South African Business 2024
Welcome to the 12th edition of the South African Business journal. First published in 2011, the publication has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to South Africa, supported by an e-book edition at www.southafricanbusiness.co.za. A special feature in this journal focusses on the relationship between tertiary education, training and the jobs market. The youth unemployment rate is referenced in a discussion of the various measures that are being taken in the public and private sectors to help prepare young people for work, or to encourage them to start businesses. The role of the country’s Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) is highlighted. Regular pages cover all the main economic sectors of the South African economy. This includes tracking the rapidly evolving renewable energy landscape and reporting on the progress of exploration and discoveries of oil and gas off the coast and on land. Landmarks such as BMW’s 50-year celebration of making cars in South Africa are noted and a snapshot of each of the country’s provinces is provided. South African Business is complemented by nine regional publications covering the business and investment environment in each of South Africa’s provinces. The e-book editions can be viewed online at www.globalafricanetwork.com and www.southafricanbusiness.co.za. These unique titles are supported by monthly business e-newsletters. The Journal of African Business joined the Global African Network stable of publications as an annual in 2020 and is now published quarterly.
Welcome to the 12th edition of the South African Business journal. First published in 2011, the publication has established itself as the premier business and investment guide to South Africa, supported by an e-book edition at www.southafricanbusiness.co.za.
A special feature in this journal focusses on the relationship between tertiary education, training and the jobs market. The youth unemployment rate is referenced in a discussion of the various measures that are being taken in the public and private sectors to help prepare young people for work, or to encourage them to start businesses. The role of the country’s Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs) is highlighted.
Regular pages cover all the main economic sectors of the South African economy. This includes tracking the rapidly evolving renewable energy landscape and reporting on the progress of exploration and discoveries of oil and gas off the coast and on land. Landmarks such as BMW’s 50-year celebration of making cars in South Africa are noted and a snapshot of each of the country’s provinces is provided.
South African Business is complemented by nine regional publications covering the business and investment environment in each of South Africa’s provinces. The e-book editions can be viewed online at www.globalafricanetwork.com and www.southafricanbusiness.co.za. These unique titles are supported by monthly business e-newsletters. The Journal of African Business joined the Global African Network stable of publications as an annual in 2020 and is now published quarterly.
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FOCUS<br />
Polokwane International Airport is<br />
soaring to destined glory<br />
The company responsible for Polokwane International Airport has a new board in<br />
place and a turnaround strategy is already delivering dividends.<br />
Mokgadi Matli, CEO, GAAL<br />
Polokwane International Airport (PIA), based<br />
in Polokwane, the capital city of Limpopo<br />
Province, is a gateway to the SADC region,<br />
a pillar of safe air travel that promotes<br />
convenient connectivity of the province to other<br />
major transport hubs.<br />
PIA is managed by Gateway Airports Authority<br />
Limited (GAAL) under the chairmanship of Mr Victor<br />
Xaba. The shareholder, the MEC of the Limpopo<br />
Department of Transport and Community Safety, in<br />
2021 embarked on a robust recruitment process to<br />
appoint a competent board to address leadership<br />
instability and improve governance. The board<br />
members have brought to the entity a combination<br />
of skills in aviation, engineering, finance, legal and<br />
human resources which will be critical to ensuring<br />
the success of GAAL.<br />
Turnaround strategy<br />
The board developed a turnaround strategy that<br />
is intended to achieve financial and operational<br />
sustainability and expand the operating model. The<br />
goal is to implement the full mandate of GAAL, which<br />
includes managing all of the airports that fall under the<br />
control of the entity.<br />
The strategy is embraced by the Provincial<br />
Government and funding has been approved to<br />
implement improvements and revenue-generation<br />
projects. To ensure the successful implementation of<br />
the strategy, critical vacancies have been filled, including<br />
CEO and CFO.<br />
Optimising human capital has yielded results<br />
and improvements are evident as GAAL managed<br />
to address the <strong>South</strong> <strong>African</strong> Civil Aviation Authority<br />
(SACAA) safety findings and continues to retain a<br />
Category 7 operating licence. The audit outcome has<br />
improved and there is a steady increase in revenue due<br />
to increases in flight and passenger movement. Current<br />
rental tenants have been retained and the occupancy<br />
rate for the airport has increased. New rentals have led<br />
to a 25% revenue increase.<br />
Turnaround strategy at a glance:<br />
• Appoint competent board<br />
• Fill vacancies<br />
• Ensure financial sustainability<br />
• Expand operations<br />
• Implement the full mandate of GAAL<br />
• Pursue cargo facility potential<br />
• Generate more revenue<br />
• Attract investors<br />
SOUTH AFRICAN BUSINESS <strong>2024</strong><br />
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