Latest news with #DeWaal
Daily Maverick
29-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Citrus farmers: We are going nowhere
Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen set the tone with a keynote address outlining the metro's precarious financial position while also noting the success the chamber had achieved as a result of lobbying. 'South African farmers are going nowhere. We believe in the country and its people.' This statement from Hannes de Waal, the CEO of the Sundays River Citrus Company regarding farmers supposedly moving to the US as refugees, drew loud applause at the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber AGM on Wednesday evening. Despite global volatility, infrastructure failures and a challenging local investment climate, delegates painted a picture of determined — if guarded — resilience. De Waal's statement about farmers came during a panel discussion featuring agri-economist Wandile Sihlobo of Agbiz and Rand Merchant Bank economist John Cairns, moderated by The Herald editor Rochelle de Kock. When De Kock asked whether South Africa should be concerned about farmers leaving, De Waal — speaking from the audience — asked for the mic. He acknowledged that some South Africans were working in agriculture overseas, including in the United States, and that a few had even launched businesses there. But he firmly rejected the idea that this meant local agriculture was in retreat. He said his concerns focused on the rising barriers for young farmers trying to enter the sector. 'The cost of land and water has gone through the roof in the last few decades. That concerns us,' he said. 'So maybe our young farmers will find opportunities like some have found up in Africa. But it's going to take something special to move a big part of South African agriculture out of South Africa. It's not going to happen.' Sihlobo, who recently released a book on agricultural development, agreed with De Waal. Since 1994, he noted, South Africa's agricultural sector had more than doubled in size. 'Exports were sitting at $2-billion in 2000,' he said. 'Last year, they hit $13.7-billion,' he said, adding that employment levels had also risen. 'It's the complete opposite of what you'll see on social media,' he said. Sihlobo acknowledged the challenges South Africa has faced since 1994, but said key indicators like income had improved significantly, noting that South Africans were now 'one-and-a-half' times better off in terms of income. Bringing levity to the discussion, Cairns addressed the so-called Afrikaner 'refugee' narrative with a tongue-in-cheek comment about US President Donald Trump. 'Our president took the famous golfers to the US, but what many people don't realise is that President Trump is a big rugby fan,' he quipped. 'The 2031 Rugby World Cup will be held in the US — that's why President Trump has asked the Afrikaners to move there.' The room erupted in laughter. Earlier in the evening, Chamber CEO Denise van Huyssteen set the tone with a keynote address outlining the metro's precarious financial position while also noting the success the chamber had achieved as a result of lobbying. Van Huyssteen reminded attendees that 73% of the metro's electricity revenue came from businesses — a significant dependency given ongoing supply constraints and the municipality's projected R1.4-billion shortfall. Another key concern she said remained the lack of stable leadership within the municipality. 'There have been 19 city managers mostly in an acting capacity since 2016, of which 15 have been since 2020. She added that the Chamber would continue lobbying across all levels of government for this critical post to be filled. She said that the Chamber's lobbying had already paid off in some key areas, including a recent win on fuel pricing disparities. In the last quarter of 2024 Nelson Mandela Bay was rezoned from coastal to inland, resulting in higher fuel prices. This had since been reversed. 'This saved the local economy an irrecoverable loss of about R50-million a month over that period. This victory really highlights how easy rezoning can happen,' she said. Van Huyssteen also pointed to encouraging developments ahead, including a series of major events set to take place in the Bay in the coming months. Among them is the Naacam Show, a flagship event for the automotive sector, and the SA Automotive Week. DM
IOL News
13-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
New affordable housing initiative aims to empower South Africans with homeownership
Residents of Kayamandi in Stellenbosch were promised new houses, but moved to temporary vibacrete houses that they still occupy since 2005. Image: File photo The new project in the heart of Stellenbosch is an attempt to rewrite the narrative on affordable housing-and potentially offer a replicable model for other communities across South Africa. The Cloetesville Affordable Housing Initiative, spearheaded by MDW Cape Town Inc. in partnership with the Stellenbosch Municipality, is said not to merely be a housing project but a comprehensive homeownership support system that addresses the 'GAP market' or the 'missing middle'- the millions of South Africans who earn too much to qualify for free government housing, but too little to access bank-financed home loans. "The affordability gap is real," said Meyer de Waal of MDW Inc., who is also a Cape Town-based conveyancing attorney, the architect of several groundbreaking housing support platforms, and a housing reform advocate. 'People are often excluded from homeownership not because they're reckless with money, but because the system is not designed to support them where they are. We want to change that,' De Waal said. South Africa has more than 2.3 million people who remain on the Government's official housing waiting list. The firm, which provides unique, innovative and specialised property service said SA's housing challenges are rooted in decades of inequality and exacerbated by modern-day economic constraints. It said with rising living costs, stagnant wages, persistent unemployment, and unscrupulous unsecured credit providers taking advantage of vulnerable financial situations, many working-class families find themselves trapped in debt, resulting in rental cycles they cannot escape, and unable to secure homeownership or build wealth through property. It noted that it is where initiatives like the Cloetesville project step in. They said what makes the initiative different is its integrated, people-first approach. At its core, the initiative is described as a homeownership readiness programme. Helen Rourke, programme director of the Development Action Group (DAG) said, "Stellenbosch is one of the most unequal municipalities in the Western Cape Town with an oversupply of luxury high-end real estate and an undersupply of entry-level affordable housing." Rourke said it also has a very high percentage of rental households due to the student market. 'Against this stark backdrop of inequality, Stellenbosch municipal officials have been leading in the province, along with partners, on how to address the issue of affordable housing." "This partnership with the community of Cloetsville and MDW Inc. bodes well for addressing the growing demand in the affordable housing segment of the market,' she said. The non-profit organisation that works to create equal, inclusive, and sustainable neighbourhoods and cities through development processes added that if this programme can be linked to emergent opportunities being created through the Municipalities Inclusionary Zoning programme, the country could potentially see not only the increased supply, but also well located affordable housing closer to economic opportunities and not located on the urban periphery. Through a combination of in-person consultations, community help desks, and online webinars, residents receive practical support that includes: income and affordability evaluations; debt rehabilitation and credit score improvement plans; and pre-qualification tools for home loans. More importantly, those who qualify for the First Home Finance subsidy (formerly FLISP) can receive support from the MDW Inc. team to secure government assistance in reducing the purchase price of their first home, or expand their home buying purchasing power. Participants also gain access to MDW Inc.'s broader suite of homeownership tools developed over the past decade including Rent2Buy, My Bond Fitness and First Home Finance. 'We're walking with people step by step by demystifying finance, removing shame around debt, and helping them see that owning a home is possible,' said De Waal. 'The tools are out there. Our job is to help people access them.' Online webinars and information sessions at community venues like Eike Hall and the Cloetesville Banquet Hall have seen growing attendance since the project launched at the end of 2024. De Waal explained: 'Residents are eager to learn how to break free from generational rental dependency, and the feedback we've received suggests that the demand for this kind of structured support is immense.' With the project's data-driven and community-led model gaining momentum, MDW Inc. hopes to replicate the framework for other municipalities grappling with housing backlogs and affordability challenges. The data gathered through the Cloetesville initiative is being collated and submitted to the Stellenbosch Municipality for further analysis. This information will enable the municipality to design a local housing strategy and housing typology that directly reflects the affordability levels and needs of the community. The Cloetesville pilot is part of a broader track record as MDW Inc. has supported similar initiatives in Darling, Mossel Bay, Bredasdorp, Plettenberg Bay, Hout Bay, Riversdal and Giyani, applying its homeownership readiness model to diverse contexts across SA. While the initiative is focused on an underserved, lower-income demographic, De Waal pointed out that their services benefit a much broader market. Middle-income professionals, freelancers, and even dual-income households often face challenges qualifying for home loans, managing deposits, or navigating the subsidy landscape. He said that they have helped nurses, teachers, police officers - people who work hard every day, pay their rent, but can't seem to break into the property market. 'This is about reshaping the entire homeownership journey for anyone who needs help to get there.' As SA urbanises rapidly, with over 70% of the population projected to live in cities by 2030, the strain on housing stock, infrastructure, and affordability is mounting. Traditional models of housing delivery are no longer adequate. What the initiative is said to shows a scalable, holistic alternative: one that prioritises financial education, affordability assessments, and government subsidy access as core pillars of urban housing development. De Waal said projects like the initiative offer some hope, not only because they address the affordability issue, but because they empower citizens with agency. 'Homeownership isn't just about property. It's about dignity. And it's about finally opening the door to the kind of stability every South African deserves.' Independent Media Property
Telegraph
04-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
How to turn your business into a high-performance organisation
Performance is measurable, whether the dial turns towards success or hovers over a need to do more. But which measures of high performance are the reliable ones? Defining 'high performance' in business can be difficult because no two high-performance organisations (HPOs) look the same: sector, size, services and products all impact what defines 'good' performance. Another serious impact on an organisation's high performance extends from the health or otherwise of the wider economic climate, and that climate's outlook is not at its brightest across the UK at present. Add to that a lack of necessary awareness about HPOs and how to achieve that status in companies and you have a challenge to meet and a problem to solve. But André de Waal, academic director of the HPO Center, says there is a simple, defined framework for spotting an HPO: '[It's] an organisation that achieve[s] both financial and non-financial results that are increasingly better than those of its peer group over a period of five years or more.' However, how this translates in practice, and what the secrets of high performance are, remain more challenging to pin down. High performance = sustainable and seamless high productivity Improving performance is a critical challenge for UK PLC. Though the UK's productivity level is the fourth highest in the G7 countries, it is 18 per cent lower than the United States, and we've been drifting further from international benchmarks since the pandemic. So how do you set about creating and sustaining a high-performing organisation? De Waal, now a globally leading HPO practitioner, has developed a detailed list of five HPO factors based on years of research: management quality; openness and action orientation; long-term orientation; continuous improvement and renewal; and employee quality. It therefore makes sense that building an HPO must start from the very foundations of the organisation – which can sometimes mean unlearning old ways. 'What got you here won't get you there,' says award-winning social entrepreneur Anisa Morridadi. 'If you look at leaders, entrepreneurs, athletes, performers – anyone at the top of their game – they leave strategies behind and adopt new ones to get to the next level.' Taking De Waal's framework in a broader sense, Morridadi believes an organisation's ability to access high performance can be broken down into two factors: systems and, perhaps most importantly, mindset. Building the HPO mindset 'It's not about your assets. It's not about your machinery. It's about how your people behave, and if they behave in a high-performance way, you'll automatically get the financial results,' says De Waal. Morridadi cites learning from mistakes as a key factor: 'A critical element of high performance is visionary leadership. You have to create an environment where people can recognise the boundaries, push past them and learn from the results – how do we go again?' De Waal echoes this, pointing to continuous learning as one of the most important behaviours that drives performance. What's the only type of mistake you're never allowed to make in an HPO? 'The same mistake,' he says. Learning is one area where the UK has fallen behind. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the number of publicly funded qualifications started by adults has declined by 70 per cent since the early 2000s. Employer-funded training has also declined, with a 27 per cent fall in spending per trainee since 2011. The nature of workplace training has changed radically in recent years, from afternoon sessions in stuffy rooms filled with flipcharts to a more self-directed approach powered by digital learning systems like the one offered by MHR, a leading HR, payroll and finance software provider. An agile and effective training model allows you to learn in the flow of work. It is estimated that up to 70 per cent of learning comes from doing, and learning as you work is more effective because it means fewer distractions and greater focus on learning, as well as completing the task at hand. Social learning, within and between teams, and the more easily digestible approach of bite-size learning are both well-placed to connect effective training with the process of doing. Learning on the job is the flexible friend of organisations bent on achieving high performance. Offering staff these kinds of routes to advance their career, and encouraging them to pursue self-development through feedback, is key to building a business environment that can sustain and fuel a thriving HPO. Sustaining performance A key component of an HPO is sustained performance. Morridadi believes that it starts with strong systems: 'You don't rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.' According to De Waal, it means constantly embracing growth. 'Never stand still. As every sports person will tell you, it's not that difficult to get to the top.' The real challenge, he says, is staying at the top. This is an area where technology can have a significant impact. While good technology alone won't deliver an HPO, De Waal acknowledges it's hard to deliver and sustain high performance without it: 'Without technology, I don't think you can become an HPO, but it's not enough [on its own]. It's got to combine with the people.' MHR's HR payroll and finance capabilities are a prime example of technology systems that can accelerate the raw performance potential of a team, unlocking frictionless focus and company-wide high performance. Good systems embed good practice; great systems do that while also creating the platform for adaptability and change. Collaboration for innovation Learning in a high-performance organisation goes beyond skills; engaging with stakeholders and customers to understand their changing needs is critical. 'What makes a lot of organisations stand out is not that they just chase what matters but that they're constantly asking what matters and why, and they involve their teams, their stakeholders and their customers in that process,' says Morridadi. This inclusive approach has repeatedly been shown to drive better performance. But you can't just ask people to participate. 'You have to be quite explicit in creating an inclusive approach to risk-taking; that it's not just reserved for people with certain securities in their job title. You have to make it psychologically safe for everyone,' explains Morridadi. Of course, with a range of factors both inside and outside an HPO impacting on the level of its success, perhaps we should accept that the very definitions of high performance are themselves subject to change. 'I'm 64, I'm probably now recognised as the world expert on high-performance organisations,' says De Waal. 'You know what? I have more questions now than I had nine or 10 years ago.' If you want to stay on top – no matter how long you've been doing it – the journey to change, grow and adapt never stops.
