Thoughts on Different Societal Issues

A lot of people were waiting in eager anticipation to see the list of people/companies which have externalised funds from Zimbabwe. The list which has been published has been received with mainly disdain in the social media comments which I have been exposed to. Something which is likely to be missed by some people is the role of companies as separate legal entities in carrying out transactions. Although people expected to see names of certain individuals in the political and business spheres- there's need to look beyond the company names and ascertain who are the people behind these companies. Companies have been at the forefront of shaping the way countries operate. It goes without saying the big funders of presidential campaigns in the USA are corporates who are there to 'lobby' for what they want to get done to legislation. (Lobbying for me is akin to glorified corruption- but that's a story for another day :) ) Brief history of the role of corporates in Afri...

Scouring different discussions on social media, one tends to come across the metaphor of the change of guard as a driver changing but the bus still being the same. If we look at the bus and driver metaphor, these are the role players;           Bus- Zimbabwe the State          Former bus driver- H.E. RG Mugabe          Current bus driver- H.E. ED Mnangagwa (former conductor a.k.a VP)          Engine- Zimbabwean economy          Wheels- Industry and Commerce          Road- relationships domestic and foreign          Transmission- government and line ministries           Passengers- citizens of Zimbabwe The ushering in of the current government following the November military intervention can be termed different things depending on the commentator. Som...

Business Focus on SMMEs-  Access to Finance the major problem?  http://www.pbf.org.za/docs/businessupdate/2013/bupdate4t.pdf   (page 28) Business opportunities are everywhere even in the most unlikely places http://voices.news24.com/tatenda-zingoni/2015/07/business-opportunities-are-everywhere-even-in-the-most-unlikely-places/ The changing role of the Business Owner (pg 52-53) http://www.pbf.org.za/docs/businessupdate/2015/issue9/index.html#52/z Industrial Development Zones and Special Economic Zones More development zones needed http://www.iol.co.za/business/news/more-development-zones-needed-1.1053325#.UteZ3PQW1c8 South Africa: "IDZs key to jobs"   http://www.trademarksa.org/news/south-africa-idzs-key-jobs Commentary on the South African Special Economic Zones Bill http://frosttest.com/c/10057/blog/blog-display.do?id=1728298 Finance Guide for graduates http://www.fin24.com/Savings/Smart-Investing/Guide-for-gradu...

Having worked for different companies, in different industries, on different projects, for different clients, with different people...there are some skills I've found to be VERY IMPORTANT (applicable in the business ventures I've been/am involved in). 1) Project Management (Time, Quality and Cost) 2) Research & Analysis  3) Writing  4) Presentation  5) Selling  The chief skill amongst these for me is SELLING and it is most often the most overlooked...especially by people who are not in business. Selling is not just about trying to convince someone (customer) to part with their money for something (product and/or service).  Whenever you are trying to convince someone to adopt a particular viewpoint/ perspective- that is selling. When you begin to see selling through this lense...you've bought into what I'm selling you :) Often you hear people saying, "I'm not buying into what you are saying," or others saying "I need everyone's...

For the past year or so I had been mulling over this motto on a touch-go basis. The recent developments within our nation precipitated by   ‪#‎ ThisFlag‬   led me to unpack further what I had been thinking over  ‪#‎ ReclaimingOurNationhood‬   This is a quest along the same lines as Ps Evan which saw the reclaiming of our nation's flag in order to make people aware that the Republic of Zimbabwe (the State) belongs to us its people. Chapter 1: Part 4 of our Constitution's Founding Provisions states "Zimbabwe has a National Flag, a National Anthem, a Coat of Arms and a Public seal,..." The current coat of arms of Zimbabwe was adopted on 21 September 1981, 1 year and 5 months after the national flag was adopted. Emblazoned on the Coat of Arms is the Zimbabwean national motto; "Unity, Freedom, Work."  ‪#‎ OurCoatofArms‬ Unity In such a season the danger is for disunity to creep in because of thinking others are doing more than others. Not everyone...

A good friend of mine from varsity days was getting married at a beautiful venue about 20 minutes from Stanford in the Overberg. Stanford is a quaint town 23 km out of Hermanus. Since it was going to be an afternoon wedding on the Saturday, we decided to rather drive out of town on the Friday so that we would not be rushed on the Saturday. Come the time to look for accommodation and then something happened which has been gnawing at me for the past days. Although I have been a recipient of treatment which was downright discriminatory, I have always (and still) prefer to deal with each person on an individual basis rather than to work with generalisations or stereotypes. Having decided on the budget and the potential places which I wanted my wife and I to spend the weekend. One Guest House in Hermanus whose name has to do with a ‘place where a certain bird type stays’ did something which appalled me. After I had entered my details online to book a room, with availability having...

Yesterday (15 October) we had the privilege of hosting Alan Knott Craig Jnr at the company where I work. He got to share some good insights regarding business and entrepreneurship. Being an upcoming entrepreneur I was very attentive and took some notes as he went through his presentation. Before going into the details, a brief introduction of Alan follows (for those who might not know him). Alan (38) was born on the 14 th of August 1977. He is married and has 3 children. Both he and his wife are qualified Chartered Accountants, they got married when he was 25. Alan is the Founder of World of Avatar which started in 2010 and bought Mxit in October 2011. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of World of Avatar and Mxit Lifestyle. Prior to this he served as Managing Director of iBurst. He was formerly the Managing Director of Cellfind. He used to run iBurst and left in 2009.  Other companies he has been involved in developing include Neotel, Herotel and a recently started ...