Tag Archives: Namibia

Anglo American appoints Godfrey Gomwe as Executive Director of Anglo American South Africa

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Anglo American plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Godfrey Gomwe as Executive Director of Anglo American South Africa with immediate effect. He will act as Anglo American’s key representative in South Africa, working together with Anglo American’s Business Unit CEOs to deliver the Group’s strategy in the region.
Mr Gomwe recently served as Head of Group Business Development, Africa for Anglo American plc and was previously Finance Director and Chief Operating Officer of Anglo American South Africa. He has served on a number of Anglo American’s operating boards and executive committees during a 10 year career with the Group and has held a number of directorships in other listed and unlisted companies. Specifically, Godfrey was previously Chairman of Highveld Steel and Chairman of Mondi SA prior to its restructuring. Godfrey is currently Chairman of Anglo Zimele and the Transformation Committee of Anglo American South Africa.
Cynthia Carroll, Chief Executive of Anglo American plc, said: “Godfrey Gomwe’s depth of business and leadership experience in the mining and metals industry will be invaluable in his leadership of Anglo American South Africa. His 20 years of industry experience and his intimate knowledge of Anglo American’s operations equip him well for his new role.”
Godfrey Gomwe said: “I look forward to continuing to be involved in leading Anglo American in South Africa and further strengthening the strategic efforts to drive growth and value for the Group as it continues to invest in and grow its mining operations in South Africa. As the Group’s key representative in South Africa, I look forward to reinforcing our relationships with all our major stakeholders.”
Notes to Editors:
Anglo American plc is one of the world’s largest mining groups. With its subsidiaries, joint ventures and associates, it is a global leader in platinum group metals and diamonds, with significant interests in coal, base and ferrous metals, as well as an industrial minerals business. The Group is geographically diverse, with operations in Africa, Europe, South and North America, Australia and Asia.
(www.angloamerican.co.uk)
Biography: Godfrey Gomwe
* 20 years experience in executive level positions in the Metals and Mining industry, including 10 years with the Anglo American Group. He has held many directorships in both listed and unlisted companies.
* Currently Head of Group Business Development, Africa for Anglo American. Also Chairman of Anglo Zimele, the Transformation Committee of Anglo American South Africa, and Anglo American Zimbabwe.
* Has served on a number of Anglo American operating boards and executive committees during his time with the Group. He was previously Finance Director and Chief Operating Officer of Anglo American South Africa. He was also Chairman of Highveld Steel and Chairman of Mondi SA, prior to its restructuring.
* During his tenure in these COO and Chairman roles, he has developed and led the execution of major business strategic repositioning and transformation strategies.
* Before moving to South Africa in 2003, he was the Chief Executive of Anglo American Zimbabwe, during which time he was awarded the Anglo Global CEO’s safety award in 2003 (Bindura Nickel) and runner up 2005 (Zimbabwe Alloys).
* He has a developed network of contacts within the current South African administration. He also has a depth of experience in working with African government and political organisations (on projects in Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya and Ghana).
* Ten years of venture capital experience, gained as Chairman of Takura Ventures, one of the most successful funds in the then CDC group.
* Chairman of Tshikululu Social Investments, a leading company that manages the social investments for several companies, including the Chairman’s Funds, First Rand Foundation, Discovery Foundation, De Beers and others.
* Chartered accountant by profession and holds a Masters degree in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa.
Anglo Zimele, makes a difference through enterprise development and manages three funds:
Supply Chain Fund, Anglo Khula Mining Fund and Small Business Start-Up Fund. Recognising that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in driving economic transformation, in 1989 Anglo American established Anglo Zimele to empower black entrepreneurs through the creation and transformation of SMEs.

Source: WEBWIRE

South Africa to chair new African tax forum

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The Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (SARS), Mr Oupa Magashula, was elected unanimously today as the chairperson of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) at its inaugural conference in Kampala, Uganda.

The conference also unanimously voted for South Africa to host the secretariat of the new African tax body. ATAFs goal is to become the central platform for African tax administrators to articulate African tax priorities, develop and share best practices in the region and further abroad, and build capacity in African tax policy and administration.

Mr Magashula will head up a 10 member general council comprising of the heads of tax administrations of the elected countries. The council was elected by the 28 members of ATAF. Each of the five geographical regions of Africa (north, south, east, west and central) elected a regional representative. The remaining four positions on the general council were filled by a majority vote by ATAF members.

The regional members of the general council are:

* South: Botswana

* East: Rwanda

* West: Nigeria

* Central: Gabon

The northern region, comprising Morocco, Chad, Sudan, Egypt and Mauritania requested to postpone the election of a representative from that region.

The four other members who were voted onto the council are: Senegal, Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe.

I am both humbled by your vote of confidence and excited about the challenges and opportunities before us. I would also like to congratulate the members of the first ATAF Council on their appointment, Mr Magashula said.

He said it was appropriate to remind delegates again of ATAFs objectives of improving the performance of tax administration in Africa so that they can more effectively mobilise domestic resources.

This forum will allow us to pursue stronger cooperation and build a united approach in the field of tax policy and revenue realisation among African countries, he said.

The countries of Africa should join hands and overcome the challenges of language, diversity and culture to build effective and efficient tax administrations that can contribute to the development of the continent. This would help contribute to economic growth and increase the accountability of the state to its citizens, he added.

28 African countries have already signed up for membership. Mr Magashula said that though this is an impressive number for a new organisation ATAF wanted more African countries to join.

I urge each and every one of you here today, to speak to your African partners that have yet to commit to ATAF, in order for this organisation to be truly representative and become the central platform for African administrators to discuss and develop tax priorities and policy on the African continent, he said.

The 28 members of ATAF are: Botswana, Benin, Cameroon, Coite dIvoire, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ghana, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Niger, Lesotho, Liberia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, The Gambia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Background Information about ATAF

The idea of establishing ATAF is the result of deliberations at a conference attended by African tax commissioners from 30 countries and representatives of international organisations and donors who met in Pretoria, South Africa in August 2008 to discuss taxation, state building and capacity development. During deliberations at the Pretoria conference it became clear that a new way of thinking about tax collection in Africa was required.

Delegates increasingly became aware of the need to think beyond tax collection as a purely technical or administrative exercise, and rather to understand that the broader role of domestic resource mobilisation is support of social and economic development. In addition delegates realised that the efficient and effective administration of tax collection had wide-ranging political significance in entrenching accountability, promoting democratic governance and state building as it focuses on the relationship between the taxpayer and the government.

The conference mandated a steering group of seven countries (Botswana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa and Uganda) to work towards the establishment of the forum. In the build-up to the launch, several ATAF technical events have been held and projects begun in collaboration with ATAFs development partners, including the African Development Bank (ADB), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the International Tax Dialogue (ITD).

Membership of ATAF is open to tax administrations of all African states who commit to ATAFs objectives and who pay an annual membership fee.

Information about Mr Magashula

Mr Magashula joined SARS in January 2006 as the general manager: corporate services. He was appointed deputy commissioner in April 2009, became commissioner for SARS in September 2009.

Issued by: South African Revenue Service

19 November 2009

Source: South African Revenue Service (http://www.sars.gov.za/)
South Africa

South Africa capacitates southern African member states to develop tools to collect, collate and measure tourism data and its impact in growing their economies

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Most countries in southern Africa still use tourism data collecting tools or processes that are not yet compliant with United Nations World Tourism Organisations (UNWTO) standards or definitions and as a result tourism statistics that are produced or disseminated by these countries are not comparable with other countries on the continent or globally.

UNWTO identified this lack of uniformity in tourism statistics produced by members states and since this challenge is compounded by the lack of financial and personnel resources as well as the poor emphasis on the importance of the tourism data, it embarked on an initiative to build capacity in tourism statistics for English speaking Africa member countries and to elevate the importance of tourism statistics in their countries. South Africa was identified as a leader in this area of tourism statistics and this resulted in it being nominated to act as the regional hub for the capacity building programme for the Africa Region.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between the secretary-general of the UNWTO and the Minister of Tourism whom tasked South Africa with hosting four capacity building workshops and one regional seminar from 2007/09 for member states. To date two workshops have been hosted and a third one is scheduled for 23 to 26 November 2009 at the Emperors Palace, in Kempton Park, Gauteng.

The objective of the workshop, which will be opened by the Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk and the Secretary General of the UNWTO Mr Taleb Rifai, is to ensure that all member states adopt and use UN statistical standards and definitions as well as documenting available tourism statistics and administrative records to measure tourism activity and its contribution to the economy of the country. The member states participating in the programme are Botswana, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

South Africas leadership in tourism statistics is evident in the recently launched Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), in May this year and this important milestone will allow the calculation of tourisms contribution to the economy of the country, because the TSA is an accounting framework adopted by the United Nations (UN) to measure goods and services associated with tourism according to international standards, concepts, classifications and definitions.

The TSA provide stakeholders (governments, entrepreneurs and citizens) with reliable data to assist them in the design of public policies and business strategies for tourism and for the evaluation of their efficiency. This capacity building initiative is hoped to capacitate all member states to be able to also produce TSA for their own countries.

A media briefing has been scheduled for 23 November from 11 to 12 am at the Emperors Palace in Kempton Park. It will be addressed by Minister van Schalkwyk and Mr Taleb Rifai, secretary-general of the UNWTO.

Media wishing to attend can confirm attendance with:

Lizzy Suping

Tel: 012 310 3310

Cell: 083 758 0553

E-mail: [email protected]

Issued by: Department of Tourism

19 November 2009
South Africa

Cadbury Delivers 5,000 Bicycles to Ghana, Africa

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In addition to providing kids with a reliable form of transportation to get to school, the bikes will also provide each community with access to water sources and medical care. Many of the 216 communities are part of the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership, a ground-breaking program established in 2008 to help the social, economic and environmental sustainability of approximately 1 million cocoa farms.

Cadbury has been rooted in Ghana for more than a century and through this program, we are directly impacting the lives of children and the farming communities that help provide the cocoa beans that go directly into our Cadbury chocolate, says Gary Scullion, General Manager, Cadbury Canada. Each bike also represents the good will and support of thousands of Canadians who were instrumental in helping us achieve our goal, and who were inspired to help make a difference a half world away.

Delivering Hope and a Future

Cadbury worked closely with World Vision Ghana, Care, the Voluntary Services Organization and the Bicycling Empowerment Network Namibia to ensure the effective distribution of the bicycles. With the need for bikes great in all regions, the team identified the children most at risk were those that walked a minimum of 3 km to school each day. The bikes are also specially designed for the African terrain. They are equipped with a single gear and mud guards, have a basket for carrying books, and have a sturdy carrier to also help carry little brothers and sisters to school.

According to the United Nations, more than 40 million African children are growing up without schooling***. In Africa, a bicycle is hope, freedom and survival, says Michael Linke, on-the-ground activist in Africa and founder of Bicycling Empowerment Network (BEN) Namibia. BEN Namibia distributes bicycles to community-based organizations, volunteers and directly to those in need. A single bike can carry up to five times the weight, go four times as fast and travel four times as far as a person walking and it can change a person’s life and a community’s future. Access to a bicycle means greater independence and increased social, economic and educational opportunities.

The 5,000 bikes will be delivered to the specified regions over the next four weeks with the help of the Bicycling Empowerment Network Namibia. With each delivery Cadbury is also investing in bike-building and training sessions for key individuals in each community. By providing the skills and the training needed to build a bike, these individuals can in turn teach the children how to assemble and maintain a bike, therefore helping extend the life cycle of each bicycle and ensuring future access to school and other needs in the community, added Scullion.

Canadians Pedal for Change

Launched earlier this year, The Bicycle Factory converted Cadbury product purchases into bicycle parts with the aim of building 5,000 bicycles for Africa. The promotion came to life with an online, virtual factory at www.thebicyclefactory.ca where every Cadbury UPC code entered equalled a bicycle part and for every 100 UPC codes entered, a bike would be built.

The Bicycle Factory* promotion also gave one lucky Canadian the opportunity to become a Cadbury ambassador. The lucky winner from Edmonton, Albert is currently in Ghana with the Cadbury team to see the delivery of the first bikes.

Cadbury brings joy to the lives of Canadians every day with our small indulgences, says Scullion. Now, with the delivery of a bike to a child, we’re bringing joy and smiles to thousands of children and we’re helping create a life time of change by opening the doors to education, and that makes every Cadbury colleague smile proudly with joy.

About The Cadbury Cocoa Partnership

In January 2008, the Cadbury Cocoa Partnership was established together with the United Nations Development Programme, local governments, farmers and communities, and it is the largest sustainable cocoa farming program in existence. This ground-breaking initiative is designed to secure the economic, social and environmental sustainability of one million cocoa farmers and their communities in Ghana, India, Indonesia and the Caribbean. Cadbury is already building wells and libraries, fostering micro-finance loans, and developing long-term programs to encourage biodiversity and sustainable cocoa growing. Cadbury is investing more than $80 million CDN over the next ten years through the partnership and estimates that it will make a difference in the lives of half-a-million cocoa farmers in Ghana by 2018. For more information, visit www.dearcadbury.com.

About Cadbury North America

Headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey with the Canadian head office in Toronto, Cadbury North America is the Canadian and U.S. combined business of Cadbury plc – a leading global confectionery business with number one or number two positions in over 20 of the worlds 50 largest confectionery markets. In Canada, Cadbury is the countrys second largest confectionery company and the brand portfolio includes some of Canadas best-loved chocolate, candy, cough and gum brands such as Dairy Milk*, Caramilk*, Mr. Big*, Dentyne*, Trident*, Stride*, Bubblicious*, Halls*, and Maynards*. In Canada, some Cadbury firsts include the first 100 calorie chocolate bar (Cadbury Thins*), the first sugar-free breath freshening gum (Dentyne*) and the first liquid centre pellet gum with dual flavour combinations (Trident Splash*). Our people create brands people love with passion, dedication and drive. For more information visit www.canada.cadbury.com.