Category: MIL-OSI

Source: APO

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The Select Committee on Economic Development and Trade has called for an urgent conversion of long-standing investment commitments into tangible jobs, exports and industrial output at Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

The committee is currently conducting a weeklong oversight visit in the Gqeberha area to assess infrastructure networks around the Coega SEZ and the Markman Industrial Park.

The committee Chairperson, Ms Sonja Boshoff, said a key focus of the visit was the progress of large-scale strategic projects, including the green hydrogen and green ammonia initiative. “These projects have attracted strong international interest and have advanced to the engineering and planning phase. The committee has requested firm timelines for construction, local beneficiation and industrial participation. We cannot have a situation where such infrastructure projects are perpetually kept in plans and reports. We want urgent implementation.”

Ms Boshoff emphasised that announcements and ribbon-cuttings are no longer sufficient, stating: “Government has invested heavily to create the enabling environment. The private sector has made commitments. The time has now come to see operational results, with real jobs, local procurement opportunities and improved export performance. Coega must be more than a strategic asset on paper; it must be a driver of inclusive growth in reality.”

Coega is South Africa’s largest SEZ and has received R4.2 billion in funding from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition, of which R2.5 billion has already been disbursed. This makes it one of the largest public investments in industrial infrastructure in the country.

This state funding has enabled Coega to attract R12.5 billion in private-sector investment from both domestic and international companies, positioning the SEZ as one of the most significant public-private partnerships in South Africa’s industrialisation programme. The committee made it clear that these partnerships must now translate into measurable outcomes – factories in operation, products being exported and South Africans being employed at scale.

“Similarly, the Coega Pharmaceutical and Vaccine Manufacturing Precinct, supported by Aspen Pharmacare, has been identified as a key driver of Africa’s health sovereignty. While Aspen’s existing facility in Gqeberha is operational, the broader pharmaceutical precinct within Coega remains in early development. We have requested clarity on investor readiness, infrastructure timelines and projected job creation,” Ms Boshoff said.

She also noted that the visit comes at a time when the Eastern Cape faces one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, exceeding 40%, and is confronting additional economic strain from recent retrenchments in the automotive sector, including the closure of the Goodyear plant in Kariega.

Ms Boshoff stressed that the Coega SEZ must be actively positioned to absorb economic shocks and drive resilience. “This SEZ cannot exist in isolation. It must be the engine room that drives industrial diversification, attracts new investment and safeguards South African jobs in the face of global economic uncertainty,” she said.

In addition to monitoring the national department’s investment, the committee engaged with the Eastern Cape Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism and the Eastern Cape Economic Development Agency to assess their contribution to investment attraction, provincial competitiveness and integration of township and rural economies into SEZ value chains.

The committee also called for a proactive response to global trade disruptions, including the recent announcement by the US administration of a proposed 30% export tax, which could affect South African manufactured exports. “Detailed mitigation strategies will be required to assure investors and protect South African jobs,” the Chairperson said.

Chairperson Boshoff concluded: “Coega is a test case for South Africa’s ability to compete globally. With strong public investment, growing private participation and strategic sector opportunities in green energy and pharmaceuticals, this SEZ has every ingredient for success. What we expect now is delivery, delivery in jobs, delivery in exports, delivery in industrial capacity, and delivery for the people of South Africa.”

The committee will be in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality until Thursday.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.

Source: APO

Parliament has endorsed the composition of special interest groups in ahead of the 2026 electoral cycle.

The approval follows a review of the representation of the special interest groups, in accordance with the Constitution and the Parliamentary Elections Act.

In the plenary sitting held on Monday, 20 October 2025, the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Hon. Nobert Mao said that special interest groups were previously denied participation in the governance of Uganda and thus could not participate on an equal footing with others.

He added that their inclusion in the composition of Parliament is a guarantee by the Constitution, of minimum participation in the democratic process of government.
“Their representation is one form of affirmative action which the state is required to take under Article 32 of the Constitution, in favour of groups marginalised on the basis of gender, age, disability or any other reason created by history, tradition or custom,” Mao said.

The minister observed that the review process which is carried out every five years ahead of a new election cycle seeks to ensure the retention of the representation of the special interest groups in Parliament.

Ahead of the 2021 general elections, the review process added the category of older persons’ representatives in Parliament.
“Parliament is required under Article 78(2) of the Constitution to review this representation every five years after the first review. The review is now due since the article was last reviewed in October 2020,” Mao added.

The legal provisions define representation of district or city women representatives, where there shall be one woman representative in Parliament for every district and city.

They also provide for special interest groups where the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) has 10 representatives in Parliament, at least two of whom shall be women and five workers’ representatives at least one of whom shall be a woman.

There is also provision of  youth and persons with disabilities. 
Legislators urged government to ensure proper representation of special interest groups in other national leadership positions.

Hon. Sarah Opendi (NRM, Tororo District Woman Representative) said that the National Identification Registration Authority (NIRA) does not have sufficient women representation on its board of directors.
“Section 9 of the NIRA board requires the Minister for ICT and National Guidance to ensure that in constituting the board, at least one third should be women but as we speak, only one woman is on the board and all the others are men,” Opendi said.

She urged the Attorney General to always advise executives of agencies to ensure equitable representation of women on their boards.

Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa tasked the Attorney General to address the representation on the NIRA board and report to the House.

Hon. Alex Ndeezi (NRM, PWD Representative) appealed to the Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs and the Attorney General to undertake an audit on the representation of persons with disabilities on different boards of Uganda’s agencies.
“There are many boards where persons with disabilities are not represented. Once the audit is accomplished, we shall know what actions can be taken to implement the provisions of the Constitution that caters for among others, fair representation,” Ndeezi said.

Erute County South MP, Hon. Jonathan Odur urged government to consider increasing the number of female representatives of the UPDF by adopting the one-third strategy and also called for regional representation of Workers’ MPs.
“We also need to track the progress of legislators who come Parliament on the affirmative action ticket, to see if they have moved further ahead in their political journey,” Odur added.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

Source: APO

The damage caused by payroll fraud and ghost employees is often catastrophic: large sums lost and additional spending in investigations and prosecutions. In many cases, the companies forgo legal actions and fire the fraudster, who often moves to a new business and restarts their crimes.

“Most companies unfortunately only uncover payroll fraud by accident. They don’t realise it’s happening, and it can cost them millions,” says Yolande Schoültz, founder of YSchoültz Attorneys | Conveyancers | Notaries, and an expert who has investigated many such cases.

Companies can avoid losing millions. Using methods such as monthly checks on hiring changes and annual face audits, facilitated by modern payroll platforms, they can reduce fraud risks and organically extend role-based oversight across different departments.

Why payroll fraud happens

Spotting payroll fraud is not difficult when companies are diligent, and with the right processes and precautions, they can avoid the risks of ghost employees and other related crimes.

Schoültz highlights several common ways that payroll fraud occurs. The best-known is to add ghost employees, which can be fake employees who don’t exist but also employees who were let go but never removed from the payroll. The payroll administrator instead keeps them on the books and changes the bank account details. Another scheme is to find employees who are paid irregularly, pay them monthly and direct the new payments to a different bank account.

These activities are relatively easy to uncover, but companies don’t pay attention because payroll operations are often isolated and arcane. One issue is who has oversight: is payroll part of finance or human resources? It should be both, with finance being primarily responsible. But payroll is often left alone. As long as people are paid, nobody asks questions.

How to spot payroll fraud

However, they should take an interest because payroll fraud can be extraordinarily damaging. According to Occupational Fraud 2022: A Report to the Nations, released by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), 5% of company revenue is lost to fraud committed by employees.

Schoültz cites a case where a company lost over R7 million across several years through roughly 13 ghost employees: “It’s like a slow bleeding wound. The fraud usually extracts small amounts across multiple fake employees and over many years.”

In this case, the payroll administrator’s lavish lifestyle gave them away, with investigators asking how they could afford luxury cars, holidays, and other perks on their salary. Yet, a natural distrust of payroll staff is not healthy or productive, and there are better ways to find and prevent payroll fraud. The most effective method is requiring employees to physically present themselves.

“An annual face-to-face audit is very effective. Have people come with their ID books and match them to a payroll list. This must ideally be through an independent person, not from the company, because some payroll fraud is done in cahoots with several people. An independent annual face audit is the best way to know if there are ghost employees. It also works to check employee movements every month, to check the terminations and new hires.”

Responsibility and technology

It is also crucial that finance departments take payroll oversight seriously, Schoültz adds.

“People don’t know what they don’t know. A lot of times when I get called in to do risk assessments, it’s very rare that I meet the head of finance. But payroll is a finance-driven department. It is often the company’s biggest expense, yet it’s neglected.”

Many companies have the same question: is payroll oversight the responsibility of finance, HR, or someone else? Isolated payroll systems don’t resolve such questions, whereas payroll platforms facilitate role-based permissions allowing access to different teams. says Sandra Crous, MD of payroll provider Deel Local Payroll.

“There are amazing capabilities in modern payroll systems, such as automated reporting, remote administration, and alert systems that inform different stakeholders. You can expand and streamline payroll processes so that people in finance or HR have passive visibility over payroll events. Legacy payroll systems typically sit in a corner somewhere, with few people even knowing what’s going on there.”

A Little Diligence Stops Major Crimes

Not knowing has a price tag. According to the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals, local companies lose upwards of R100 million annually through payroll fraud—more than cash transit heists. But a little diligence can avoid such damage, says Schoültz.

“People just don’t check. They don’t have the know-how because payroll is really a very underestimated department in a company. People receive their salaries, but they don’t understand how that works. The last thing people actually have time for is the payroll. They just want their employees to get paid, but they don’t understand what is inside that system, and it continues like that.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Deel Local Payroll, powered by PaySpace.

For media queries please contact:
Victoria Lindsay
victoria@innocomm.co.za

About Deel Local Payroll:
Deel Local Payroll, powered by PaySpace, revolutionises payroll management. It offers online, multi-country payroll and HR management for businesses from start-ups through to enterprise in over 40 African countries, the United Kingdom, the Middle East, and Brazil.

Cloud-native, Deel Local Payroll, is scalable, configurable, highly secure, and easy-to-use—delivering anytime, anywhere access. It features payroll automation, self-service features, automatic legislation and feature updates, customised reporting, and more.

Since 2024, Deel Local Payroll has been part of Deel, operating as an independent subsidiary, serving its customers through the PaySpace platform.

Source: APO

CRDB Bank has entered three landmark partnerships with leading development finance institutions, FinDev Canada, DEG (KfW Group, Germany), and Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB), marking a significant milestone in its transformation journey to advance inclusive and sustainable finance across Africa. 

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) were signed during the CRDB Bank Investors and Partners Forum, held on the sidelines of the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Washington D.C., in partnership with Invest Africa. The high-level forum convened global investors and senior government officials from Tanzania, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Distinguished attendees included the Minister of Finance of Burundi, the Minister of Information of the DRC, the Governors of the Central Banks of Tanzania and Burundi, the Ambassadors of Tanzania and Burundi to the United States, and the Permanent Secretary Treasury from the Ministry of Finance of Tanzania, Dr. Natu El-Maamry Mwamba, who is leading the Tanzania delegation to the World Bank and IMF Meetings and served as the Guest of Honor. 

East Africa faces persistent gaps in financing for MSMEs, climate-smart agriculture, and affordable housing. CRDB Bank has positioned itself as a regional driver of transformation, addressing these challenges by mobilizing capital, expertise, and technology to create tangible impact for communities and businesses. 

These agreements were formalized by CRDB Bank’s Group Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, Abdulmajid Nsekela, alongside the partner leadership, CEO of Shelter Afrique Development Bank – Thierno-Habib, CEO of DEG – Roland Siller and CEO of FinDev Canada – Lori Kerr. 

• Inclusive Growth: Through its partnership with FinDev Canada, CRDB Bank secured a USD 60 million sustainability-linked facility to expand financing for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), with a strong emphasis on women-owned businesses and climate-resilient projects. 
• SME Empowerment: With DEG, CRDB Bank will unlock a USD 50 million facility dedicated to SME sub-loans, supporting business growth, innovation, and job creation in Tanzania. 
• Social Equity & Affordable Housing: The partnership with Shelter Afrique Development Bank addresses the region’s housing deficit, beginning with a USD 10 million facility for CRDB DRC. 

Speaking during the signing ceremony, CRDB Bank Group CEO & Managing Director, Abdulmajid Nsekela, said “These partnerships reflect our shared vision of an Africa that is financially inclusive, food secure, and sustainably developed. At CRDB Bank, we believe finance should be a force for good – unlocking potential, creating jobs, and driving long-term value for communities. By joining hands with institutions like FinDev Canada, DEG, and Shelter Afrique, we are accelerating our vision to transform lives and develop economies to their fullest potential. This is more than capital; it is confidence in Africa’s future.” 

Highlighting the significance of this partnership, Mr. Thierno-Habib Hann, CEO of Shelter Afrique Development Bank, remarked,  “At Shelter Afrique Development Bank (ShafDB), we believe that affordable housing and urban infrastructure are the foundation of inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Our partnership with CRDB Bank reflects our shared vision to channel capital toward impact, equity, and regional integration. Together, we are not only financing homes, we are financing dignity, opportunity, and the infrastructure of a more resilient Africa. Whilst our partnership starts with CRDB Bank DRC, we have a plan to support CRDB Bank in Tanzania and Burundi. Our Advisory Services offering will ensure that the CRDB Bank housing finance team is capacitated to address the integrated housing value chain in a de-risked manner. This partnership reinforces our joint commitment to ensuring that every African family has access to safe, affordable, and climate-resilient housing, which remains the cornerstone of sustainable urban transformation, while ensuring regional integration via trade in construction materials across countries” 

Beyond financing, these collaborations are structured to deliver affordability, long-term sustainability, and measurable social impact, strengthening the Bank’s strategic positioning and generating value for both investors and communities. 

“FinDev Canada’s partnership with CRDB Bank is built on a shared commitment to creating opportunity where it’s needed most. By deepening our collaboration, we’re mobilising capital and investing in the potential of local markets, entrepreneurs, and communities across Sub-Saharan Africa. This MOU is an important step toward strengthening meaningful engagement, co-investment, and long-term impact in critical sectors that support sustainable development and climate action,” said Lori Kerr, CEO, FinDev Canada. 

Apart from the signings, the CRDB Bank Investors and Partners Forum provided a platform to explore regional transformation and investment opportunities in Tanzania, Burundi and the DRC . The dialogue reinforced CRDB Bank’s role as a bridge between global finance and local impact, highlighting how MSMEs, farmers, and communities are benefiting from these strategic initiatives. 

By combining its strong East African presence with the strategic reach of its Dubai Representative Office, CRDB Bank is positioning itself not only as a regional champion of inclusive finance but also as a trusted bridge to global markets. These partnerships underscore the Bank’s ambition to extend its impact across the continent and beyond, supporting inclusive prosperity and sustainable growth. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Invest Africa.

Source: APO

In South Africa’s commercial and industrial (C&I) landscape, energy-intensive industries face mounting pressures from rising costs and the push toward sustainability. As the country grapples with transitioning from chronic energy insecurity to greater independence, sectors like mining, manufacturing and heavy industry are pivotal in driving economic resilience. Investments in renewables, storage solutions and innovative infrastructure are not just operational necessities but catalysts for broader growth, enabling companies to mitigate risks, reduce their carbon footprint and enhance competitiveness amid changing global trade dynamics.

Against this background, the EIUG Conference 2025 (https://apo-opa.co/47i0Ujc) emerges as a key platform for unpacking this evolving energy ecosystem. In the context of South Africa’s electricity market reforms, the event delves into strategies for achieving reliable and affordable power. For instance, discussions on the next phase of market liberalisation—led by figures like Monde Bala, CEO of the National Transmission Company of South Africa (NTCSA)—offer clarity on how C&I players can navigate regulatory changes and unlock grid capacity.

“South Africa must accelerate its transition from energy insecurity to energy independence,” says Fanele Mondi, CEO of the EIUG. “The C&I sector plays a catalytic role in this shift – not only through investment and innovation, but by creating a resilient foundation for economic growth. This event convenes the right people, ideas and capabilities to make that transition a reality.”

Showcasing real-world advancements, the conference highlights transformative projects that demonstrate pathways to decarbonisation and grid stability. Examples include large-scale solar wheeling initiatives alongside investments in data centres and renewable developments. These case studies illustrate how C&I-led innovations can scale up, offering answers to questions around technical feasibility, financing and integration with existing infrastructure.

Download the programme (https://apo-opa.co/4ockMv2)

Exploration of emerging technologies further equips attendees with options for diversifying the energy mix. Sessions on corporate energy storage, Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Gas-to-Power—drawing from leading organisations like CSIR, SANEDI, NECSA and the South African Oil & Gas Alliance (SAOGA)—break down viable alternatives, helping companies evaluate which solutions best align with their sustainability goals and cost constraints.

Leadership perspectives underscore the shift from viewing energy as a risk to a strategic enabler. A leader’s panel reframes energy security as a growth driver, while deeper dives into market design and power trading tackle how to foster a competitive environment amidst all the change.

Global influences, such as the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), add another layer of complexity for export-oriented sectors like iron, steel, aluminium and cement. Input from TIPS, The Manufacturing Circle and various EIUG members explore trade implications and adaptive responses, providing context for C&I entities on policy alignment and corporate strategies to maintain market access.

The keynote focus lies in integrating interconnected risks, such as water and energy management, where industries are increasingly adopting holistic frameworks to build operational resilience. The panel discussion provides practical perspectives on balancing these elements, addressing common queries from C&I firms about optimising resources in constrained environments.
 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of VUKA Group.

For registration enquiries, contact:
Vuyisa Mfobo 
vuyisa.mfobo@wearevuka.com

For sponsorship or hosted buyer application (https://apo-opa.co/42N0i3B) queries, contact:
Marcel du Toit
marcel.dutoit@wearevuka.com

About the Conference:
The EIUG Conference is co-located with the C&I Energy + Storage Summit (https://Energy-StorageSummit.com), 4 – 5 November 2025 at The Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa: https://apo-opa.co/47i0Ujc

Watch this short video about the EIUG Conference and why it’s a must-attend event for South Africa’s industrial energy community: https://apo-opa.co/47hcQkX

About the EIUG:
The Energy Intensive Users Group of Southern Africa (EIUG) represents major energy consumers, advocating for policies that support secure, sustainable and competitive energy systems. Learn more at https://EIUG.org.za/

About VUKA Group:
VUKA Group bridges Africa’s energy, mining, infrastructure, mobility, green economy and technology sectors through events, content and networking. As venture partners to The Global Trust Project, founders of the WomenIN empowerment platform and leaders of the NPO Go Green Africa, VUKA contributes to sustainable progress across the continent. Learn more at https://WeAreVuka.com