General updates and news from the Construction Industry in Southern Africa
This week’s mindfulness quote encouraging you to appreciate all your days is from Anjali Sharma.
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Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer
An opinion piece on Construction in South Africa during Covid
26 March 2020, the day that everything changed. Hard lock-down. The entire country sequestered to their homes and not permitted to leave, it was called Lock-down Level 5. The ramifications of this decision will still be felt by everyone in all industries and walks of life for a long long time. We were entering the unknown, fearful of everything and everyone and if you listened to the various news broadcasters masquerading as prophets of doom and gloom, the world as we knew it had come to end, normal did not exist any more and life would never ever be the same again. I eventually made the conscious decision to change the TV channel from any and all news broadcasts and limited myself to one broadcast of news per day, this was for my own sanity as the bombarding of constant fear-mongering was powerfully eroding away at me. But this unknown scary time was going to be for 21 days, I would survive. Oh, how little did I know…..
But not all was doom and gloom, I was going to work remotely. I had subscribers that were depending on me to obtain information that was not readily available, they needed this information to assist in their business, they needed to keep their business going which in turn keeps our business going, it seems like an endless circle, but actually makes sense. Gosh, information was very scarce initially, no one knew what was happening (and if they did they did not want to say anything because who knew what tomorrow would bring…) Town planning and environmental notices (where we get a lot of our very new projects) “dried up” and no new notices were being posted, new tenders being published dwindled down to almost nothing, in fact, I noted that most of the tenders that were still going out were for various Eskom entities that needed repairs, Eskom’s procurement department was still hard at work. It was very slow going in the beginning, could not contact professionals, some were on leave, some did not have mobile numbers.
21 days came and went and lock-down continued. Come 1 May 2020 and the country moved down to level 4, this meant a slightly different set of rules, we still could not leave our homes unless it was an essential service, but we could exercise within a 5km radius of our homes between 6am and 9am. It was still dark at 6am and dangerous to leave your home but that didn’t worry me, I am not an exercise person anyway! But I digress, back to work….looks like some construction could start again, essential infrastructure projects and repairs but still the tenders had not really picked up as most of the municipalities remain closed, and they are the ones that put out the tenders according to their budgets…. Great excitement….we are moving to level 3 on 1 June 2020..hooray…many more sectors can open up and construction will definitely pick up now, slowly and surely tenders starting picking up and there was much speculation about all the field hospitals that were being planned (these projects were shrouded in secrecy and very little information was being released) but we persevered and were diligent in our research and managed to add 13 of these Covid 19 hospital projects to our database. Half of the office was still working remotely and the other half were coming to the office under strict hygiene and sanitising conditions. The joy of sitting at my desk, with the familiar all around me was soothing to the soul, maybe, just maybe things are going to be okay, no wait, I know they going to be okay, it might be different, it might be hard but it will be okay. I felt the construction industry was starting to look up and gain a little traction, majority of the projects in various sectors that were under construction when the lock-down was announced were prepping their sites and educating their staff on how to take precautions so that construction could recommence in earnest. Our L2Q department started getting new bills from contractors that required coding and pricing, there was a definite movement in the industry.
Level 2 was the next stage and that momentous day was 18 August 2020, 145 days since the National Lock-down was implemented. Additional industries have been permitted to start again and the number of tenders has increased, in all the different trades that we capture. Even though life might not be the same and the old normal has evolved into a new normal with a face mask and copious amount of sanitiser, there are signs of the Private Construction Sector is moving ahead and the larger privately funded projects are being awarded and construction is starting, new developments are being marketed and researching for updated information is moving at an increased pace.
We entered Level 1 on 21 September 2020 and there has been a substantial increase in public tenders as well as the progress and movement in privately funded projects.
Even though the effects on the construction industry and economy in the whole will likely have long term consequences Leads 2 Business will strive to continue sourcing viable and beneficial information for our subscribers as we did through the entire lock-down.
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I started at Leads 2 Business in April 2008 in the tenders Department and transferred to the Projects Department during the same year. I was appointed Head of Department for Projects from February 2011 to March 2022. April 2022 I started a new adventure as Content Regulator.
North West which was created in 1994, and takes up 9% of the total land in South Africa. North West is divided into 4 district municipalities, which in turn are divided into 18 local municipalities. North West consists of 24 cities and towns. Agriculture and mining production plays an essential role in boosting the economy in South Africa, providing main products such as diamonds, gold, platinum, sunflower seeds, maize and beef.
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North West is known as the Platinum Province as most of the world’s platinum comes from its Merensky Reef, which is a layer of igneous rock. The mining in North West is the pillar of its economy and generates more than half of the province’s gross domestic product. The primary minerals are gold, uranium, platinum, and diamonds. Interesting enough in Licthenburg, a town in the North West, was the richest public diggings in the world from 1925 – 1935, where the biggest pure red flawless diamond was found in 1927.
The tallest building in the North West Province is the Rustenburg City Council building, which is 8 floors above ground and that is excluding the basement
The largest mall in the North West is situated in Klerksdorp. The Matlosana Mall is a first-super regional shopping centre at 65,000sqm.
North West offers breathtaking scenes of rolling fields and African bushveld and has a big selection of activities to do, especially if you have an adventurous spirit. With a selection of wildlife destinations, visiting World Heritage Sites and enjoying adventure activities, there is definitely something to do for everyone. The most famous place to be in North West is definitely Sun City, offering anything and everything from golfing to safari and wildlife, from Zip lining to Drift Trikes, from lazing in the sun to enjoying the Valley of the Waves to an extravagant nightlife filled with entertainment and that is not even the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more to do at Sun City. History was absolutely made when Sun City opened in 1979. It has become the best holiday resort in South Africa. North West also offers a paradise for any hiker or climber at the Magaliesburg mountain range, offering deep ravines and waterfalls.
North West has so much more to offer to anyone who visits this beautiful province.
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Sources:
Britannica
Wikipedia
Business Insider
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I started working at Leads 2 Business in October 2014 in the Leads 2 Quotes Department. I managed all the Daily Tender Bill Requests and followed up on BoQ's for our Daily Tender Subscribers. In 2017, I was promoted to L2Q Assistant and now work with Bill of Quantities for Contractors. 🙂
Let’s Talk Limpopo
Limpopo as we know it today used to actually be called Northern Transvaal before 1994.
The Province is very well known for its arts and crafts. Though very interesting today we will be looking at some of the construction projects taking place in this province.
The following will give you a bit more insight into the projects currently happening in Limpopo.
Mutshedzi RWS:
This project is currently in Phase 3 and is for Raw water supply in the Vembe District Municipality.
Status for this tender is currently is the Tender stage and is classified as an Open Tender.
For more detailed information on this tender please see PPA 25909 on the Leads 2 Business website
Mokopane Vanadium Project:
This project that is currently in the Procedural stage falls within the Mining industry.
Vanadium is in the process of completing the feasibility studies for this Limpopo based project by later this year.
Approval of this project allows for the extraction of a range of different valuable minerals.
For more detailed information on this project please see PPA 15637.
Alverton Mine;
Although the project is still in the Procedural stage, this most definitely one to keep an eye on if you’re looking at the Mining industry.
To follow the progress of this project please see PPA 22451.
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Genevieve Smith, I have been working at Leads 2 Business for just over a year now. I work in the Johannesburg office as an account coordinator.
“Mpumalanga” The city where the sunrises’ is also known to be the province with the Highest rising levels of air pollution.
What is Pollution? Pollution is “the presence in or introduction into the environment of a substance which has harmful or poisonous effects.”
Mpumalanga has the highest rate of pollution in the world and here is why:
Mpumalanga has Thirteen (13) coal-fired power stations and this has been identified as the biggest source of pollution in the province. The pollution levels are deadly and have claimed the lives of 305 and 650 premature deaths in 2016, this has evolved into a public health crisis. The power stations are Government-owned, Eskom owns Eleven of the Thirteen coal power stations in the area. Eskom is the biggest culprit in polluting South African Air.
How can Mpumalanga improve this:
Mpumalanga can improve its high rate of air pollution by switching to Green energy such as solar and wind power. Government is currently looking at reverting to renewable energy to decrease the pollution in the area.
Kindly click on the link should you be interested in listening to the litigation against the Government for Air pollution.
Sources:
PMG
Ground Up
Youtube
OMNY
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This week’s quote is from Byron Pulsifer a retired criminologist, former manager of an employee assistance program, project manager and strategic planner, motivational speaker and motivational seminar leader
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Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer
Mining in Africa has a long history. For over 2000 years iron ore and other metals have been mined in North Africa. Iron mining began in sub-Saharan Africa around 500 BC and had spread throughout the region by 200 AD.
The African continent is home to plentiful natural resources including diamonds, cobalt, oil, natural gas, copper, and gold among others.
Niger – rich in uranium, coal, cement, and gold (PPA 16847: The Madaouela Uranium Project, Niger)
Namibia – rich in uranium, diamonds, zinc, lead, sulphur, salt, tantalite, and copper (PPA 23396: Hagenhof Copper Cobalt Project, Namibia)
Democratic Republic of Congo – rich in copper, cobalt, diamond, oil, coltan, gold, and tin (PPA 19431: Kamoa-Kakula Project, DRC)
Zambia – rich in gold, copper, emerald, uranium and cobalt (PPA 23526: Pangeni Copper Project, Zambia)
South Africa – rich in diamonds and gold (PPA 4394: Venetia Diamond Mine, Limpopo)
Mozambique – rich in coal and aluminium (PPA 9162: Ncondezi Coal Project, Mozambique)
Guinea – rich in bauxite and gold (PPA 14746: Tri-K Gold Project, Guinea)
Tanzania – rich in tanzanite, uranium, gold, diamonds, and silver (PPA 13651: Panda Hill Niobium Project, Tanzania)
Ghana – rich in gold, bauxite, diamonds, manganese, crude oil, silver, and salt (PPA 18070: Namdini Gold Project, Ghana)
Botswana – rich in diamonds, copper, coal, soda ash and nickel (PPA 11481: Khoemacau Copper Project, Botswana)
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Around 55% of the world’s diamonds are led by Botswana and Congo
Africa produces about 483 tons of gold which equate to 22% of the world’s total production
60% of mining in Africa is Gold Mining.
Africa hosts 30% of the world’s mineral reserve.
South Deep gold mine is the largest gold mine in the world, by reserves. Located 45km south-west of Johannesburg in the Witwatersrand Basin, South Africa, South Deep is also the seventh deepest mine in the world, with a mine depth up to 2,998m below the surface.
The Mponeng Mine located south-west of Johannesburg in South Africa is currently the deepest pit in the world.
Botswana heads Africa’s list of diamond miners, housing seven well-established mines including Jwaneng, the world’s richest in terms of value, Orapa, the world’s largest by area, along with Karowe and Letlhakane.
Ghana has cemented its position as Africa’s largest gold producer after increasing its industrial gold output by 6% in 2019.
The Big Hole in Kimberley is considered one of the deepest cavities excavated by man. From mid-July 1871 to 1914, 50,000 miners dug the now famous Big Hole (then called the Kimberley Mine) in Kimberley with picks and shovels yielding 2 722 kilograms of diamonds. The hole has a surface of 17 hectares (42 acres) and is 463 meters wide. It was excavated to a depth of 240 meters, but then partially infilled with debris reducing its depth to about 215 m. Since then it has accumulated water to a depth of 40 meters, leaving only 175 meters visible.
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The word “Diamond” comes from the Greek word “Adamas” and means “unconquerable and indestructible”
To produce a single one-carat diamond, 250 tonnes of earth needs to be mined
The Cullinan Diamond was the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, weighing 3 106.75 carats (621.35 g), discovered at the Premier No.2 mine in Cullinan, South Africa, on 26 January 1905.
Leads 2 Business currently has 417 active mining projects on our database and growing.
Should you wish to subscribe to receive and follow mining project leads, please feel free to contact me MelanieM@L2B.co.za.
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One girl who would rather wear boots than high heels...
This week’s quote is from the English business magnate, investor, author and philanthropist; Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson
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Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward
– De Beers Clever Marketing Strategy
When I first read this story, I was intrigued by how clever the marketing strategy was and how it has lasted through the decades. As a result, I wanted to share this fascinating story with you.
In the 1930s few Americans proposed with a diamond ring. Then, through some clever marketing, the diamond engagement ring was born.
In 1938, amid the ravages of the Depression and the rumblings of war, Harry Oppenheimer, the De Beers founder’s son, recruited the New York-based ad agency, N.W. Ayer to brighten the image of diamonds in the United States, where the practice of giving diamond engagement rings was not a common one.
The price of diamonds was falling around the world and De Beers needed a strategy to create a multi-faceted demand for diamonds in a way that hadn’t been widely marketed before. A copywriter at Ayer, a woman, Frances Gerety, was set the task of persuading young men that diamonds (and only diamonds) were synonymous with romance and that the measure of a man’s love (and even his personal and professional success) was directly proportional to the size and quality of the diamond he purchased. Young women, in turn, had to be convinced that courtship concluded, invariably, in the presentation of a diamond ring. The brilliant concept was to create an emotional link to diamonds, the sentiment being love, like diamonds, is eternal.
So, in 1947 Frances came up with the now-iconic slogan “A Diamond is Forever”. These four iconic words have appeared in every De Beers engagement advert since 1948.
“A Diamond is Forever” gives the concept of eternity, perfectly captured the magical qualities that the advertising agency wanted to attribute to diamonds and diamonds only and the sentiment De Beers was going for – that a diamond, like your relationship, is eternal.
Between 1939 and 1979, De Beers’s wholesale diamond sales in the United States increased from $23 million to $2.1 billion. Over those four decades, the company’s ad budget soared from $200,000 to $10 million a year.
A 2014 report by Bain & Company noted that China, India, and the United States will drive the majority of growth in diamond-jewellery consumption over the next decade, in part because of growing interest in diamond engagement rings in India and China, and stable interest in the U.S.
These days you will be hard-pressed to find someone whose engagement ring doesn’t involve a diamond of some sorts, which just proves that advertising can have a substantial impact on culture and can change the way generations of men and women view the institution of marriage.
It’s fascinating how De Beers and N.W. Ayer created such a demand from a diamond by coming up with a clever story and value proposition that gained worldwide appeal for their product – and it’s still successful today.
Sources:
The Drum
The Atlantic
Hubspot
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Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer
It is hard to argue that housing is not a fundamental human need. Decent, affordable housing should be a basic right for everybody in the world. The reason is simple: without stable shelter, everything else falls apart. Across the world, people are being asked to stay at home and practice social distancing, to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This first strategy against the global epidemic brings the home or Housing into sharp focus.
Africa is all about low-cost affordable housing. Housing is an often contentious and aggressively debated topic as it carries the weight of a huge number of socio-economic factors. While there have been local and global investors who are investing in most affordable housing projects, we will be looking at how Government bodies facilitate in meeting the requirements through various schemes and policy initiatives that are favourable to the low-income groups.
Do we have affordable housing in Africa?
Nigeria: One of the notable interventions has been the creation of Family Homes Funds which is a partnership between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority. The Fund has the commitment to facilitate and supply 500 000 houses for low-income earners by 2023. The gap between supply and the huge housing demand in Nigeria is exacerbated by market variables such as accessibility of land, infrastructure and building materials. The UNOPS and its partners have signed an agreement with Nigeria to build houses in Ekiti State. The affordable homes will feature renewable energy and disease preventative technology including solar panel roofs, waste-to-energy technology and mosquito-repelling coatings. The initiative is expected to create thousands of local jobs and spur economic growth to a host of local industries.
Ghana: The development of 6,500 homes has begun in Amasaman, near Accra, in the first part of an ambitious project by the government of Ghana, UNOPS and Sustainable Housing Solutions (SHS) Holdings, to build 200,000 affordable and sustainable homes. The project will support the local economy and help reduce the country’s current housing deficit of two million units. Local employees will carry out all production and construction, creating several thousand new jobs. SHS has established a local factory to make building materials needed for the homes, which will be constructed with energy-efficient materials, including solar panels. Ghana has proposed an annual delivery of 85 000 homes over the next decade. The government is also working towards facilitating creative finance schemes that improve overall affordability and access to modern communities for all working-class citizens.
Kenya: Low-cost housing Kenya project will be funded by Kenyan investors who will be supported by the government. The government has also put in place mechanisms to collect cash from its population and invest it into the project. The Ngara housing project comes with a different set of housing units. One bedroom houses are covering 30 square meters all the way to three-bedroom houses covering 80 square meters, these costs are very low compared to what developers are charging at the moment. It is proof enough that the low-cost housing projects in Kenya are indeed low and targeted for the different types of Kenyan earners.
South Africa: The government, however, addresses the affordability challenge by focusing on the supply side, providing houses to low-income households as part of a comprehensive subsidized programmed in which government is the delivery agent. Minimum 45 m² floor area, two bedrooms, renewable source, wind, solar, rainwater collection with filters, prevent pollution for a family earning less than R3,500 per month can qualify for a subsidy of up to R160,000. Another option that the government plans to employ and considers to be a potential factor is microfinance, which rolls out loans at an affordable repay rate. The South African government has allocated R2 billion to upgrading slums to improve access to water and sanitation facilities. This could have a significant impact not only on the current pandemic, but on health, overall.
Ethiopia: Addis Ababa’s housing sector has been a long-standing challenge. For over a century the rapidly growing Ethiopian capital has been unable to provide adequate and sufficient housing, particularly for its low-income citizens. Ethiopia’s financial sector has been State-controlled, limiting foreign investment. Affordability is a major issue in the housing market in Ethiopia. The problem of the generally low income of urban residents is exacerbated by costly construction material and unreasonably high land prices. Most of the inner cities in most urban centres are houses owned by the government and rented to residents at a comparatively low fee. The government has committed to reducing the housing shortage and has recently showed interest in enhancing the role of the private sector in supplying houses.
Uganda: Uganda’s housing situation is characterized by inadequate homes in terms of quality and quantity in both rural and urban areas. The housing deficit currently stands at 2.4 million housing units. The government has sponsored housing development projects in urban areas such as Kampala, where there is a tremendous need to provide new housing units to keep up with the rising population. Credit is a real challenge for low-income families in Uganda’s cash-based society.
Rwanda: The Government of Rwanda, through the Ministry of Infrastructure, has developed the Urbanization and Rural Settlement Sector Strategic Plan, 2018-2024. The Strategic Plan focuses on integrated human settlement planning and coordinated development of the City of Kigali and secondary towns, creation of livable, well serviced, connected, compact, green and productive urban and rural settlements with cultural identity access to social and affordable housing, and informal settlements upgrading.
Sources:
Wikimedia
Economist
IFC
All Africa
SA Affordable Housing
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I started working for Leads to Business June 2017 as Support Assistance in L2Q.
