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TimesLIVE
20-05-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Government 'will remain committed to R100bn transformation fund'
Small business development minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has encouraged women to participate in the public comment process for the government's R100bn transformation fund aimed at helping small businesses access funds and markets. Speaking on Tuesday at the Women's Dialogue and Stakeholder Luncheon in Paris, Ndabeni-Abrahams called on women to share their opinions of the fund despite criticism in some quarters that the concept was flawed. 'There are people hell-bent on undermining this transformational agenda that we want to drive. There are people already who are committed that they will take that process to court,' said Ndabeni-Abrahams. She said the government would stand by the fund despite opposition from some quarters, including major business organisations. 'Yes, we are a government that promotes nonracism, but we are a country with a particular history that is not going to be washed away. We are standing by our constitution in terms of addressing past imbalances,' said Ndabeni-Abrahams. The Transformation Fund was proposed by the department of trade, industry & competition. It aims to raise R20bn over the next five years and disburse R100bn, using a mix of contributions from enterprise and supplier development (ESD) obligations under B-BBEE codes of good practice and voluntary donations by big corporations. After anger that the fund would impose new obligations for corporations, trade industry & competition minister Parks Tau allayed fears, saying it would not replace existing ESD programmes and contributions would be voluntary. Ndabeni-Abrahams said the government was pushing its plan to allocate 40% of public procurement to women, however women needed strategic procurement opportunities. 'We do see that the government and the private sector still want to use women to only provide catering. We want to ensure that our role does not remain one that provides food and does the décor. We (women) are bigger than those services and that is why we are working with the department of trade, industry & competition to ensure access to funding for small business,' she said. The Women's Dialogue and Stakeholder Luncheon is the first formal engagement of the France South African Investment Conference led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile. Philisiwe Mthethwa, non-executive director at the Industrial Development Corporation, also speaking at the event, said gender equity was crucial and not only a women's issue but a societal imperative. 'Let us forge partnerships rooted not only in profits but in purpose. Let us walk out of this room with collaborations formed, capital committed, and courage renewed. We are not here because we were invited, we are ready to lead, ready to build, ready to change the story for every woman and every girl, every unseen hereon still waiting to be seen,' she said.
Time of India
08-05-2025
- General
- Time of India
‘Rickety ride': 1 dead, 32 injured as stuffed bus overturns at Sancoale
Vasco: A person died and 32 passengers were injured after a minibus overturned at Queeny Nagar in Sancoale on Thursday evening. The accident involved a Vasco-bound Titan-Verna passenger minibus . The death occurred on the spot, and among the injured, a majority were women. The condition of three to four passengers is critical, sources said. The accident was reported at around 4.10pm, when the bus — allegedly overloaded — was heading towards Vasco from Titan-Verna, chiefly carrying workers of various companies from the Industrial Development Corporation estate at Verna. The driver lost control of the vehicle at Queeny Nagar as it ran over a hollow surface of the four-lane highway which has been dug due to the ongoing construction work of a flyover. Operation Sindoor Operation Sindoor: Several airports in India closed - check full list Did Pak shoot down Indian jets? What MEA said India foils Pakistan's attack on Jammu airport: What we know so far The impact of the accident was such that the bus first keeled over to the left and eventually overturned onto the highway. The conductor of the bus, identified as Shiva Madar, a resident of Birla, Zuarinagar, died on the spot, as he was trapped underneath the vehicle. According to the information available, of the 32 injured passengers, a majority were referred to the Cansaulim primary health centre, while the remaining were shifted to the Chicalim subdistrict hospital for further treatment. Cortalim MLA Anton Vas was among those who reached the site soon after the accident and helped in the effort to move the injured passengers to hospitals. Serious concern has been raised about the overloading of passenger buses, risking the lives of people. The bus which was involved in Thursday's accident was in a decrepit condition, several passengers claimed. 'The authorities concerned should take immediate action against buses which are plying on various routes without any maintenance,' Vas said. A former sarpanch of the Sancoale village panchayat, Narayan Naik, said, 'Old buses need to be scrapped by the authorities so that lives of people can be saved.' He added, 'This accident has clearly shown that the bus involved was not fit to ply on the road. Nevertheless, the bus was overloaded, endangering innocent lives.' The flow of traffic on the affected lane was choked for about half an hour. Vehicles were diverted to the other parallel lane. The deputy superintendent of police, Vasco subdivision, Gurudas Kadam personally monitored the situation at the accident site. Verna police are investigating the case.
Zawya
09-04-2025
- Automotive
- Zawya
Mahindra becomes South Africa's fastest-growing car brand
Sales for Mahindra bakkies and SUVs jumped by over 600 units in March to 2,253 vehicles, setting a new all-time record and welcoming Mahindra into the hallowed 2,000-unit-per-month club. According to Naamsa, the automotive industry business council, Mahindra delivered more vehicles in one month than ever before. The total of 2,253 vehicles is nearly 40% higher than the previous record of 1,613 vehicles set a month earlier in February. With this new record, Mahindra has jumped to the eighth largest vehicle manufacturer in the country, a mere two months after it entered the South African top ten. It has also set a new all-time sales record of 15,088 vehicles in one financial year. On its way to setting this impressive new record, Mahindra surpassed every internal milestone and broke every model sales record on its books. For instance, it sold the most SUVs in one month (1,000 units in March), it sold the most bakkies ever (1,256 bakkies in March) and it delivered the most Scorpio-N SUVs in one month (145 units in March). A detailed analysis of the Naamsa sales figures for the financial year to end-March shows that Mahindra is the fastest-growing vehicle brand among the high-volume (more than 500 units per month) brands. Mahindra has occupied this top spot three times in the past decade, in 2018, 2022 and now in 2025. In the past financial year, Mahindra has also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) to investigate a fully-fledged vehicle manufacturing facility for completely knocked-down vehicles (CKD) in South Africa. The parties have also agreed to investigate the manufacturing of parts for fully built-up electric vehicles in South Africa. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
