Reflecting on the New Vehicle Sales statistics for the month of November 2021 naamsa said that despite persistent economic and COVID19 fueled challenges, the new vehicle market showed some resilience as its gradual recovery continued during the month.

The November 2021 exports sales number at 19 548 units reflected a massive fall of 14 277 vehicles, or 42,2%, compared to the 33 825 vehicles exported in November 2020. For the year-to-date, vehicle exports were still 8,3% ahead of the same period last year.

Vehicle exports continued their five-month downward trajectory in line with the ongoing Covid-19 related supply chain disruptions impacting on vehicle production and exports as well as the impact of a severe Covid19 fourth wave in parts of Europe, a key export market for domestic vehicle manufacturers. Prospects over the short to medium term, however, remain positive as vehicle exports are anticipated to benefit from various new model introductions by major vehicle exporters in 2021 and 2022 as well as increased demand linked to the favourable economic conditions abroad.

Download the full media release and sales report below. 

From June to August this year, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in partnership with Exporters Eastern Cape and other key business organisations, undertook a study on the current impact of COVID-19 on the economy and business sector of Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB). The study highlighted the recent performance of the metropolitan economy, changes in the region’s labour market, changes in its export activity, and insights from the latest travel and hospitality statistics available at the time of writing.

Looking firstly at economic performance; it was reported that the estimated real gross domestic product (GDP) of Nelson Mandela Bay in constant prices declined by almost 55% quarter-on-quarter in the second quarter of 2020, on a seasonally adjusted and annualised basis. On this same basis, the metropolitan economy grew by almost 67% in the third quarter of 2020 and subsequently grew by 7.2% and 2.8% in the last quarter of 2020 and first quarter of 2021 respectively.

Consequently, the annual GDP of Nelson Mandela Bay in 2020 was comparable in size to the GDP of this metropole in 2010, after adjusting for inflation. Put another way; there was seemingly a temporary decline of close to ten years of real economic growth.

For 2020 overall, the study reported that NMB’s real GDP shrunk by 8.19% year-on-year while the Eastern Cape declined by 6.71% and South Africa declined by 6.96%. The primary reason given to explain why the GDP of Nelson Mandela Bay was hit relatively harder than either the country or province as a whole was that Nelson Mandela Bay logically has a less diversified economy than South Africa (RSA) or the Eastern Cape and that productive activity during COVID-19 has been more constrained in urban areas (such as the metropole), with relatively more industry and relatively less agricultural activity conventionally taking place.

At the time of the study, the prevailing forecast was that Nelson Mandela Bay’s real GDP would grow by 2.3% per annum, on average, between 2020 and 2025. The real GDP of the region was therefore expected to recover to its 2019 (i.e. ‘pre-COVID’) level during or at the end of 2024. However, following Statistics South Africa’s recently published revisions to the country’s GDP methodology – to better align RSA to updated international standards and not simply make it richer by decree – it is now far more likely that the real economy of Nelson Mandela Bay will return to pre-COVID levels of activity during 2022/3.

Looking next at the current impact of COVID-19 on local employment: the study noted that the number of employed people within Nelson Mandela Bay had not yet returned to the fourth quarter of 2019 (pre-COVID) level of employment. Mercifully, from the second quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021, the estimated number of employed people in Nelson Mandela Bay had actually increased by close to 45,000.

Moving on to export activity, the study demonstrated that despite the constraints imposed by COVID-19 and the associated counter-measures, the nominal value of merchandise exports from Nelson Mandela Bay continued to grow year-on-year in 2020. The estimated 1.05% increase year-on-year was largely attributed to the export of agricultural and hunting products as well as metal products, machinery and household appliances, while the export of transport equipment was significantly constrained. As a leading indicator of economic performance in the current calendar year, the number of certificates of origin issued by the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber in the first four months of 2021 (when compared against the first four months of 2020) demonstrated an increase of 14.4% year-on-year. This is a very positive indicator for economic recovery and export growth from Nelson Mandela Bay.

In addition to above-mentioned analysis, the NMB Business Impact of COVID-19 Study also involved the voluntary and anonymous surveying of local businesses. This survey was completed by 73 participating businesses of various sizes and from various industries with the study indicating that:

• ~47% of these reporting businesses expected NMB’s GDP and employment figures to recover to pre-COVID-19 levels within 3 to 5 years, with another 25% of businesses expecting that this recovery will take more than 5 years;
• ~54% of the reporting businesses were currently operating under reduced capacity (compared to March 2020), while ~44% of businesses were operating with similar or increased capacity;
• ~44% of reporting businesses had significant decreases in demand for their products/services (since March 2020), while ~38% of businesses had similar or increased demand;
• ~69% of reporting businesses have had a decrease in annualised revenue or turnover (compared to before COVID-19), with ~44% of all responding businesses reporting a reduction in revenue of >10% (compared to before COVID-19);
• ~48% of reporting businesses have had local job losses since March 2020, with more than half of these job-losing companies cutting between 1 and 5 jobs each;

Further to that, the types of local businesses that were most frequently perceived or identified by the responding businesses to be at risk of permanent closure included:

• Bars/taverns
• Restaurants and coffee shops
• Bottle stores
• Accommodation providers
• Day-care centres
• Gardeners
• Law firms
• Hair/beauty
• Equipment suppliers
• Caterers/audio-visual
• Gambling/gaming
• Printing industry
• Construction
• Building material suppliers
• Conference and training centres

While the results of the survey are not intended to represent the underlying “population” of all businesses operating from Nelson Mandela Bay, it does serve at anecdotal evidence which complements the aggregated economic analysis presented earlier.

For further information on the study, please contact the Trade and Investment sub-directorate of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture directorate on 041 503 7527 or investments2@mandelametro.gov.za.

In a non-COVID world, working remotely from the office was relatively unheard of, however the year 2020 saw tens of millions of people working from home full-time as it not only became a necessity to protect people from being exposed and/or spreading COVID-19, but was due to national lockdowns, self-imposed isolations and quarantines. The adjustment became a novelty at first as working professionals had to designate working spaces and/or dual-purpose their dining room table, all while finding the balance between work and home life.

Now that more than 4.5 billion vaccine doses have been administrated worldwide, lockdown restrictions have eased and life as we once knew it, is resuming as working professionals are returning to the workplace. However, after over 18 months of working from home full-time to a combination of rotating work schedules, a hybrid working trend has, and is, becoming a focal point for many companies and individuals.

These observations and others that arose during 2020 and to date have made companies re-evaluate their business models and operations. The question is: do they revert back to the traditional office like it was pre-2020? Or do they operate a hybrid model? While most people feel that COVID-19 is set to have a permanent impact on the real estate industry and the office market, exactly what the impact is, is yet to be seen. This month’s Industry Insights, in collaboration with Broll Occupier Services, an affiliate of Cushman and Wakefield, will explore how organisations worldwide have or will adapt to the workplace and embrace the new culture of remote working and traditional in-office operations.

According to the Google Mobility Report, the average South African’s movements1 to their workplace had declined by 41% while there was a 27% increase for residential movements when compared to the baseline2, which indicates that there is still a large percentage of people still working remotely and not necessarily from home.

The report further provides details on people’s movements per province, where KwaZulu-Natal’s mobility between places particularly, indicates that majority of people remain working remotely and/or those that remain at home due to job loss are a result of the pandemic’s snowball effect, as the 30.5% (Q1 2021) unemployment rate for the province increased by 3.6% year-on-year (y-o-y).

Despite the increasing unemployment rate, there are a large number of companies locally and internationally that have not been able to have their entire workforce back at their offices which could be due to the size of the workforce and the large scale of compliance and co-ordination that is required to have employees in a safe working environment.

It has been reported that some corporates will only allow employees to return to the workplace once they have been vaccinated, which is another in-depth discussion, however the rollout of the vaccine is a key driver to enable these larger companies to resume business and more importantly access what level of hybrid working is most appropriate for their particular organisation.

According to a Hubstaff survey, 58.25% of companies plan to combine in-office and remote work in the future of which only 15.5% intend to operate a full-time in-office model. In a post-pandemic world, a hybrid virtual model allows for some employees to work on-site while others work remotely has shown added benefits, such as but not limited to:

• Increased productivity for individuals,
• Lower costs,
• Greater access to talent
• More individual flexibility,
• Less commute stress,
• Money savings; and/or
• Positive environmental impact.

1. Percentage figure as of the 27th of July 2021
2. Meridian value recorded between 3 January and 6 February 2020.

From an employee perspective, having been working from home, they have become accustom to this routine and working environment that they too are demanding the freedom and/or flexibility to work from home or anywhere they choose.

There is no doubt that the traditional office space and environment provides a unique function, a sense of belonging, nurturing company culture and strengthens company values. Which is why pre-COVID many corporates had gone through consolidating their multiple sub-offices into one large glazed building in main CBDs, to not only save costs but to have a head office and staff governed by this monument. The pandemic has now made corporates realise that they might need to decentralise their head office by creating  smaller and perhaps temporary nodal office hubs as this caters for employees to work closer to home, team meetings and training sessions, while head office remains the central hub for invention, innovation, and physical collaboration.

In addition, the pandemic has forced many companies to end their lease agreements prematurely and/or negotiate for more favourable lease terms, nonetheless the pandemic has resulted in the highest vacancy rates in history. However, on the upside, the resultant influx of stock and driving down of rentals, has meant that the office sector has become more attractive and accessible to smaller businesses, whom previously may not have been able to afford it.

Serviced offices have remained stable and in some cases have become more attractive for corporates seeking favourable rental conditions which act as temporary satellite offices, especially for employees and team meetings that require the infrastructure that physical premises have to offer. Furthermore, new office developments may only pick up once demand for office space resumes. While mixed-use developments may need to reconsider the ratio of office and residential space, they may also need to add and/or increase working space within residential property.

In Conclusion:

As many in the workforce have become accustom to being able to work anywhere and maintain similar levels of productivity, these remote workers become digital nomads, however they can lose touch with their company culture. It is imperative that there is a balance between the virtual workplace and on-site office environment. The office space is no longer the facility that holds employees when at work, the place of work has changed to a service.

The workplace is a holistic solution with integrated technology, furniture, infrastructure facilities to provide a productive place of work. It is recommended that the place of work should be equal to the comforts of home working whilst providing a holistic place of physical safety and collaboration. Vaccinated or not, the onus is for corporates to provide a safe and compliant office environment for all when they eventually return to the office, whether it be in a hybrid model or full-time traditional model.

It has been witnessed and predicted that the Occupier market will tend toward a hybridized working model, neither defined by work-from-the-office, nor work-from-home; but rather work from where is most appropriate. Across the broad landscape of occupier business types, each have a different and distinct need for working space.

Some have found their teams to be more functional in flexible spaces (or home!), whilst others have specific security or confidentially requirements, and opt for more secluded spaces that are not their traditional offices. Larger occupiers, employ a cross section of the market and require multiple options of non-traditional office spaces.

Transnet National Ports Authority launched its new Operating Model (OM) through a series of virtual engagements this week with employees, industry stakeholders and the media. The new OM seeks to reposition South Africa in the global market and ensure growth and sustainability.

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) launched its new Operating Model (OM) through a series of virtual engagements with employees, industry stakeholders and the media. The new OM seeks to reposition South Africa in the global market and ensure growth and sustainability. It also seeks to address customer needs and facilitate trade on the African continent.

The new OM is TNPA’s revised strategy to deliver on its mandate to provide efficient and affordable ports that grow the economy. It includes an organisational structure that empowers decision-making at operational level, and an organisational culture that emphasises the importance of TNPA’s customers and people. It also includes six focus areas that are receiving priority attention:

1. Improving Terminal Oversight, to enable a competitive environment for port users.
2. Addressing backlog and chronic historical underspending on capital Infrastructure and maintenance, to ensure appropriate maintenance and timely provision of critical port infrastructure. TNPA has already made significant progress in reforming approving structures, addressing the poorly resourced Infrastructure Delivery Unit, and implementing visible automated project reporting.
3. Addressing port Property vacancies, to extract maximum utilisation. TNPA is in the process of reviewing the lease governance process, property management system and property audit plan.
4. Empowering our People, to address the current employee morale and in so doing, improve productivity, customer centricity and pride amongst all employees. TNPA’s corporate office has officially relocated to the eMendi Admin Building at the Port of Ngqura.
5. Implementing a simplified and compliant Supply Chain Management framework, to boost efficiencies. TNPA’s Delegation of Authority framework was reviewed and approved.
6. Introducing effective and efficient automated Systems, to provide real-time and reliable data.

TNPA’s Managing Executives were appointed as part of the new OM structure. They oversee TNPA’s three strategic regions and have full operational accountability for the ports that they manage. They provided a regional context for the new OM.

Moshe Motlohi, Managing Executive for the Eastern Region, discussed the Port Master Plans for Durban and Richards Bay, which seeks to position Durban as a container hub port and Richards Bay as an enabler to this bold step. He also spoke to the focus on environmental sustainability as a result of the recent road traffic spike in the Port of Richards Bay, and the introduction of innovation platforms that will be in collaboration with regional stakeholders. Motlohi added how the region is adopting an integrated approach to engaging the region’s stakeholders, thereby calling on joint planning with local government.

Siyabulela Mhlaluka, Managing Executive for the Central Region, addressed the shift to cleaner operations at the Port of Port Elizabeth, and planned infrastructure upgrades and developments at the Port of East London. He spoke to the need to leverage TNPA’s complimentary port system to better enable the agricultural sector and facilitate trade across the regions. He also announced the Ports Authority’s intentions to consolidate the management team for the ports of Ngqura and Port Elizabeth. However, consultations are in the pipeline to ensure all critical stakeholders are aligned.

Advocate Phyllis Motšatši Difeto, Managing Executive for the Western Region, spoke about the need for integrated reporting systems for alignment purposes – between TNPA and Transnet’s Operating Divisions, as well as local communities and municipalities. She also addressed subsidiarisation, and the various legal processes that are entailed.

All three Managing Executives emphasised that their proximity to operations will enable stronger relationships with customers and other stakeholders, through direct and regular engagement.

With a changing global economy, increased competition on the African continent and crippling unemployment figures, there was an urgent need to rethink TNPA’s strategic direction. TNPA management conducted some introspection, which revealed an urgent need for a review of TNPA’s operations and identified various challenges. These included: rising customer dissatisfaction, declining port efficiency performance and volumes, inefficiencies and high costs of doing business, a failure to delivery capital projects on time, ageing fleet and infrastructure, and bureaucratic internal processes.

“There is a new blue on the horizon and Senza Kwenzeke (We make it happen),” said Ayanda Mantshongo, TNPA Executive Manager for Corporate Affairs and External Relations. “We are going to back to basics and moving closer to our customers and our people.” Through the new OM, the Re-imagined TNPA will be better positioned to deliver on its mandate to provide efficient and affordable ports that grow the economy. Customers will benefit from improved efficiencies and a lower cost of doing business. This will be achieved through simplified supply chain processes to deliver critical infrastructure and equipment that will capacitate service delivery. The Reimagined TNPA will also advance South Africa’s competitiveness in the global market and ensure growth and sustainability.

Please see attached a copy of the OM presentation and Frequently Asked Questions.

Transnet National Ports Authority (TNPA) has appointed new port managers at Saldanha, Cape Town, Mossel Bay and Richards Bay, as part of its new operating model to reposition South Africa in the global market and ensure growth and sustainability.

The new port managers are:
1. Mr Shadrack Tshikalange, Port Manager: Port of Saldanha, effective 01 December 2021. Mr Tshikalange will vacate his current role as Port Manager at the Port of Mossel Bay to take up the Port Manager role at the Port of Saldanha.

2. Dr Dineo Mazibuko, Port Manager: Port of Mossel Bay, effective 01 December 2021. Prior to this appointment, Dr Mazibuko served as Senior Manager: Corporate Services at the Port of Durban. She was also the New Business Development Manager at the port.

3. Mr Rajesh Dana, Port Manager: Port of Cape Town, effective 01 December 2021. Mr Dana will vacate his current role as Port Manager at the Port of Port Elizabeth to serve as Port Manager at the Port of Cape Town.

4. Mr Dennis Mqadi, Port Manager: Port of Richards Bay, effective 01 December 2021. Mr Mqadi will assume his new position after serving seven (7) years as Executive Manager for Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHEQ) and Regulatory Oversight at TNPA head office.

An additional leadership appointment has included that of Mr Bonginkosi Mthembu as General Manager in the Office of the Chief Executive, effective 01 December 2021. Mr Mthembu joins TNPA from the Coega Development Corporation (CDC).

The ports of Port Elizabeth and Ngqura are currently undergoing a process of consolidation into a single port complex referred to as Nelson Mandela Bay Ports. Ms Tandi Lebakeng will act as the Port Manager for Nelson Mandela Bay Ports until the process is finalised.
TNPA leadership is pleased with the appointments of these executives, who have experience and deep understanding of the maritime time industry and its intricacies. They have demonstrated strong leadership capabilities and innovative thinking, which will be required to help steer operations as TNPA repositions itself as a world-class port system.

Photo gallery:
1. Mr Shadrack Tshikalange, Port Manager: Port of Saldanha, effective 01 December 2021.

Mr Tshikalange has extensive experience in business strategy, operations and project management. He served as Port Manger at the Port of Mossel Bay for four (4) years, where he was responsible for ensuring the development of port strategies and processes; and developing port infrastructure to meet demand. Between 2014 and 2017, he held the position of Senior Operations Manager at the Port of Mossel Bay and was responsible for ensuring that terminal and port operations ran smoothly to maximise customer value. Before joining TNPA, he held various senior positions in the public sector. He holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Leadership Development from the University of Stellenbosch; a Bachelor of Juris Law Degree from the University of the North; a Certificate in Methods and Techniques of Development Planning and Management from German Foundation for International Development; a Certificate in Project Management and Certificate in Finance for Non-Finance Managers, both from Wits University.

2. Dr Dineo Mazibuko, Port Manager: Port of Mossel Bay, effective 01 December 2021.

Prior to this appointment, Dr Mazibuko served as Senior Manager: Corporate Services at the Port of Durban. She was responsible for the development and implementation of new business development projects, including concession projects, and monitoring of the port’s strategy aligned to TNPA and the Transnet strategy. She was also the New Business Development Manager at the port. She has a PhD in Leadership Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She also holds a Master of Commerce in Leadership and Management; a Bachelor of Commerce Honours in Economics; and a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Information Systems and Technology, all from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

3. Mr Rajesh Dana, Port Manager: Port of Cape Town, effective 01 December 2021.

Mr Dana has over 25 years of experience and has led many key strategic projects, including the development of the TNPA Tariff Financial model. He was also a co-project manager during the establishment of Port Operations Centres across all South African ports. Through his previous roles, he has had vast exposure to financial markets. He has strong, proven management experience in operations management, in-depth knowledge and understanding of governance and finance, and has strong business strategy development expertise. He is no stranger to the Port of Cape Town as he was previously the port’s Financial Services Manager as well as Corporate Services Manager. He holds a Master of Business Administration from Netherlands Business School; a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Port Elizabeth; and various Executive and Leadership Development Programmes.

4. Mr Dennis Mqadi, Port Manager: Port of Richards Bay, effective 01 December 2021.

During his tenure as Executive Manager for SHEQ and Regulatory Oversight at TNPA head office, Mr Mqadi was responsible for providing strategic direction and support structures to all eight (8) South African commercial ports. He is a seasoned executive with over 24 years of experience in various departments within TNPA operations. His TNPA journey started in 1997, when he served as Tugboat Master at the Port of East London. His hard work earned him more responsibilities, and he assumed more senior roles within the business. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the Milpark Business School; a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from Milpark Business School; a Port Management Diploma from North Kent College (United Kingdom); a Management Advancement Diploma from the Natal University; a Diploma in Data-metrics from the University of South Africa; a Certificate in Maritime Pilotage from Shipping and Transport College (Netherlands); and an Executive Development Programme from the University of Stellenbosch.

5. Mr Bonginkosi Mthembu, General Manager: Office of the Chief Executive, effective 01 December 2021.

Mr Mthembu joins TNPA from the CDC, where he served as Executive Manager for Corporate Service and was responsible for providing strategic leadership in human capital, and overseeing legal services, communications and stakeholder management amongst others. He has more than 20 years of leadership and business experience. Prior to his tenure at the CDC, he held various senior positions at the Parliament of South Africa. He holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Montana; a Bachelor of Arts Honours from the University of Zululand; a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Zululand; a Higher Certificate in Law from the University of South Africa; a Certificate in Governance, Risk and Ethics from the Institute of Directors South Africa; and a Certificate in Strategic Human Resources Management and Certificate in Labour Law, both from the University of Cape Town.