Project. The other individuals who comprise the leadership of the firm are Nima Gagjee, Director of Conveyancing and Notarial, Ivan de Fanti, Director of Litigation, and Goitse Pilane, Director of Banking and Finance and Corporate and Commercial.

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

“Poswa Inc. focuses on tailor made legal solutions that broaden business horizons”

Nima Gagjee, Director of Conveyancing and Notarial

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Nima Gagjee obtained her LLB Degree from the University of Pretoria in 2000 and attended the full time Practical Legal Training School in 2001. Nima served her Articles of Clerkship at Gildenhuys Van Der Merwe Inc., now Gildenhuys Malatji Attorneys, in Pretoria where she gained exposure to personal injury claims, insurance law and commercial law. Nima was admitted as an Attorney in March of 2003. Post admission, she worked as a Professional Assistant at Bhadrish Daya Attorneys from 2003 until 2005, where she specialised and practiced in various spheres of civil litigation. After successfully passing the conveyancing examination, she was duly admitted as a Conveyancer in October of 2004. In order to pursue her passion and gain exposure in the field of conveyancing, Nima joined EY Stuart Attorneys in Pretoria in 2005 as a Conveyancer. She became a Director of EY Stuart Attorneys in 2006, where she practiced primarily in the area of conveyancing. It was in April 2010 that Nima joined Poswa Inc. as a Director and head started the Conveyancing Department. In 2011 she was instrumental in obtaining the Bronze Top Supporting Source of Business Award from Absa Home Loans in Gauteng for Poswa Inc. Nima is also a member of the Black Conveyancers Association. Key features of Nima’s practice include (but are not limited to) registration of servitudes, mortgage bond registrations for commercial property loans/facilities, residential and commercial property transfers, divorce, insolvent and deceased estate transfers, mortgage bond registrations and cancellations for private banks and home loans, general notarial bond registrations and cancellations and subdivisions and consolidations of immovable property.

Poswa Incorporated

Ivan de Fanti, Director of Litigation

“Poswa Inc.’s mission is to be recognised as one of, if not the leading commercial law firm in Africa”

Ivan de Fanti obtained his BA and LLB Degrees from the University of Kwa-Zulu Natal in 1994 and 1997 respectively. He served his Articles of Clerkship at Woodroffe & Kleyn Attorneys in Durban from 1999 to 2000 and was duly admitted as an Attorney on 18 July 2000. Following his admission, Ivan worked as a Professional Assistant at Woodroffe & Kleyn Attorneys until June 2001 when he relocated to Johannesburg. Between June 2001 and March 2012, Ivan worked as

Professional Assistant, Assistant, Junior Associate, Associate and Partner at Moodie and Robertson Attorneys, specialising in Local Government Law, focusing on Property Law and in particular Town Planning Law, Building Law and Outdoor Advertising Law. Ivan joined Poswa Inc. on 1 April 2012 as a Director in the Litigation and Alternate Resolution Department. Key features of Ivan’s practice include civil and commercial litigation as well as maritime law.

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Goitse Pilane obtained his LLB Degree from the University of Limpopo in 2000. He commenced his practical legal training in January 2001. He joined a medium-sized law firm in Pretoria during April 2001 and in May 2002 he joined the Road Accident Fund as a Claims Handler at the Pretoria branch. In January 2006, Goitse joined Routledge Modise Incorporated as a Candidate Attorney, he obtained his Higher Diploma (Tax) from the University of Johannesburg in the same year and was duly admitted as an Attorney on 9 June 2008. He was appointed as a Senior Associate in 2010 and obtained a Certificate in Advanced Company Law I and II from the University of the Witwatersrand the same year. In April 2011, Goitse was promoted to Director in the Corporate and Commercial Department of Routledge Modise. Some of the transactions that Goitse worked on during his stay there included advising Transnet on

Goitse Pilane, Director of Banking and Finance and Corporate and Commercial

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

“When it comes to working with its clients, Poswa Inc. continuously strives to go beyond being mere service providers”

the Credit Facility Agreement concluded with Agence Francaise de Development for the advancement of a credit facility of ZAR 2 billion to part-fund Transnet’s ZAR 4,6 billion programme to expand the Cape Town Container Terminal. Goitse joined Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr Inc as a Director in the Projects and Infrastructure Practice during December 2011 and his experience there included having advised various clients in the public and private sector on aspects of Corporate and Commercial law. Goitse joined Poswa Inc. as a Director in the Banking and Finance / Corporate and Commercial Department during August 2013. His clients include the Public Investment Corporation, the Institute of Municipal Finance Officers and the Gauteng Department of Finance. Some of his notable transactions include advising the Public Investment Corporation SOC Limited in a transaction that involved a mining asset (ZAR 161 million), advising the Public Investment Corporation SOC Limited in respect of the design, development, engineering, procurement, construction, financing, insuring and start-up of the 100 MW parabolic trough plant in the third round of the Department of Energy’s IPP Procurement Programme and advising the Gauteng Finance Department in the tender awarded to Altech to build a fibreoptic broadband network within the Gauteng Province (ZAR 1,2 billion).

Poswa Incorporated

The Poswa Inc. team

Major clients of Poswa Inc. to date include Absa Bank Ltd, Airports Company South Africa SOC Ltd, City of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, Fraser Alexander, Gauteng Department of Education, Johannesburg Development Agency, JDG Trading (Pty) Ltd, Kapela Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Kunene Healthcare Holdings, Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality, merSETA , Midvaal Local Municipality, Mmela Financial Services, Nexus SA Connexion (Pty) Ltd, Nthwese Investment Group, PetroSA, Public Investment Corporation SOC Ltd, PPC Ltd, SA Homeloans, SAPPI, South African Airways, South African Revenue Services, The Housing Development Agency, The Land and Agricultural Development Bank of SA, Transnet SOC Ltd, Ulwazi Protection Services (Pty) Ltd and uMhlathuze Municipality. Key commercial transactions spearheaded by Poswa Inc. on behalf of some of these clients include, The Land Bank’s ZAR10 billion Domestic Medium Term Note (DMTN) Programme, Mmela Financial Services’ ZAR2 billion Transportation Transaction,

BDO South Africa Incorporated’s Corporate Finance Advice/BEE Subscription of Shares Transaction, Transnet’s US$6 billion Global Medium Term Note (GTMN) Programme, PPC Ltd.’s ZAR6 billion Domestic Medium Term Note (DMTN) Programme and the National Treasury’s US$2 billion Bond Issuance. When it comes to working with its clients, Poswa Inc. continuously strives to go beyond being mere service providers. In addition to being specialists in commercial law, the firm actively embraces the wider business context and makes it their responsibility to be fully in touch with the frameworks and implications of developments in all key South African markets. In doing so, it ensures that it remains a valuable intellectual partner to every one of its clients.

Poswa Incorporated

+27 11 783 8877 info@poswainc.co.za www.poswainc.co.za

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Basil

Synonymous wi

With conditions remaining challenging in its home count wings in order to bring its reputation for excellence and pr

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

Read

th excellence

try of South Africa, Basil Read has successfully spread its rofessionalism to many of Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most important markets

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Temporary fuel farm in Ruperts Bay

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

Basil Read

hen we last featured Basil Read within this magazine in October 2012, much of our focus was on the group’s ongoing work on the St Helena airport project. Said article went into great depth regarding the efforts of the group to deliver the British Overseas Territory with its own international airport, and it soon became clear, to this writer at least, that this project would not only go on to be hugely significant for St Helena but for a group that was already able to boast an impressive track record. Sure enough, within two months of our article on Basil Read going live a number of other industry watchers were queuing up to heap praise on the group and its efforts. One such watcher was Construction World, which proudly presented Basil Read with its prestigious Project of the Year award for the St Helena airport undertaking. Among the factors taken into account by the judges, who were unanimous in their decision to present Basil Read with the award, were the island’s remoteness, the limited skills availability and the infrastructure capacity needed to complete a construction project of this magnitude. Basil Read had to effectively develop a new supply chain from the African mainland. This involved the chartering of a specialist vessel, constructing of berthing and unloading facilities, setting up fuel storage, constructing temporary accommodation for the workforce, setting up communication links, securing and transporting plant and personnel. The St Helena airport project is today in its fourth year of development. Phase I, which commenced in December 2011, is well advanced with a number of permanent works ongoing or near completion. This include a 14 kilometre access road from Rupert’s Bay to the airport site, a 750 metre long concrete culvert and attenuation dam, a 1,950 metre long concrete runway complete with aprons and taxiways, a bulk fuel installation to hold six million litres of fuel, and a 2,500 square

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

babcock

Babcock-supplied construction equipment broadly deployed on St Helena

Backup_of_2014_VOLVO_EXCAVATOR EC700_busexc_203x276 10 June 2014 11:39:23 AM

Babcock’s supply of a broad range of heavy construction equipment to support the construction of an airport on the island of St Helena will also be deployed to build a permanent wharf to allow ships to dock alongside for the first time in St Helena’s history. The equipment— primarily Volvo heavy construction vehicles — has performed reliably, with good fuel efficiency and high productivity. It was supplied to the island in batches, beginning with shipments on the RMS St Helena and, since August 2012, main contractor Basil Read’s flat deck shallow draft cargo ship, the NP Glory 4, has brought the balance of the equipment to the island. Volvo equipment is currently being heavily deployed on the construction of the airport runway, which involves filling the so-called Dry Gut Gorge with 8-million cubic metres of blasted rock to a height of over 100 m, with a width of 750 m, creating an embankment that will form part of the runway. As of February 2014, the Dry Gut fill was 65% complete with more than 5-million cubic metres of material placed through a 24-hour operational cycle. Fill material is sourced from the site area as the landscape and hills are levelled.

“The equipment has performed reliably, with good fuel efficiency and high productivity” Sixty percent of the airport construction is already complete. Once both airport and wharf have been finalised, this heavy construction equipment, previously unobtainable on the island as a result of the challenging shipping logistics, will be available for future infrastructure development on the island. In southern Africa, Babcock is the exclusive distributor for leading international equipment brands, including Volvo and SDLG construction equipment, Winget concrete handling equipment and Tadano cranes. (011) 230 7300 enquiries@babcock.co.za www.babcock.co.za

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

metre terminal building. Phase I is expected to be completed in full by February 2016, at which time Phase II will commence, which entails the operation of the airport for a minimum period of ten years. Notwithstanding the ongoing success of its St Helena airport project, Basil Read is about a lot more than just a single project. Indeed, as readers of the past article will no doubt be aware, the group engages in a plethora of activities through its various subsidiaries. These include civil engineering projects, road construction, building, integrated housing developments, property development, bitumen distribution, opencast mining and engineering design, procurement and construction management, as well as related services throughout Africa and other emerging markets. Looking at the overall performance of the group, specifically during the course of 2013, one is able to get a better picture of how the owners, board of directors and management have been able to steer a multi-faceted business through what remain uncertain times. For the South African trading environment especially, conditions over the last year have continued to be subdued and rather difficult due to several internal factors such as labour unrest and the slow roll out of large scale projects. Even in the face of these

“Notwithstanding the ongoing success of its St Helena airport project, Basil Read is about a lot more than just a single project”

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

Haul road at the top of Rupert’s Valley

Basil Read

“Basil Read was able to usher in a return to profitability during the last financial year thanks to a renewed focus on its core operations and a period of consolidation” conditions, Basil Read was able to usher in a return to profitability during the last financial year thanks to a renewed focus on its core operations and a period of consolidation. The result of this was an improvement in its order book by 22 percent to R12.5 billion, an increase in revenues by 15 percent to R6.3 billion and a reduction in debt by 52 percent to R426.4 million. The reduction in the level of debt is particularly significant as it helped to strengthen Basil Read’s balance sheet and provides a solid base to support future growth. If we deconstruct the four main areas of Basil Read’s business, namely construction, mining, developments and engineering, we are able to see the individual ways that the group has managed to offset negative factors in its local market of South Africa with work elsewhere. For example, within its construction business Basil Read has taken the initiative by shifting its focus to other parts of Africa where the need for quality construction groups is high. With secured contracts in Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique and offices established in Zambia, the group is actively tendering for projects in Africa, where there are a number of public and private work opportunities. Meanwhile, tenders submitted in the first

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

World leader in engineering and project delivery WorleyParsons is a leading provider of project delivery and consulting services to the resources & energy sectors and complex process industries. Our services cover the full asset spectrum both in size and lifecycle - from the creation of new assets to services that sustain and enhance operating assets.

countries

166

offices

37,500

people

www.worleyparsons.com

WorleyParsons

Advanced engineering ingenuity and thorough planning showcased on St Helena airport project WorleyParsons, one of the world’s largest EPCM businesses, is lead design engineer on the iconic St Helena Airport project, which incorporates many unique and unusual features that have required advanced engineering ingenuity and thorough planning. The remoteness of the island, its size, materials supply logistics, unique geology, topography and climate, endemic biodiversity with sensitive environmental heritage, ethnic

“WorleyParsons’ scope of work has covered a full spectrum of infrastructure design aspects for the airport project”

Working alongside main contractor Basil Read, WorleyParsons’ scope of work has covered a full spectrum of infrastructure design aspects for the airport project, notably, landside engineering, airside design and the airport buildings, including a bulk fuel storage facility and a 14,5 km access road. One of the biggest project challenges has been the166 so-called 43filling countries offices “Dry Gut Gorge” with 8-million cubic metres of blasted rock to create an embankment that will form part of the runway. Apart from the varying geographical features of the island, the airport site also presented a unique challenge in terms of preserving the environment and history of St Helena. All the exacting requirements of this unique project have been underpinned by WorleyParsons’ global response. For example, the design team drew on the expertise of its world renowned in-house hydrocarbons design expert for the bulk fuel facility and on its global track record in road engineering for the design of the 14,5 km access road.

37,500

WP st Helena ad.indd 1

diversity and history called for real innovation in the design of specific aspects of the project infrastructure. Careful consideration was needed to ensure ease of constructability, logistical challenges and programming of design delivery and this entailed close integration between the members of the design and construction teams.

+27 21 912 3000 Djonker@worleyparsons.com www.worleyparsons.com

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

peo

two months of 2014 exceed R10 billion, of which R1 billion has been awarded. The first project awarded to Basil Read Civils by Eskom is a contract for further work to be carried out at the Medupi Power Station Project. The contract to be executed over twenty months is for Phases I and II of the excess coal stock yard. The project comprises 965,000 cubic metres of bulk earthworks, 437,000 cubic metres of layer works, 1.1 million square metres of geosynthetic installation and will require 23,000 tonnes of bentonite.

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

The second project awarded to Basil Read Roads by the South African National Road Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL), is the N8 Kloofeind Haldon contract in the Free State. The project commenced on 7 March, 2014 and involves the rehabilitation of the N8, section 10 from Kloofeind to Holdon Road Interchange. The project duration is twenty months and includes pavement strengthening with road widening and drainage improvements. Similarly, Basil Read Mining is also capitalising on business outside of its home

Basil Read

Working at night on the haul road

Did you know? R12.5 billion Value of Basil Read’s order book at the end of 2013 R6.3 billion Basil Read’s pre-tax revenues for the 2013 financial year

market in order to offset a depressed environment. Already active in Botswana and Namibia, 2013 saw the division secure a five year contract in the latter country at the Tschudi Copper Project, operated by Weatherly International plc. With this project, much of the 2014 financial year will be spent in the start-up phase, with production commencing towards the end of the year. All drill and blast work relating to this contract is to be completed by Basil Read’s Blasting & Excavating subsidiary.

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Lilongwe Lubango

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bi qu

Walvis Bay

L端deritz Swaziland

The preferred access to Southern Africa

Namibian Ports Authority Namport – the preferred access to southern Africa.

rity

namport

outhern Africa.

The preferred access to Southern Africa

s in Walvis Bay with the re than 4000 vessel calls ntainer terminal capacity of

s Bay is situated at the rica and provides an easier transit route between Europe and the Americas.

Namport is a state-owned entity founded in 1994 after Namibia’s independence in 1990. From humble beginnings as fishing harbours, the company has embraced the surge in the economies of the Southern African Development Community in the past two decades. Today the Port of Walvis Bay receives more than 4,000 vessel calls per year and has a container terminal capacity of 10,000 TEUs. On the West Coast of Africa, it provides an easier and much faster transit route between Southern Africa, Europe and the Americas. The Port of Lüderitz, on the Southern Coast of Namibia, caters for Southern Namibia and provides access to markets in the The Port of Lüderitz, located in the Southern region and provide the best means of Northern Cape of South Africa.SADC Coast of Namibia, caters for Southern access for their markets. Namibia as well as providing access to Namibian Ports alsohas manages a markets in the Northern Cape of South AuthorityNamport subsequently continued Africa. with ongoing equipment upgrades and infrastructure expansion in order to Syncrolift (dry dock facility) where vessels of upensure Namibian Ports Authority also manages a capacities exceeding 6-million tonnes per Syncrolift (dry dock facility) with vessels annum and over 350,000 TEUs. Walvis Bay toof up2,000 tonnes repairs. Through to 2,000 tonnes that can becan lifted be lifted for is recognised as a transhipment hub for for repairs. Through its subsidiary EBH, the entire West Coast of Africa, serving the Namport also operates threeEBH, floating docks major container liners of thethree region in the its subsidiary Namport also operates with lifting capacity of 6,500, 8,000 and most efficient and cost-effective manner. 15,000 tonnes each. Current major projects include: floating docks with lifting capacity of 6,500, • New container terminal expansion taking In the year 1998, Namport embarked on the capacity up to 1-million TEUs per annum; 8,000 and 15,000 tonnes each. first substantial expansion plan in 40 years • Tanker berth for fuel handling; by refurbishing the quays in Walvis Bay and • Oil and Rig repair facilities; deepening the port to -12.8has metres. This • with Car Terminal for New and Used Vehicles; Namport continued equipment has subsequently been increased to -14m • Additional port facilities for bulk material depth and the quay lengthened. A further handling. upgrades and infrastructure expansion to investment in Lüderitz was undertaken for a new cargo and container quay two The SADC Gateway North Port development ensure capacities million tpa years’ later. In the same year, Namport exceeding –6 Namport’s long-term plans –and has been was instrumental in establishing the Walvis brought forward by events including the Bay Corridor Group which seeks to ensure Trans-Kalahari Railway Line development over 350,000 TEUs. Current from major projects at sustainable cargo for the countries of the Botswana and the new Fuel Tanker Walvis Bay include: • New container terminal expansion taking capacity up to 1 million TEUs per annum; • Tanker berth for fuel handling; • Oil and rig repair facilities; • Car terminal for new and used vehicles; • Additional port facilities for bulk material handling. The SADC Gateway North Port development – Namport’s long-term plans – has been brought forward by events including the Trans-Kalahari Railway Line development from Botswana and the new Fuel Tanker Berth facility at the Northport site. Demand from the mining sector is

The Port of Lüderitz, lo Coast of Namibia, cate Namibia as well as pro markets in the Norther Africa.

Namibian Ports Author Syncrolift (dry dock fac of up to 2,000 tonnes t for repairs. Through its Namport also operates with lifting capacity of 15,000 tonnes each.

also increasing the viability of this development Namportof is a state-owned entity founded in biggest industries in Walvis Bay with the ahead expectations. 1994 after Namibia’s independence in 1990. port receiving more than 4000 vessel calls per year and a container terminal capacity of Walvis Bay and Lüderitz are positioned to From humble beginnings as fishing harbours 10,000 TEUs. in Walvis Bay and Lüderitz, the company has access markets in Zambia, Democratic embraced the surge in the economies of the The Port of Walvis Bay is Republic situated at the Southern African Development Community West Coast of Africa and provides an easier of Congo Zimbabwe, Angola and (SADC) in the (DRC), past two decades. Today, andMalawi, much faster transit route between industrial and commercial activities are the Southern Africa, Europe and the Americas. Botswana. These destinations are all well served by the corridors established by the Walvis Bay Corridor Group (www.wbcg.com.na): Namport continues to play an important role in facilitating these trade corridors to ensure improved border crossings, facilities and infrastructure benefits by engaging all stakeholders across all relevant countries to ensure proper regional integration for the benefit of its customers. Walvis Bay enjoys a reputation of efficient operations, competitive pricing, secure facilities and rapid turnaround of vessels with no congestion. 154 |

In the year 1998, Namp first substantial expans by refurbishing the qua deepening the port to has subsequently been depth and the quay len investment in Lüderitz for a new cargo and co years’ later. In the sam was instrumental in est Bay Corridor Group wh sustainable cargo for th

Best of Namibia

| 155

+264 64 208 2111 marketing@namport.com www.namport.com

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Basil Read Mining is investigating opportunities in carefully selected markets across Africa. There is a caveat to possible expansion, considering the significant capital expenditure required, and the division is therefore simultaneously investigating alternative financing arrangements. Nevertheless, in terms of both expansion and financing, an established track record in South Africa will stand the division in good stead. For its part, Basil Read Developments continues to entrench its reputation for

developing sustainable communities, with a number of landmark developments over the past year. This division is well positioned in the social and gap housing sector where government expenditure over the next few years is expected to increase significantly. It has also extended its urban management experience to provide expert services and capacity-building functions in this area. Given the significant potential for integrated residential developments in the low/middleincome category, both in South Africa and

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Basil Read has taken the initiative by shifting its focus to other parts of Africa where the need for quality construction groups is highâ&#x20AC;?

Accommodation units

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Basil Read

First docking of any ship at St Helena

across the continent, the division is exploring a range of opportunities across the continent. Though it may be the smallest of Basil Readâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s divisions, it has the largest impact with a total economic impact of over R60 billion during construction, creating over 116,000 employment opportunities. For the group, this division is strategically significant, given its focus on sustainable development and the secondary work it creates for group companies. Basil Read Developments continues to focus on its large-scale integrated housing developments, namely those occurring in Savanna City, Malibongwe Ridge and Cosmo City. The combined value of construction work that will be realised over the life of these projects exceeds R4.5 billion. Finally, Basil Read Matomo, the groupâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company is rapidly being recognised as a quality EPC service provider in sub-Saharan

Africa, particularly in the mining and energy industries. Across Africa the EPC model is increasingly becoming the preferred option for clients, which offers significant growth opportunities for Basil Read Matomo going forward. The 2013 financial year was very much one of consolidation and stabilisation for Basil Read. With significant prospects, a strong order book and stable balance sheet and a proven ability to expand across the continent of Africa it is understandable that the group is very optimistic about what 2014 and beyond holds for it.

Basil Read

+27 11 418 6300 info@basilread.co.za www.basilread.co.za

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

African M

A year to r

Head of Corporate Development and Investor progress made by African Minerals during 2013

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

Minerals

remember

Relations, Mike Jones, discusses the incredible 3 and why 2014 is shaping up to be even better

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Laying the tracks for the new locomotives

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

African Minerals

o say that 2013 was a good year for African Minerals is, in truth, something of a major understatement. While the company itself may be more modest about such things the reality is that this is the company that last year was responsible for completing Africa’s fastest major mine development. The mine in question is the Tonkolili iron ore mine in Sierra Leone, and the work of the company in 2013 saw this world class asset commence with the ramp up to 20Mtpa across its fully integrated, exclusive use 200 kilometre mine, rail, port and marine infrastructure network. Active in Sierra Leone since 1996, African Minerals shifted from its initial search for alluvial diamonds to iron ore following the discovery of the Tonkolili deposit. Tonkolili

towards African Minerals establishing itself as the largest contributor towards Sierra Leone’s GDP. “Sierra Leone has been heralded as being the country with the second fastest growing economy in the world in 2013, and as the biggest contributor towards GDP we have become an important feature in the country’s emergent industrial landscape,” Jones continues. “Likewise, with its stable environment, clear mining legislation, our strong relationship with the government and with our resource set where it is, the country is equally important to us. That creates a mutual respect and a joint purpose, driving a healthy symbiotic relationship between both parties.” As 2013’s results show, the business model that African Minerals has established for itself, one that encapsulates the ethos of

“Sierra Leone has been heralded as being the country with the second fastest growing economy in the world in 2013” today has a JORC compliant ore resource of 12.8 billion tonnes, which extends over a combined strike length of 30 kilometres, and includes a substantial Direct Shipping Ore and Saprolite mineral resource overlying one of the world’s largest magnetite ore bodies. “The last 12-18 months has very much been characterised by the completion of construction of Phase I at Tonkolili and its subsequent de-risking,” states Mike Jones, Head of Corporate Development and Investor Relations. “We have also spent the last year making the operating parameters of the project more consistent in order to maintain the desired 20 Mtpa run rate.” In total, 2013 saw the company produce approximately 13.1 Mt of saleable iron ore and export 12.1 Mt. These figures contributed

“don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today” has proven hugely successful. “In order to get a perspective on how we put this model into practice you need only to look at the rapid development of the Tonkolili deposit throughout our time operating here,” Jones explains. “Initially we set up under the pretence of this being an eight million tonne per year partial road haulage operation. Over a relatively short space of time, during which we were developing the asset and securing mining and infrastructure licences, the whole approach evolved to make it a ten million tonnes on rail operation, then twelve, 15 and ultimately 20 million tonnes per year.” As Jones goes on to highlight, such a large change in scope during the early stages of construction would have likely proven to be

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

African Minerals

New locomotives arriving in Sierra Leone

“We have also spent the last year making the operating parameters of the project more consistent in order to maintain the desired 20 Mtpa run rate” impossible had the company gone the natural route of getting a formal reserve developed, dipping into feasibility studies, securing external project financing and so forth. “By applying a large degree of flexibility when it comes to our financial arrangements and capital decision making, we have been able to significantly enhance and accelerate the completion of the expanded phase I project during its construction.” Impressive as they are, African Minerals’ efforts have not solely been designed to

benefit the company and its stakeholders alone. Rather it has always been its desire to ensure that everybody is a net winner from its activities, striving to create a better quality of life for the communities in and around where it operates, one that is sustainable long after the mine has ceased operating. “One of the first benefits people tend to link to a successful operation like ours is direct employment, however it goes much further than that,” Jones says. “One can only employ a certain amount of people

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Beltship Management Limited

The Self-unloading & Transhipment Specialists BML is a joint venture Company between Globe Shipmanagement Ltd and Gypsum Transportation Limited (GTL) and has been involved in the self-unloading and transhipment market for over twenty years. However with our partners we have roots stretching back to the late 1800’s with the first Gypsum Queen loading Gypsum in Canada in the 1890’s. In 1947 GTL were the first Company to build ocean going self-discharging bulk carriers and as such as a group there is a vast knowledge of the industry, the self-unloading concept and the cargoes carried. Beltship in Sierra Leone BML was contacted by African Minerals Limited (AML) in 2010. In 2010 the project was in its infancy and AML required a transshipment solution to move 8 million tons per annum (MTPA) of iron ore from the Port of Pepel, inland from Freetown, to an offshore transshipment location where the iron ore was to be loaded onto Capesize ocean going vessels (OGV). The loading port has a draft restriction of 9.5 meters, the channel is narrow with tight bends, and currents in the channel can run in excess of 4 knots. This challenging environment duplicated, almost completely, the operating

challenges that our vessels were designed to overcome at the loading ports in Nova Scotia, Canada. Additionally the advanced maneuverability of the vessels meant that they were ideal for the challenges of ship to ship operations, and with the flexibility provided by the vessels telescopic boom, efficient loading of an OGV with a minimum of transhipment vessel movements would be possible. AML export cargo consists of three grades of DSO, lumps, fines and AL32. The AL32 is a product which contains a certain amount of clay which can make handling difficult, however the vessels hopper shaped holds with their high slope angle combined with the MHF discharge system (negating hog backs) and oversized conveyors and transfer points was designed to handle “sticky” cargos. These technical advantages, inherent in the design of the vessels, together with an early start date and attractive freight rates, secured the Contract for BML in the face of stiff opposition from other specialist transhipment Companies and BML kicked off operations in October 2011. Since startup the transhipment operation has been very successful and, after a short ramp up period, the vessels have consistently over performed relative to the requirements of the

“Since startup the transhipment operation has been very successful and, after a short ramp up period, the vessels have consistently over performed relative to the requirements of the contract”

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

contract. This success resulted in a contract amendment to increase the transhipment exports to 20 MTPA for which BML brought into the project a third vessel and embarked on a major upgrade of the two existing vessels to increase design discharge capacity. This upgrade involved back fitting frequency convertor drives to all conveyors together with larger motors allowing faster belts speeds, increased discharge rates but allowing a decrease in per m2 loading of the belts. This has afforded better performance whilst reducing the mechanical stresses on the system. An average rate of 2800 tons per hour is required to meet the 20MTPA contract requirements whilst the actual average is now nudging 3400 tons per hour. BML is now operating 4 vessels in Sierra Leone, has a local office staffed with 55 employees of which 50 are Sierra Leones. BML has a commitment to Sierra Leone and has undertaken a cadetship scheme to provide

education and employment opportunities for the youth of the Country. Promising young men and women are sponsored and supported by BML to attend the Regional Maritime University in Ghana and regularly join the BML fleet for practical training and experience. Currently BML is loading 10 OGVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a month which is an approximate 1.74 million tons per month of iron ore thereby helping AML to reach its targets. To date BML have loaded 123 Cape Size vessels and completed 615 ship-to-ship operations since start up thereby making BML one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest transhippers by volume as well as one of the most experienced ship to ship operators worldwide.

+377 97 97 80 90 info@beltship.com www.beltship.com

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

Wet Processing Plant during night shift

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

African Minerals

“By the second half of this year we expect to commence with the building of our first Saprolite haematite concentrators, which will go into production by 2016”

obviously, so we look closely at how our presence in the region can positively impact upon people up and down our footprint. In terms of indirect employment, increased activity in the area creates opportunities for the service sector and we also try to assist where we can in the drive in demand for goods and speciality services, including livestock, food and vegetables, carpentry, brick making and clothiers.” The development of people within the community in order to give them a better chance in life is a driving force behind a number of African Minerals’ CSR efforts, one of which is the refurbishment and financing of the Magbaruka Technical College. “One of the first things we noticed when we began operating in Sierra Leone was the fact that, as a result of the devastating Civil War that latest from 1992 to 2002, there was a significant dearth of men and women in the 20-30 year old age group, the group that would typically include your semiskilled artisans and tradespeople,” Jones highlights. “Our response to this is to utilise the college in order to provide national, vocational training in various semi-skilled and skilled trades. In completing this training these men and women will become certified both nationally and regionally, and while of course we would love it if they all one day worked for us, the most important thing is that they leave the college as a mobile asset capable of earning a living either within Sierra Leona or the wider region.” At the time of writing figures released by the company shows the first quarter of

2014 coming along encouragingly, with the fully integrated mine, plant, rail, port and marine operation contributing towards the production of 5.3 Mt of saleable product and the export of 4.6 Mt in the quarter, making the company the largest iron ore exporter in West Africa. “Moving forward there are two key elements that we are focusing on,” Jones concludes. “Operationally we want to stabilise our production rate at 20 Mtpa. Doing so will subsequently bring down our cash costs and thus increase our profit margins. From there we can turn our attention to locking the longer term future of the asset in place. The existing Direct Shipping Ore resource, which represents just one percent of our ore body, is likely to become depleted around the end of this decade, and we will need to have already moved into the higher margin Saprolite phase of the ore body, which represents nine percent of our ore body. By the second half of this year we expect to commence with the building of our first Saprolite haematite concentrators, which will go into production by 2016. This will lock in place the next phase of life for the Tonkolili mine, a multi-generational asset that we believe will be here for many years and decades to come.”

African Minerals

020 3435 7600 info@african-minerals.com www.african-minerals.com

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

Central Rand Gold

All that glitters is gold By utilising innovative methods and technologies Central Rand Gold is bringing commercial gold mining back to the City of Johannesburg

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

etween 1886 and the early 1970s the Central Rand Goldfield was intensively mined, with overall gold output estimated to have reached around 250 million ounces. All good things, as they say, must come to an end however and by the mid-70s a combination of factors including depressed gold prices, ageing infrastructure and the reduction in the availability of high grade reefs meant that the area was declared â&#x20AC;&#x153;worked outâ&#x20AC;?. Truth be told, many lower grade areas of

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

the Central Rand Goldfield were not mined at all during the aforementioned period of mining, thus leaving behind substantial quantities of gold-bearing ore. In more recent years these areas have becoming the focus of the exploration and mining activities of one Central Rand Gold. An unhedged gold exploration and production group, Central Rand Gold today employs some 113 staff across its various administrative, mining and metallurgical operations. Having comprehensively

Central Rand Gold

researched the geology of the Central Rand Goldfield, tested various mining methodologies and devised a strategy to commercially extract viable gold despots from the area, the company received its first New Order Mining Right from the South African Department of Mineral Resources in August 2008. To date the company has acquired a number of New Order prospecting rights. These assets are respectively known as Consolidated Main Reef, Western Areas A, B and E, Langlaagate,

Crown Mines, Anglodeeps, Village Main, Robinson Deep, City Deep, and Simmer and Jack. Central Rand Gold’s prospecting rights extend over an area of approximately 40 kilometres from west to east and seven kilometres from north to south. Much of the company’s focus today is on its Consolidated Main Reef (CMR) operations, which has been split into CMR West and CMR East, and the Crown Mines development. CMR West is Central Rand Gold’s first mining target area, comprising

BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

SSC GROUP

Together we grow The services that we offer at Sekgwa Mining are: Backfilling • Primary service spans from backfilling to deep-level mining practice • Sekgwa mining can design and build of various backfill systems to a depth of 2200m below surface and with reticulation systems in excess of 50km Mining • Sekgwa Mining is able to supply the complete package for both conventional as well as mechanised mining

Why Sekgwa Mining Services? • The mining solution is tailored to the mining method in place; • Risk assessments are undertaken prior to the design to ensure that all safety requirements are met; • Good safety and strong industrial relations track record; • 109 years of combined mining management experience; • Offers personal service by dynamic and passionate managers and staff +27(12) 665 5336 fred@sscgroup.co.za www.sscgroup.co.za

Sekgwa Mining is a black majority owned company and offers an environmentally friendly Backfill engineering service which allows companies to move some waste underground and mining services. Our Core Values • Safety, Health and Wellbeing of our people and their families • Trust, loyalty and respect for all our stakeholders • Honesty, integrity and transparency in the way we conduct our business • Mutually beneficial, value-adding partnerships Contact Details: Sekgwa Mining Services (Pty) Ltd CEO – Fred Arendse Operations Director – Harry Becker Tel: +27(12) 665 5336 Mobile: +27(83) 455 1663 (Fred) Mobile: +27(82) 045 5980 (Harry) PO Box 68925, Highveld, Centurion, 0169

[ Issue 11 ] BE Africa

Central Rand Gold

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Central Rand Goldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s prospecting rights extend over an area of approximately 40 kilometres from west to east and seven kilometres from north to southâ&#x20AC;? an operational underground and opencast gold mine that utilises conventional opencast stopping and extraction methods. This particular mining operation processes its own run-of-mine output through its own in-house processing facility that can operate at a capacity of up to 20,000 tonnes per month with an average recovery rate of around 95 percent. In 2011, CMR West was responsible for producing 14,856 ounces of gold from underground and surface operations,

compared to 9,321 ounces in 2010. With a proven methodology, more than 6,000 metres of development in place, and mine depth down to 225 metres below surface, this mine has sufficient underground ore availability and is estimated to have increased underground production to 12,000 tonnes per month during later 2012. Late 2012 also saw the company conduct feasibility studies on the CMR East mining right area. CMR East is expected to be the first additional project to be developed by

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Central Rand Gold. A significant benefit in the development of this as a new mining site is the fact that the current infrastructure at the adjoining CMR West mine will be able to be utilised. This will provide major cost advantages for the viability of mining the CMR East prospect. Following the anticipated development of CMR East, it is expected that the Crown Mines West deposit could be the next to be developed. It is also undergoing pre-feasibility testing and a scoping study before any development decisions are made. The Crown deposit has a resource base of over one

million ounces in the indicated and inferred categories, and has the potential to produce in excess of 50,000 ounces of gold a year once fully developed. It has been estimated by independent mining consultants Venmyn Ltd that, from the surface to approximately 450 metres below, Central Rand Gold’s current resource base is a level of 26.2 million tonnes of ore and 4.51 million ounces of gold, at an average grade of 5.34 grams per tonne. Furthermore it is estimated that from 450 metres down to a depth of 3,000 metres, another 120 million tonnes of ore exists. This ore is thought to

“Central Rand Gold’s mining activities within the vicinity of the Johannesburg metropolitan area requires a completely unique and environmentally rigorous mining plan”

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Central Rand Gold

well as the Social and Labour comprise of around 32.2 million Did you know? Plan, which has to be carefully ounces of gold at a grade of integrated into the Johannesburg 8.34 grams per tonne. Metropolitan City Councilâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Central Rand Gold adheres 2008 Integrated Development Plan. rigidly to international best The year the For its part the company is also practices when it comes to company was conducting an Environmental sustainable development. To awarded its Impact Assessment and devising this end it pursues a policy of first New Order an Environmental Management openness and transparency in Mining Right Plan which involves widespread all its dealings with legislators, public participation. Affected affected communities and 133 communities and groups other stakeholders. People employed have been broadly consulted All of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mines by Central Rand throughout this process to are required to develop a Social Gold across its ensure a beneficial outcome and Labour Plan to demonstrate operations today for all concerned. how the mine will comply with In addition to the above, the objectives of social and Central Rand Goldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mining economic development and activities within the vicinity of the empowerment that are laid out in the Mining Johannesburg metropolitan area requires Charter for the South African mining industry a completely unique and environmentally in terms of the MPRDA. Central Rand Gold rigorous mining plan. To this end the company has indicated that it is committed to develop has been working to establish a new standard and implement the Mining Work Program, as

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for environmentally safe, clean and nonintrusive mining in South Africa. This new standard will see mining taking place within narrowly contained â&#x20AC;&#x153;slotsâ&#x20AC;? initially, proceeding to depths of 30 metres at first, and up to 900 metres within a matter of a few years. It is believed that this will be unlike any other mining operation in South Africa due to the novel mine design and the use of cutting edge mining and environmental technologies, many of them successfully in use in Australia and elsewhere today. Great care has been taken in the planning of the proposed mine to ensure that environmental impacts are minimised and contained. The potential environmental impacts have been analysed in detail and the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) will incorporate state-of-the-art mining and environmental technologies. Slot mining methods will be used to access outcropping ore so as to minimise disruption to the surface, and mining voids will be systematically backfilled and rehabilitated. Portions of the proposed mining area comprise disturbed land due to old mining activities which, due to the presence of old underground workings and disused shafts, pose a safety threat to nearby communities. Central Rand Gold will strengthen some of these old workings and make safe old shafts, and will rely for the most part on a new underground network using state-of-the-art technology. The company will backfill some of the old disused tunnels and workings that currently make a rabbitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s warren of the area underlying the Johannesburg central business district, thereby making it safer.

Central Rand Gold

+27 (0)87 310 4400 info@centralrandgold.com www.centralrandgold.com

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Africaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s copper bottom Palabora Mining Limited Modern mining methods continue to extract significant quantities of copper from a deposit that has been worked for over a millennium â&#x20AC;&#x201C; now Palabora Copper is preparing for an ambitions expansion programme to maintain production for another decade

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alabora Copper extracts and processes copper and other by-products in the Ba-Phalaborwa area of Limpopo Province. The unique formation known as the Palabora Igneous Complex is a geologically fascinating region. Archaeological evidence and carbon isotope dating indicate that primitive mining and smelting of copper took place at Phalaborwa some 1,000 years ago. This was followed by the smelting of iron ore 700 years later. From artefacts found in the area it is known that copper of remarkable purity was produced in the Phalaborwa area as early as the 8th century. At that time the Ba-Malatji metalworking tribe, on discovering iron and copper 150 kilometres north of Bushbuckridge where they had settled, moved to this site and named it ‘Phalaborwa’, which means ‘better than the south’. The area is rich in many other minerals than copper, notably phosphate, which is mined locally on a large scale to feed demand from the agricultural industry. However Palabora Copper does what its name says: though it also mines and exports other by-products such as magnetite, vermiculite sulphuric acid, anode slimes and nickel sulphate it is focused on copper. Palabora is South Africa’s only producer of refined copper and provides the South African market with 85 percent of its copper requirements, exporting the balance of the 80,000 tonnes of refined copper it produces each year. Palabora Mining Company, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, was incorporated in South Africa as long ago as August 1956. The company was owned and managed by Rio Tinto, which owned 57.7 percent of the shares with Anglo American holding a 16.8 percent stake. On 5 September 2012, the two companies announced their intention to sell their respective interests in Palabora. On 11 December 2012, Rio Tinto announced that it had reached a binding sales agreement with a consortium which

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‘

Moving mountains for Palabora Copper through Service Excellence Metreta Investments is a well-established South African company providing complete, worldwide logistics solutions to both South African and regional clients. P.O. Box 351, Komatipoort, 1340

T: +27 (0) 13 793 7755  E: marketing@metreta.co.za  www.metreta.co.za

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’

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is committed to the ongoing sustainable management of Palabora. The consortium comprises South African and Chinese entities led by the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South Africa Limited and China’s Hebei Iron & Steel Group. The sale agreement was concluded in July 2013, and the company’s name changed from Palabora Mining Company to Palabora Copper (Pty) Limited. The Palabora copper mine is what is known in the trade as a block-cave mine. Block caving is a mass mining method that allows for the bulk mining of large, relatively lower grade, ore bodies. It involves undermining an ore body, allowing it to progressively collapse under its own weight – in effect an underground version of open pit mining. A large section of rock is undercut creating an artificial cavern that fills with mineral bearing rock as it collapses. This broken ore falls into a pre-constructed series of funnels and access tunnels built into a bunker-like mass of rock at its base, whence miners extract it continuously from below. However Palabora claims to take a different approach to the technique. It is in fact a benchmark for integrated design. No other block-cave mine has been put into such a high grade ore-body. And its scale is truly impressive: the block height of the cave reaches a record 450 metres at its centre, increasing up to 700 metres on the periphery, making Palabora a world-class mine. The

Sturrock Grindrod Maritime Sturrock Grindrod Maritime, a fully compliant BBBEE company with over 100 years in the ships agency business offers a logistics and shipping service to the mining industry in 9 African countries. We have owned offices in South Africa, Ghana, Angola, Namibia, Swaziland, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and Madagascar. Through our specialist bulk division, we will control the transit of your cargo from mine to port, manage inventory, monitor stockpiles and co-ordinate shipment, port and customs requirements. We offer the option of chartering the vessel for you and co-ordinating the vessel’s arrival to meet shipment dates. If you are in mining in Africa or looking to ship, then we should be talking. www.sturrockgrindrod.com

“Safety is a major consideration at a site which is in continuous operation for 24 hours a day, 365 days in the year”

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Tel: 0027 15 781 1328 | E: johndre@yebo.co.za • Supply, Install & Maintain Lincoln Automated Lubricating Systems. • Supply & Install Vickers Hydraulic Systems. • Repair of Pneumatic & Hydraulic Tools & Equipment. • Repair Hydraulic Cylinders & Pumps. • Supply & Repair Lifting Equipment. • Repairs to all makes of Lubrication Equipment. • Oil Pump and Hose Reel installations. • Supply G.E.T Wearparts

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production footprint is however very small, measuring 650 metres in length and 200 metres wide, with 20 production cross-cuts and 320 draw-points. Construction of the underground mine was completed in October 2004 when the 20th cross-cut was brought into full production. By May, 2005 the mine was consistently achieving 30,000 tonnes per day - one of the fastest ramp-ups to full production in the world. Because of the coarse fragmentation of the ore body, a large number of secondary breaking activities are required to break up oversize lumps of rock and to keep ore flowing through the draw-points for the loaders to haul using a fleet of Load-Haul-Dump (LHDs) vehicles that tip 3,000 buckets of ore every day into four jaw crushers on the northern side of the production area. The ore is crushed to less than 220 millimetres, then fed onto a high-capacity conveyor system up to the

Palabora Mining Limited

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Production at Palabora Copper can be extended on an economically rational basis beyond [2015] with the construction of a second lift underground block cave operationâ&#x20AC;? shaft complex from where it is hoisted to the surface and delivered to the concentrator. And since block caving involves subsidence Palabora uses current leading practices in production, scheduling, reconciliation, rehabilitation and maintenance of the mine. This includes leading practices in roadway construction, oversize and hang-up treatment and the maintenance of loader efficiencies and dust suppression systems. Safety is a major consideration at a site which is in continuous

operation for 24 hours a day, 365 days in the year. It never stops! This is achieved by dividing the working day into three eight hour shifts. Production, maintenance and service activities are carefully scheduled to obtain maximum benefit from the mining, fixed plant and production machinery; and optimal output from highly trained work teams. A culture of safety and professionalism is maintained by fostering an open working relationship between key stakeholders,

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such as the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME), mine leadership, work teams and trade unions. In a country where strikes and unrest seem almost the order of the day, Palabora Copper has managed to avoid major disruption. A seven day sit in last year was resolved amicably, and the mine restarted without compromising safety or equipment. The current underground block cave operation, known as Lift I, was originally projected to remain productive until 2020, but this had to be revised when grades were found to be lower than anticipated at the north side of the resource. Now it is expected to become uneconomical after 2015, so the company is pressing ahead with plans for Lift II, one of the largest underground construction operations in South Africa costing some R10 billion. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Comprehensive geological, mine and financial study has demonstrated that copper production at Palabora Copper can be extended on an economically rational basis beyond this date with the construction of a second lift underground block cave operation,â&#x20AC;? said Keith Mathole, the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; general manager for corporate affairs and company secretary. A R55 million feasibility study was commissioned in November 2013 and completed in May 2014, following a prefeasibility study that was conducted last year. At the same time, in the first half of this year, some R700 million has been invested in early works, infrastructure and the ongoing development of the twin decline ramps, which were seen as essential to maintaining Lift II as a viable long term option.

Palabora Mining Limited

+27 (0)15 780 2911 info@palabora.com www.palabora.com

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A deep

partnership The Tata group has a long-standing association with Zambia which it chose many years ago as its gateway into Africa: its strategy is to leverage strong customer focus in diverse markets

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hough Tata had been selling vehicles into the Zambian market for many years prior to that through dealership agreements, it was in 1978 that the Indian industrial giant first established a company based there. This was the first to be set up in the entire continent, and though today the group’s African headquarters is in South Africa, and no fewer than 14 countries have their own Tata subsidiary, Tata Zambia, which also looks after neighbouring Malawi where it has a branch office, remains the deepest ingrained and most diverse of all national subsidiaries. As Ratan Tata said himself: “The Tata group has had an emotional tie with Zambia over the years.” That at least is the view of Pankaj Khanna, who as Executive Director of the company leads and coordinates all of Tata’s interests in Zambia, where he has been based for more than 20 years. Of course he would say that, but the facts bear him out. The core business is the import, distribution and maintenance of Tata Motors’ range of commercial vehicles to the public and private market – commercial vehicles and buses basically – a sector in which he jealously guards Tata’s 75 percent market share of the market up to ten tons. Before looking at the exciting plans the company has to grow its specialised contribution to the mining sector, it is worth looking at the sheer breach of Tata’s commitment to Zambia. “When we first came here we were just selling commercial vehicles,” says Khanna, “but we soon started to diversify. At one time we were selling agricultural equipment and involved in farming and textiles.” Those businesses are now licensed out but Tata Zambia retains a wide portfolio under management. In a disposal of state businesses in the 1980s and 90s Tata acquired a bicycle manufacturer which is now run as an assembly operation using components from India. Another unexpected business is the 193room five star Taj Pamodzi Hotel in Lusaka. A

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“Last year we launched our In Equipment (IC

Tata Ultra Truck

nfrastructure and Construction CE) division ”

Tata Zambia

part of Tata’s Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces brand, the hotel is owned by Tata Zambia and operated by the Taj Group. This is where visiting heads of state and other dignitaries stay when they visit Zambia. And if they are looking for comfortable vehicles to travel further afield, they will soon be able to visit the new Jaguar Land Rover showroom – the first JLR dealership to be awarded in Africa since Tata’s purchase of the iconic brand in 2006. That the government regards Tata as a trusted partner is nowhere better illustrated than by the fact that last year the Zambia Revenue Authority awarded Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) a three-year contract for the modernisation of its domestic tax system. This is TCS’s third revenue and tax system automation project in the African region after a successful implementation for the Uganda Revenue Authority and ongoing implementation for the Kenya Revenue Authority, though it has a track record of more than 20 tax framework implementations in India and the USA. It’s an integrated and multitax system covering VAT, income tax, PAYE, presumptive tax, turnover tax, mineral royalty tax, excise, property transfer tax, medical levy and withholding tax. Once operational, this system is expected to transform the service delivery to taxpayers, support the country’s sixth National Development Plan. It is expected to bring about a higher degree of accountability and transparency to the entire public sector. Tata Zambia is also in the process of expanding into chemicals and healthcare products, however mining is the mainstay of the Zambian economy and Tata Zambia taps into this industry by supplying a number of mining products. These include valves, bearings, rubber linings, graphite electrodes (used in cobalt processing) and seals. Steel, mainly plates, is supplied to the local market, and tyres are sourced from MRF in India. But the big ticket items for the mining companies are

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under the heading of equipment, says Khanna. “Last year we launched our Infrastructure and Construction Equipment (ICE) division, which supplies heavy equipment like graders and backhoes and excavators and dump trucks. Most of these come from India, but we also have an agreement with a company called STK in Singapore, and we are launching those products later this year.” Under the new agreement Tata will distribute STK’s TRXBUILD and LeeBoy brands of heavy construction and road construction equipment in Africa. Customers in Zambia will not only benefit from a range of equipment specially designed for the

mining, infrastructure development, road construction and maintenance sectors, but will also benefit from Tata’s established customer support network. “All this equipment complements our own range,” Khanna points out. “Our truck range goes up to around 17 tons, and it is a good way to cover the market in competition with the established heavy equipment suppliers.” This is a buoyant market. Last year the Zambian government announced a programme of renewal covering 8,000 kilometres of its roads, and Tata is busily negotiating supply and maintenance arrangements with the overseas contracting

“Most clients bring their vehicles to us for servicing, but for some key clients we provide onsite service”

Tata Zambia office

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Tata LPK 2516

companies coming in to do this work. In the mining sector, Tata Zambia’s largest single customer is First Quantum Minerals. However the majority of vehicles are currently sold to subcontractors to whom the large mining companies subcontract the work of moving personnel and materials. The vehicles it supplies are ideal for these customers, and another place Tata Zambia really scores is its ability to keep those vehicles on the road and earning. At its headquarters in Lusaka and its branch at Ndola in the Copperbelt the company maintains fully equipped warehouses and spares departments staffed by trained technicians. “Most clients bring their vehicles to us for servicing, but for some key clients we provide onsite service. At Livingstone we have an appointed dealer so they can get service locally, and over the next six months we plan to open two more centres, one in the North-Western Province and another in the Copperbelt where business is growing fast.”

Training is part of Tata’s DNA, he continues. Selected staff are sent to India or to South Africa for three months at a time, and teams from these centres come in to ‘train the trainers’ locally. The company has a second regional training centre at Ndola, he adds, where both Tata employees and customers’ staff can learn side by side about the entire product range. “It is what we feel really differentiates us in Africa. We have a brand that is known and trusted, a great track record, and a reputation built over many years.” Without these essentials, the important element of competitive pricing would be meaningless, he stresses. There’s a lot of equipment available, but little that can boast Tata Zambia’s level of service backup. Tata Zambia

+26 (211) 287 160 tata@tatazambia.co.zm www.tata.com

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A vision for

Kenyaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future Geothermal Development Company (GDC) Electricity derived from geothermal resources will play a key role in Kenya achieving its Vision 2030 objectives. Responsibility for this rests on the shoulders of the Geothermal Development Company (GDC)

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Geothermal Development Company (GDC)

t was in Larderello, Italy, back in 1904 that the world’s first geothermal power plant was constructed, a facility that continues to produce green energy to this very day. In the 110 years since then more than 20 of the planet’s major countries have integrated geothermal power into their respective energy portfolios, countries including the US, Japan, Indonesia, Mexico, Cost Rico and Iceland. Kenya, meanwhile, holds the distinction of being the first country in Africa to generate electricity from geothermal sources. A clean and renewable source of power, geothermal energy possesses a number of important environmental and economic advantages over traditional fossil fuel sources. This particular form of energy is commercially

geothermal energy contributes approximately 209MW towards Kenya’s power mix, a figure which amounts to around 22 percent of the country’s total production, while its geothermal potential has been estimated to reach up to 10,000MW in the long term. GDC came about as a result of the Kenyan Government’s policy on energy, which un-bundled all of the key players in the electricity sector in order to ensure greater efficiency. GDC’s role from day one has been very much tied to Kenya’s Vision 2030 initiative, one which it expects to contribute towards Kenya becoming a stable middle income economy. In order to attain Vision 2030, the government wants to be able to reach a scenario where the country is able to generate 15,000MW of electricity annually,

“A clean and renewable source of power, geothermal energy possesses a number of important environmental and economic advantages over traditional fossil fuel sources” produced from naturally occurring steam and hot water which lays trapped in reservoirs of permeable rocks below the surface of the earth. Headquartered in Nairobi, the Geothermal Development Company (GDC) is a 100 percent state-owned business, formed especially by the Government of Kenya to act as a special purpose vehicle to fast track the development of the country’s geothermal resources. An indigenous, abundant and reliable source of electricity, Kenya’s geothermal resources are concentrated within the country’s Rift Valley. It is here that some 14 fields can be found extending from Lake Magadi to Lake Turkana. In addition to these fields Kenya also hosts several low temperature fields outside the rift at Homa Hills and Massa Mukwe. At present

5,000MW of which it expects to be derived through geothermal means. This will require a significant step up from Kenya’s existing total effective installed capacity of 1,533MW. For many years Kenya has relied heavily upon hydroelectricity, with perennial power outages forcing the government to invite emergency power producers who use diesel in order to generate electricity. The stopgap measure has been very much a double edged sword for the country, answering the immediate need for emergency power, but at the same time increasing the cost of electricity for the consumer and causing significant damage from pollution. For its part the Kenyan Government has known for a while that the aforementioned negative issues cannot be allowed to

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remain a factor as the country continues to grow. To that end it has commissioned GDC to take advantage of the country’s untapped geothermal potential and has provided the company with the mandate and means to drill as many as 1,400 steam wells to provide the required 5,000MW of geothermal power by 2030. In addition to being tasked with promoting the rapid development of geothermal resources in Kenya, GDC is also responsible for promoting alternative uses of said resources. Such alternatives include greenhouse heating, the drying of grains, the pasteurising of milk, and the cooling and heating of rooms. Given the wide number of possible uses for geothermal resources it is unsurprising that GDC’s customer base reflects a variety of stakeholders from different walks of life, all of whom share a strong interest in the development of geothermal technology in Kenya. These customers fall into categories such as government ministries, development partners, independent power producers, investors, governments from the East African Rift System countries and local community groups. Understandably, GDC is immensely proud to be spearheading growth in the geothermal energy sector. Since day one it has been the creed of the company to actively pursue all practices that are deemed capable of saving the environment from pollution. By committing to provide affordable, safe and reliable energy to as many Kenyans as possible, GDC by extension will be saving on the use of wood

National Oilwell Varco NOV, after successful delivery of drilling equipment to Menengai field, will partner with GDC drilling engineers to ensure they receive optimal performance from the equipment. NOV will provide the BHA design, use of the downhole telemetry BlackBoxTM recording system, field-testing of a new PDC drill bit, and a team of expert drilling engineers to ensure optimal performance for GDC. www.nov.com

“The Kenyan Government has provided the company with the mandate and means to drill as many as 1,400 steam wells to provide the required 5,000MW of geothermal power by 2030” BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

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fuel and will thereby be assisting in the efforts to protect Kenya’s forests. As well as contributing towards the protection of Kenya’s natural environment GDC also makes every effort to highlight the work it conducts in supporting local educational needs, economic empowerment, the provision of water and health, and the preservation of art, culture and sport.

GDC supports the achievement of education for children in the areas in which it operates, while also equipping and rehabilitating educational institutions to establish model schools. These efforts are helping to contribute towards the Millennium Development Goal of increasing access to education at the primary level by 2015. The Millennium Development Goal on

“GDC makes every effort to highlight the work it conducts in supporting local educational needs, economic empowerment, the provision of water and health, and the preservation of art, culture and sport”

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Geothermal Development Company (GDC)

the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 creates the imperative for all sectors, the corporate, civil society and government, to collaborate towards income generation, food security, job creation and poverty alleviation initiatives. GDC actively engages innovative young people from its areas of operation to improve the economic status of the communities. When it comes to the health and wellbeing of these aforementioned communities, GDC recognises that clean water not only sustains life, but prevents water-borne diseases. GDC supports projects that conserve water sources and explore new methods of harvesting rain and underground water. GDC also supports the rehabilitation of water pans and sink boreholes for the communities. With regard to health, GDC

is working to facilitate access to affordable health care among local communities. Last, but by no means least, GDC is also making every effort to work with individuals and groups to preserve and promote local art and culture for future posterity. The company also encourages and supports sporting activities which it and others realise helps to foster peace between communities.

Geothermal Development Company (GDC)

+254 719 036 000 info@gdc.co.ke www.gdc.co.ke

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Angola

Out of th

Angola Cables is laying a cable is a project with profound impli telecommunications as

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Cables

he depths

e across the Atlantic Ocean: this ications for global and regional well as for Angola itself

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frica is often referred to as the “dark continent,” with internet and telephony penetration rates some of the lowest in the world. That, however, is changing rapidly, with projects like the West African Cable System (WACS) and the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS) being planned and deployed to deliver much-needed connectivity to the continent. Infrastructure these days is not all about roads and bridges and railways. The human race will never be able to do without long distance transportation but it can become less dependent on projects of this sort as it develops better voice and data networks. One of the most exciting telecoms infrastructure currently in the pipeline is the South Atlantic Cable System (SACS), also known as the Angola-Brazil Cable, is a planned submarine communications cable in the South Atlantic Ocean linking Luanda, the capital of Angola with Fortaleza in northern Brazil with a leg connecting to the Brazilian archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. The driving force behind the cable is Angola Cables, which was formed in 2009 by the five biggest telecoms operators in Angola. namely Angola Telecom which holds 51 percent of the capital, Unitel with 31, MSTelcom with nine Movicel with six, and Startel with a three percent holding. Its director is António Nunes, who explains the company’s mission in the simplest of terms: “We want Angola to become one of the main telecoms hubs in Africa.”

“Africa has tremendous opportunities, and the growth rate has nowhere to go but up!”

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“Our core business is the commercialisation of capacity in international voice and data circuits over fibre submarine cables” Angola Cables addresses the “wholesale, or bulk selling market: “Our core business is the commercialisation of capacity in international voice and data circuits over fibre submarine cables.” It is responsible for the management and development in Angola of WACS, the West African Cable System, which has a landing point at Sangano near the capital Luanda (and incidentally was originally planned to cross the Atlantic to Brazil). It also provides international telecommunications transmission to all operators in order to increase the interconnection between Angola and the world. WACS connects South Africa with London, and has fourteen landing points along the way, so it is an important link to Europe for the West African coastal states, however the decision not to link it to the Americas left a gap. As Eric Handa, co-founder of APTelecoms says, many of the markets outside of the US and Europe are becoming very saturated, and even some of the markets in Asia, particularly India and China are starting to become saturated – and as a fluent mandarin speaker who has worked for both Tata Communications and Bharti Airtel, he should know. “I think if you look at a lot of the markets, the growth rate is slowing down. But Africa has tremendous opportunities, and the growth

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Angola Cables

“The location of Angola geographically and geopolitically means it is in a situation where it can really capitalise on some of the submarine cable connectivity that is happening throughout the Middle East.”

rate has nowhere to go but up! The location of Angola geographically and geopolitically means it is in a situation where it can really capitalise on some of the submarine cable connectivity that is happening throughout the Middle East.” What he means is that many of the international telecoms operators are looking for an alternative route, and Angola is that

route. The 3,800 mile SACS cable will be the first transatlantic submarine cable in the southern hemisphere, and will allow a direct link between Africa and the South American continent. Additionally it will have onward connectivity to the USA via Miami and that is of tremendous advantage to a lot of the international operators, opening a new lane of passage for commerce and telecoms. From its

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The partnership between Angola Cables and Anglobal started in 2010 with the construction of the Cabo Ledo terminal for the lashing of the WACS underwater cable. At this stage Anglobal was responsible for the supplying of all terminal´s infrastructures, including power systems AC/DC, HVAC, security and a structured network. The participation of Anglobal was extended to the transmission equipment implementation phase, with unlimited support. Due to the necessity of implementing a Datacenter, Anglobal presented a “Full Turn Key” proposal for the supplying of the ANGONAP. After being selected to do so Anglobal finished, in record time, the work for the WACS System inauguration in Angola. Anglobal is currently responsible for ANGONAP´s infrastructures maintenance as well as for the maintenance of the terminal of Cabo Ledo. Regarding the SACS project, Anglobal looks forward to continue contributing to the growth of Angola Cables as well as to the growth of the country.

www.anglobal.co.ao

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Angola Cables

strategic position half way up the west coast, Angola is ideally placed to drive that. Angola is already a strategic point in its development as a technology hub within the African continent, something it needs to develop if it is to establish itself as the natural route to the American markets for its neighbours. “SACS represents a completely new path between West Africa and South America,” António Nunes asserts. “We also want to develop a network in Africa, because today all the interconnectivity between African operators has been done through Europe. Our concept is to promote a truly African network and facilitate a point of interconnectivity between African operators.” Already a number of American and Chinese companies are being attracted to Angola because of its minerals, oil and natural resources. The fact that Angola is becoming more of a technology hub in the region can only help that. “Africa will have the same number of internet users as the US by 2015 and demand, while less at first, will be enormous as Africans, the world’s youngest population, are raised on technology,” says Nunes. The SACS cable is an essential part of the

new telco NEW TELCO SOUTH AFRICA is the most recent addition to the NEW TELCO group of companies operating across the global carrier landscape. NEW TELCO provides virtual and physical carrier neutral infrastructure services such as colocation, meet me rooms, technical services and equipment financing in every global location. We are technology vendor neutral and support all major technologies from SDH, Ethernet, MPLS and VOIP products. NEW TELCO owns and operates their points of presence (POP) out of over 25 datacentres globally. We enable our customers to extend and collocate their network presence in the most advantages locations world-wide. www.newtelco.co.za

“Africa will have the same number of internet users as the US by 2015 and demand, while less at first, will be enormous as Africans, the world’s youngest population, are raised on technology”

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“Angola is looking for connectivity with its surrounding neighbours to the south, north and east. It is building inland as well”

new infrastructure. As Handa graphically expressed it: “Once the highway is built you can drive the cars along it! In this case the cars are the applications carrying programmes like Skype and layer 3 services (the network layer of the OSI model). So it is a really exciting time and I think Angola Cables has a great opportunity to benefit nationally, and be the driver for ICT growth in Africa.” It is expected that the SACS will cut data traffic costs between South America, Africa and onwards to Asia by 80 percent, another massive draw for the operators. Ideally the cable would have been completed in time for the World Cup, a goal the Brazilian operator Telebras was keen to achieve. However there had been some question marks over whether Telebras would be helping to fund the construction of the project, and in February this year it confirmed that its involvement would be limited to providing the landing point at Fortaleza. Angola Cables had considered partnering with Telebras, though according to Nunes “negotiations cooled because the Brazilian company was focused only on the World Cup, but it is clear that the doors are still open for the resumption of dialogue,” It is now expected that the system will open for business early in 2016. The rest of Africa will be looking very closely at what is happening in Angola today, Nunes believes. Angola is looking for connectivity with its surrounding neighbours to the south, north and east. It is building inland as well. In addition to the submarine

cable they are also providing connectivity to locations like Sangano where the WACS and SACS will meet, and also new locations like its Angonap hub in Luanda, which contains the equipment for optical signal regeneration and terminal demultiplexing of the signals for distribution to end users. From Angonap it reaches out to the rest of Africa enabling ‘meshed networks’ so if one path is broken or goes down there is resilience in the system that creates sound infrastructure, a ‘flawless network’ which never goes down. Meanwhile Angola Cables has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the leading German internet exchange operator DE-CIX that establishes a long-term collaboration and creates the foundations of a new neutral interconnection environment in Angola and in the southern African Region. “Major global and local players increasingly face the challenge of promoting innovative internet services while continuing to ensure safe and effective online usage. DE-CIX has experience in developing strong internet ecosystems around the world, and we look forward to working with them,” says Nunes.

Angola Cables

+244 227 360 006 info@geral@angolacables.co.ao @angolacables www.angolacables.co.ao

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Seed Co T

Abundance from

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t the age of 75 Seed Co is an established player on the global agribusiness scene though it does not spend as much time in the headlines as some of its rivals. Nevertheless on the continent of Africa it is the biggest seed company, outstripping the large multinationals also interested in the African market in both volumes and value. Seed Co develops and markets certified crop seeds, including hybrid maize seed, cotton, wheat, soya bean, barley, sorghum and ground nut. Its core function is genetics research and subsequently the production, testing, marketing, sales and distribution. This is a fully integrated business, controlling the supply chain from end to end. Very little is outsourced: the company is unique in developing in-house genetics for over 95 percent of what it sells. And it is also unique in that the vast majority of its sales – again about 95 percent – is sold to small scale farmers. The company’s origins go back to a 1940 seed co-operative in Zimbabwe called the Seed Maize Association. Amalgamation, organic growth and acquisition brought it to the point in 1996 when it floated on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, raising capital that enabled it not only to upgrade its facilities in that country but to embark on a process of regional

“We do around 300 visual demonstration round the country a year where farmers are brought in to learn not just about the seed, but weed control, fertiliser use and general best practice”

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Typical Tanzanian agro dealer

Seed Co Tanzania

“Out of the 40 odd million people who live here 80 percent are employed in agriculture, the vast majority on small scale farms” expansion into neighbouring Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique. At that period it also formed a research joint venture, Syngenta Seed Co in South Africa. However its most significant international collaboration was inaugurated earlier this year when international agricultural co-operative group Limagrain bought a significant share of Seed Co. Limagrain is the fourth largest seed company in the world with annual sales of more than €1.9 billion – the alliance gives Seed Co access to a large product range, yet one that does not compete with it in Africa. Just as importantly it too has a co-operative background so shares Seed Co’s values and ethos. Today the company supplies farmers from South Africa right up to Ethiopia. In 2010 Seed Co established a business at Arusha in northern Tanzania under the leadership of an experienced agriculturist and entrepreneur, Managing Director Dave Clements. Tanzania is prime territory for Seed Co, he explains: “Out of the 40 odd million people who live here 80 percent are employed in agriculture, the vast majority on small scale farms.” As yet the company has no research station based in Tanzania itself – however it has seven across Africa, covering all the different types of climate and soils. One at Kitali in Kenya, for example specialises in highland conditions, another in Zambia looks at tropical forest ecologies, one in Zimbabwe itself does the

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Beyond Seed Protection – Our commitment to deliver innovative Seed Treatment solutions to the Seed Industry remains unmatched. Our philosophy is to always go beyond the conventional, providing innovative products with best in class technologies. Our solutions provide outstanding early season protection, increase plant vigor and high yield potential – every seed counts.

Seed Co Tanzania

Savanna and one is located in South Africa where the climate is more temperate. In any case, he points out, plant breeding rights are not yet well developed in Tanzania and IP protection is better controlled elsewhere. Nevertheless Tanzania is taking strides towards getting a modern regulatory framework in place as well as becoming internationally accredited in the seed industry. “Under Nyerere’s African socialism (Ujamaa) the government controlled these matters and the material was all in the public domain,” explains Clements, “but as the private sector has expanded these regulations have had to be put in place.” Until the country becomes accredited and the private sector can set up its own labs Seed Co will rely more on its own research network, he says. He is excited by commercial opportunities

Syngenta Syngentas commitment reflects its belief that Africa has the resources not only to feed its growing population, but also to become a major food exporter. Over the next 10 years, Syngenta will make cumulative investments of over $500m which include recruiting and training of over 700 new employees, the development of distribution channel networks, logistics, local production facilities and support infrastructure - like the newly opened Seedcare® Institute in South Africa - to increase access to technology to over 5 million farmers and to enable productivity gains of 50% or more, while preserving the long term potential of the land. www.syngenta.com

Seed Co demonstration plot

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Yara_Tanzania_BE_QrtrPg_Ad.pdf

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Chemtura AgroSolutions Chemtura AgroSolutions, a well-respected worldwide supplier of seed treatment products and technology, is proud to be associated with Seed Co as suppliers of fungicides, insecticides, polymer/colour coatings and seed security products for many years already. www.chemturaagrosolutions.com

“We bring in the distributors twice a year and train them on the product and the information they need”

presented by the East African region, especially Tanzania. “We are doing a significant amount of local production. About 70 percent of our seed sold is produced locally and we have been topping that up from Zambia. However in the next three years we intend to become completely self sufficient in Tanzania.” The seed conditioning plant that has been built at Arusha is one of the most modern in the world, and here the company employs around 100 people. A further 500 work in the field through outgrowers. The cycle starts with the farmers’ demand for high quality seed. A big majority of small farmers in Tanzania still grow their crops from seed retained from the year before. It’s a time-honoured way to farm but it is not good for productivity, as the stock degenerates and crops need greater quantities of fertiliser and become less resistant to pests. “We aim to get at least 80 percent of Tanzanian farmers to use certified seed,” says Clements

Farmers training in field

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Seed Co Sorghum Field

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Seed Co Tanzania

“Its objective is to get product within 25 kilometres of every farmer in Tanzania because that is the distance a farmer can travel on a bike in a day and get home again”

The need for the farmers to access seed that suits their land is met by the research station, which supply genetic solutions for the company to test in the different climatic and ecological zones of the country. “When we find a product that is appropriate, we do the multiplication of that product here in Tanzania. The multiplication is done through establishing out-growers and training them on the skills of hybrid production. They then deliver that product to us where we do the processing and conditioning and clean, grade, treat and pack the seed.” Another arm of the company does the marketing and explains to farmers the attributes of the seed and when and why they ought to use it. The out-growers and distributors are clearly as important as the researchers in this cycle. Out-growers are selected on the basis of having sufficient acreage, with sufficiently good isolation to avoid contamination from other crops in the area, he explains. “We have a team of agronomists that we send for training to become accredited inspectors, and these visit the farms on a weekly basis to ensure that the quality standards are met right though the production cycle. A qualified agronomist is attached to each of the distribution depots to train the farmers. As much training as possible is done at the farm level, and involves the workers as much as the management. “On the retail side, we bring in the distributors twice a year and train them on the product and the information they need to give the farmers, how to handle complaints and the like. We do around 300 visual demonstration round the country a year

where farmers are brought in to learn not just about the seed, but weed control, fertiliser use and general best practice.” Seed Co supplies the seed from its store locations across the country to local wholesalers, who then supply small dealers trading sometimes from a single godown. Seed Co is a founder of the Last Mile Alliance, an innovative model that brings together commercial partners (providers of high-quality farm inputs, financial services and insurance), existing agro-dealers, foundations and donors to create a costeffective rural distribution network to reach smallholder farmers in Tanzania, delivering both commercial success and development impact at scale. “Its objective is to get product within 25 kilometres of every farmer in Tanzania because that is the distance a farmer can travel on a bike in a day and get home again. Eventually we would like to get that down to 12 kilometres!” Dave Clements enthuses. Right across Africa, he concludes, the average farmer is still only realising about 25-30 percent of the genetic potential of the varieties available. “These guys are at the core of our business so it is not just about creating a better product for the farmer, as our competitors do, but trying to create a better farmer for our product!”

Seed Co Tanzania

+263 4 882485/851962 info@seedco.co www.seedco.co

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King Pie

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ing Pie is a South African franchise and a member of The Franchise Association South Africa (FASA), just one of a number of fast food brands one might be tempted to think, but KP demands to be taken seriously. It claims to make the best pies in the world, assuring its customers that it really does take pies seriously: “It’s easy to get caught up with cooking trends and cost charts, but we know it’s the basic things that make a good pie – freshness, quality ingredients, and value for money.” King Pie was established in 1993 and changed the pie industry with its innovative open plan pie-making concept. 30 franchises were opened in the first year. It has been part of consumers’ lives for over 20 years with a strong South African heritage. King Pie products are known for their quality, taste, wholesomeness and value pricing. King Pie is without any doubt the biggest and most successful pie franchise, with more than 280 outlets in South Africa and neighbouring countries, for example Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia. The King Pie brand has come a long way over the past 20 years. Part of the company’s success is having a clear vision of what the King Pie brand stands for and what values it embraces. The brand makes much of its ‘royal’ connection, even though it is only in the name. “In the King Pie Kingdom everyone is royalty. Through long term meaningful relationships with our suppliers and world class support services, it is our passion to deliver feasts fit for a king. We delight in making every customer’s day by treating them as if they all wear a crown.” That is rather and ambitious target to hit consistently, so let us look at how it might be achieved. For a start King Pie claims to have the most state of the art pie factory in the world, in which every ingredient is checked rigorously and capable of being traced back to its source. The Johannesburg factory

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“King Pie’s 2Go outlet requ of between 30 and

uires very little retail space 50 square metres”

King Pie

has the capacity to produce six million pies per month, and has all the national and international accreditations you would expect – and then some, as it goes beyond the basic by some way with a world class food safety system that ensures product of the highest quality. The site is Halal accredited and export approved as well as being hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) certified. All this goes to ensure that the process is impeccable and meets the highest international standards. The pies go through 35 quality checks during the manufacturing process. Regular DNA testing is done on all the beef and chicken used, and products are tested on an ongoing basis by an independent laboratory to confirm that there are no pathogens present in the pies. Spices and ingredients are ‘Green Label”, which indicates organic quality to the delicious flavours without any chemical additives. Especially notable is that all pies are baked fresh in store to allow for the ideal meal and customer experience. All of this reassures the consumers – who are welcome to visit the factory by invitation to satisfy themselves on these points – that the food is safely prepared. But what keeps them coming back is more a matter of the quality of the content – to put it bluntly, the taste and texture of the pies. This is not just a matter of what is put in – paradoxically it is also a matter of what is left out. For a start, then, the fillings contain 100 percent pure beef and chicken with no meat replacers or soya. The crusts of the pies are made with 84 layers of transfat free traditional flaky puff pastry which contains no rising agents such as baking powder or yeast. And before the pies are released for consumption by the public, each batch is tested by real people! A panel of four people has the enviable job of testing and tasting the pies and only after their approval

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Superior Juices Manufacturers of various flavours Superior 100% fruit juices and Purified Water. Personalised service with free delivery in SA. Tel: +27118235254 | E-mail: gerriejr@snackajuice.co.za www.snackajuice.co.za

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Snack-A-Juice Snack-A-Juice supplies a high quality product to various consumers and independent outlets. Their experience in dealing with V.I.P. clients resulted in a thirst to provide a product that won’t be challenged in the market and eventually lead to brand insistence. The factory is based in Hughes Park, Boksburg, where all of the exclusive superior quality fruit juices are manufactured. SnackA-Juice specialises in supplying various 100% fruit juices, purified still and sparkling water, with a wide variety of flavours to suit all tastes. The fruit juices are nationally distributed and/ or produced. The product can be found in mot service stations (listings with BP, Engen, Exel, Sasol, Shell and Total), including hotels, Spars, King Pie and various other outlets. www.snackajuice.co.za

“In the King Pie Kingdom everyone is royalty” has been given is that batch released for distribution to nearly 300 outlets in the King Pie franchise family. Reasons for entrepreneurially minded people to join this family are not hard to find. This is a dynamic company that is consistently upgrading and extending its product range. It is a franchise-friendly company offering relatively low set up costs when compared with others in the quick service restaurant (QSR) sector. It’s a well promoted brand, with an active presence on Facebook and other social media as well as some very fetching TV ad coverage including its very successful ‘Mnandi-licious!’ campaign. New franchisees join a market leader with a well established King Pie Training Academy, a network of more than 290 outlets. They will be offered support staff to assist across all disciplines; operations, legal, marketing, training, finance and R&D assistance. Finally they are accessing a value for money product range for all income groups and appetites. King Pie outlets are easier to operate compared to other brands, and its 2Go outlet requires very little retail space of between 30 and 50 square metres. This is the ideal space filler for any landlord and a great way to get one’s foot into a fast growing industry.

King Pie

+27 (011) 564 9701 info@kingpie.co.za @Kingpiebrand www.kingpie.co.za

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Liberiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s road o

Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) is developing a at once meeting growing global deman 152

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a sustainable palm oil industry in West Africa, nd and lifting a nation out of poverty BE Africa [ Issue 11 ]

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New community housing in Sinoe county

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he palm oil industry is nothing if not controversial, and on the whole gets a bad press. Apart from its traditional use in cooking, palm oil is today found in a huge range of food and other products from cosmetics to biodiesel, for which it has been found particularly suitable. World consumption of palm oil is rocketing: compared to levels in 2000, demand is predicted to more than double by 2030 and to triple by 2050. Over 70 per cent ends up in food, but the biofuels industry is expanding rapidly. Indonesia already has six million hectares of oil palm plantations, but has plans for another four million by 2015 dedicated to biofuel production alone. By far the largest producing countries in the world are Indonesia and Malaysia, which

in the past, and is held responsible by many for encroachment on tropical rain forests with a negative impact on biodiversity and even climate change. How would it be, he asks, if the lessons of the past could be learned and applied in Liberia, which could enjoy some of the huge economic upside that has transformed both Indonesia and Malaysia, while avoiding the downside that accompanies unsustainable production. Liberia is one of the world’s poorest countries with an average per capita income of around one US dollar a day. It is little wonder that the government seized the opportunity to introduce a new industry that promises to make it prosperous again and help put to rest its recent turbulent history. GVL consulted local communities in 2010,

“I want people to work closely with GVL so that more plants are built and more permanent jobs created” President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

between them have 1.4 million hectares under plantation, producing 7.5 million tonnes per annum – nearly 92 percent of global production. Africa contributes vanishingly small amounts, though the oil palm elaeis guineensis is native to West Africa and has been produced and traded locally since time immemorial. Liberia does not feature at all on the league tables. But that is going to change, with the entry of GVL into the market. In 2009, GVL was invited by the Liberian government to explore the potential for investment in the country. From the outset, says communications director Virgil Magee, the approach has been one of partnership. He admits that the industry has become associated with poor practice

and development was widely welcomed. Now there is a strong movement from community groups keen to develop their land and place it under oil palm. However any development must be sustainable. The biggest issue thrown up by large scale oil palm cultivation is associated with the loss of virgin forest. Industry efforts to bring this deforestation under control have come through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), set up in 2001 to establish clear ethical and ecological standards for producing palm oil. Its members include major food companies like Unilever, Cadbury, Nestlé and Tesco, as well as palm oil traders such as Cargill and ADM. Between them, these companies represent 40 percent of global palm oil trade. However,

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GREENCONS provides a wide

range of technical expertise including but not limited to Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental Management Plan, Environmental Audit, Monitoring & Evaluation, Socio-economic surveys, Resource Analysis, Ecological & water resource surveys and High Conservation Value Assessment etc. GreenCons services deliver professional and long lasting value, understanding and appreciating the environmental and social standards our clients must meet with quality and strong commitment. Our relationship with GVL dates since 2011, providing support through ESIA and HCV assessment to ensure sustainable development. This support is enhanced by the Companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commitment to continual improvement and desire to uphold regulatory compliance.

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Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL)

this does not go far enough for GVL which applies a far tougher Forest Conservation Policy which was developed in collaboration with leading international N GOs , including Greenpeace. GVL’s aim is to address the real problems of Liberia. The country is losing up to two percent of its forest cover every year, not thorough palm cultivation but through poverty. Some 70 percent of the population is involved in slash-and-burn farming. Despite efforts to introduce more sustainable ways to live off the forest, poverty is the biggest threat to biodiversity, leading to illegal logging, mining and burning charcoal as fuel. And with the breakdown in society following the conflict years of the 1990s there are few jobs available so 80-90 percent of the population depends on the forest. GVL operates on principles set down by the RSPO, and engages with communities on the basis of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC), the principle that a community has

Green Consultancy Inc Green Consultancy Inc (GREENCONS) is a Liberian owned and registered environmental consultancy. The firm was established and registered in April 2009 with a mission to support sustainable development in the promotion and creation of sound environmental practice in every area of development. GreenCons was awarded “OUTSTANDING ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP OF THE YEAR 2011/2012” by Africa Watch Newspaper on World Environmental Day, June 5, 2011. info@greenconsliberia.com

Liberia Equipment Ltd Liberia Equipment Ltd is your authorized dealer for Caterpillar equipment and parts in Liberia. Our 85 people-team sells and supports a comprehensive range of equipment: Caterpillar (construction, mining and power systems), Olympian generators, Hyster handling equipment, compressors. With a stock of genuine parts, well-equipped workshops and a technical training center, Liberia Equipment Ltd also provides a wide range of services, from diagnosis to complete after-sales solutions. Our dedicated multi-cultural teams of qualified employees are committed to service, available at all times to deliver the right solution to each of our customers. www.jadelmas.com

Sinoe county memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing

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the right to give or withhold its consent to proposed projects that may affect the lands they customarily own, occupy or otherwise use. FPIC. It is now a key principle in international law and jurisprudence related to indigenous peoples. However there is a lot of degraded forest in the country, says Magee. “We have to carefully identify that and when we negotiate with the community we go through a process called participatory mapping which is part of the FPIC process. “We get together with the farming communities and they show us what areas

they would like developed, and also specify where they would not like development.” Interestingly enough GVL’s task is not so much to persuade the community to permit development as to curb their enthusiasm. “We have had areas where communities have wanted us to develop, but under our guidelines we can’t touch it because it is primary forest, supporting endangered species for example or throwing up other conservation concerns.” With a 65 year concession from the Liberian government, GVL is making slow

“We get together with the farming communities and they show us what areas they would like developed, and also specify where they would not like development”

Golden Veroleum Liberia cadet training program

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American educator Elizabeth Johnson donates books to GVL school

but steady progress. It currently is different ethnically and Did you know? has just 3,000 hectares (or linguistically, he emphasises, and approximately 7,400 acres) under each negotiation is like starting cultivation, which may seem over again. 65 years small when you consider that But the system works. The GVL’s Liberian up to 500,000 acres have been latest MOU signed in April government designated for development, following an FPIC process with concession with an additional 100,000 acres the Numopoh administrative for smallholder development for area in Sinoe County includes 2016 local communities. However in a social agreement going well First production every case it is necessary to go beyond the matter of oil palm from GVL’s through a process of community cultivation on 1,566 hectares, to plantations negotiation that can take from include developmental aspects six months to a couple of years. such as school and clinic “We just signed a memorandum construction, road building and of understanding (MOU) with a community in refurbishments, provisions for safe drinking Garraway in Grand Kru County for a further water, scholarships, adult literacy training 1,800 hectares, he says.” That was concluded and employment. As part of the agreement relatively quickly but every community Liberians will be given employment regardless

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Medical care at GVL clinic in Sinoe county

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Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL)

“The government is not able to fund the infrastructure we need, so we are happy to take up that challenge” of any tribal affiliation. It is noteworthy that GVL willingly employs ex-combatants who might otherwise not engage peaceful and legal economic activities. It takes three years for the plants to start fruiting. Production of oil from the plantations will start in 2016. The company is building its first modern crude palm oil mills at Tarjuowon, a site visited by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in March this year, on which occasion she encouraged local people to accept and embrace GVL’s efforts to bring employment, skills and infrastructure to their communities. “I want people to work closely with GVL so that more plants are built and more permanent jobs created,” she said. GVL was invited in 2013 to develop oil palm operations, roads and a site for an oil palm factory in the area by Tarjuowon communities. This is a strategically placed site from whence the processed oil can easily be transported to the coast and shipped from a port facility that GVL is building near the Sinoe capital Greenville. Over recent years GVL has constructed or rehabilitated several hundred miles of roads in both Sinoe and Grand Kru Counties, including the Butaw-Philip Pantoe Village Roadway in Tarjuowon, the Greenville-Butaw Highway and the PanamaKlanedaye Road in Sinoe County. GVL also reconditioned the Unification-Sonouhn Town Roadway, the Lexington-Greenville Highway, among others. Though it is not working pro bono, like an NGO for example, GVL is investing heavily in Liberia. “The government is not able to fund the infrastructure we need, so we are happy to take up that challenge. Yes, we are planning to export, and when that happens

we can start to earn foreign currency for Liberia, but the first market we will address will be Liberia itself, freeing it from the need to import, then West Africa, then the rest of the world. Liberia is actually much better placed geographically than SE Asia to supply the Americas and Europe.” Liberian palm oil will have the edge in terms of price, he points out. He could have added that, being a native species, its cultivation will have a lower impact on the ecology, and very probably flourish better in the soils and climate with which it is familiar. The remaining years of this decade have been well planned. 2016 will bring together the first harvests, the completion of the mill that will turn the seeds into oil and crucially the return to Liberia of the engineers who have been sent to learn the technical side of large-scale palm oil production in Indonesia. They will join those Malaysian and Indonesian engineers currently working in Liberia, says Magee. “They will be ready to run the new facility as junior managers and provide the country with a level of expertise it doesn’t have yet.” Down the road, the children studying in GVL schools will contribute to a new generation of qualified Liberians, he hopes, with institutions like the school at the company’s Wakefield Nursery in Butaw, also in Sinoe, taking the lead.

Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL)

info@goldenveroleum.com.lr @goldenveroleum www.goldenveroleum.com.lr

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ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TIME TO FOCUS ON YOU

[ Click here to find out more ] or email [ mday@bus-ex.com ]