WHAT EVERY DURBAN BUSINESSPERSON NEEDS TO KNOW.

INSIDE:COP17's Durbandeal Toll road controversy uKhozi FM - Flyinghigh Port dilemmas Ethanol energy

SUMMER 2011 R35 (incl VAT)

THE BURNING ISSUE:Bill Gates, The Cityand big business

to the rescue

waterDurban’s

CRISIS

2 BUSINESS IN DURBAN sUMMER 2011

EDITOR’SLETTER THEY SAID IT

Write to bidletters@famouspublishing.co.za

I never get the accountantsin before I start up a

business. It’s done on gutfeeling, especially if I cansee that they are takingthe mickey out of the

consumer.– Richard Branson

There is nothing likereturning to a place thatremains unchanged to findthe ways in which youyourself have altered.

– Nelson Mandela,

A Long Walk to Freedom

All our dreams can cometrue – if we have the

courage to pursue them.– Walt Disney

Leaders are made, they arenot born. They are madeby hard effort, which is theprice all of us must payto achieve any goal that is

worthwhile.– Vince Lombardi

Employees make the bestdates. You don’t have topick them up and they’realways tax-deductible.

– Andy Warhol

Our business is infestedwith idiots who tryto impress by usingpretentious jargon.

– David Ogilvy

I don’t know the key tosuccess, but the key tofailure is trying to please

everybody.– Bill Cosby

More than a decade ago, at a privatelunch held during the WorldEconomic Forum in Davos,Switzerland, a confident Bill Gatesoutlined to a small but scepticalgroup of international editors avision of devices on which you

would be able to read newspapers, books and magazinesdigitally, leading eventually to a paperless society. I was one ofthose cynical editors, reporting back to my boss, a big believerin print, who was dismissive. Now I-pads and similar tablets aretaking the world by storm, changing the way we live.

Happily for Durban, Bill Gates has new interests, one of them being anotherlifestyle changing device which is being developed by the city’s head of water andsanitation, Neil Macleod.Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft and one of the world’s wealthiest men, is

no stranger to Durban. What attracts him here most, however, is Macleod’s workon providing sanitation to the poor by use of a waterless toilet with plans to turnthe waste from these toilets into a sustainable business model. Gates’s foundation isbacking these efforts with substantial funding.When you consider that 30% of Durban’s precious household water is used to

flush toilets, you realise how important Macleod’s research is. With a water shortagecrisis looming, perhaps only a year away, it is encouraging to note that big business isalso coming to the party, as you will read inside.Limited as it soon might be, Durban’s tap water “is top class, tastes good and is

safe to drink,” says Julie-May Ellingson, who runs the International ConventionCentre, the focus point of the massive COP17 climate change talks. She is soconfident that she is going to supply jugs of water and charge delegates forbottled water!COP17 is a massive undertaking, with direct financial benefits running into the

millions, which will see Durban under intense media spotlight for three weeks.Happily Durban has tremendous credibility internationally around green issues withprogrammes it will be able to showcase.In this issue we add our voice of protest to the planned tolling of Durban

motorists to pay for a highway along the Wild Coast, many hundreds of kilometresaway on a road which is outside the province. We have no objection to the principleof toll roads – indeed the N2 down the south coast is already tolled – but this newproposal is immoral and a disgrace.We also outline problems facing users of the port, notably the discussions

surrounding the planned 18% tariff increase and the ongoing challenges overcongestion. More positively we report on the upgrading of MaydonWharf and thereconstruction of berths there. It will re-energise the area.In our media section, read about the growth of Durban’s Ukhozi FM into a radio

station second only to a Chinese station in world rankings. Posting listenerships ofmore than six million, the 70-year-old Zulu-language station has been the launchpadof many of the country’s current media stars.

DAVID WIGHTMAN

Facing up to thewater crisis

Summer 2011

GREAT ROADSBut who fits the bill, asks Andrew Layman

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESSDurban Invest’s Lynette Ntuli is thinking big for local business.

EVERY DROP COUNTSBill Gates, Neil macleod and Andre Fourie address Durban’s

pending water crisis.

THE DURBAN DEALThe greatest climate roadshow is happening on our doorstep.

TAKING IT’S TOLLThe controversy over a Transkei freeway which Durbanites

must pay for.

FLY LIKE AN EAGLEDurban is home to the world’s second largest radio station,

ukhozi Fm.

FEELING THE SQUEEZEPort congestion is becoming chronic.

MAYDON WHARF UPGRADEDurban’s Cinderella readies for the Ball.

ANACONDA TAKES TO THE TRACKSThe road versus rail debate along the Natal Corridor.

MAYDON WHARF – JUST AS IT SHOULD BEA look back in time.

THE SARNO STARSmeet the father and son at the helm of

mediterranean Shipping Company.

TRACING THE WRITERS ROUTEKZNWriters Trail helps to boost tourism

86

14

26

3032

38

40

10

22

3436

44

14

30

10

The stunning image of the water flame on thecover is available as a free wallpaper which you can

download for your desktop background.Visit www.wallpapers.free-review.net/21__Water_flame.htm

54 BUSINESS BITESA brief guide to developments on the Durban business scene.

60 NETWORKINGWho’s who at Durban’s top business functions.

62 OUT TO LUNCHAnne Stevens shares her lunchtime hotspots.

To read the Business in Durban online visitwww.businessindurban.co.za

EDITOR David WightmanBUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Themba NgcoboPRODUCTION MANAGER Lorna KingDESIGNERS Kyle Griffin

Jane WarrenKZN SALES MANAGER Tracy Linden

083 236 3202DISTRIBUTION SUPERVISOR Robyn HulleyOPERATIONS MANAGER Doody AdamsACCOUNTS Sumayia KhanCONTRIBUTORS Alan Cooper

Terry HutsonNicola JenveySihle MthembuDebbie ReynoldsAnne StevensPatricia McCrackenGavin FosterWanda HennigBarbara ColeSolomon MashakeniIlle ThompsonGlenda Thompson

MANAGING DIRECTOR Tim Lombard

DIRECTORS John RelihanRaj Lalbahadur

Published by Famous Publishing, Media House, No 43 ImvubuPark Place, Riverhorse Valley Business Estate, Durban, 4017.

Tel: 031 533 7600. Fax: 031 533 7890In association with the Durban Business Enhancement Initiative

Printed by Paarl Media KZN: 031 714 4700

Copyright: All material in this issue is copyright and belongs toFamous Publishing unless otherwise indicated. No part of thematerial may be quoted, photocopied, reproduced or storedby an electronic system without prior written permission fromFamous Publishing.Disclaimer: While every reasonable effort is taken to ensurethe accuracy and soundness of the contents of this publication,neither the authors nor the publisher will bear any responsibilityfor the consequences of any actions based on informationcontained herein. Material which appears under Business Profile/Advertorial is paid-for advertorial.

42

46

50A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

SATIB help insure KZN’s wildlife

SUGAR ENERGYDeveloping Durban’s ethanol industry.

KEEPING IT BRIEFNinian & Lester celebrates milestone.

ONE AMAZING WOMANmargaret Hirsch – the dynamo woman behind Hirsch’s.

DESIGNERS FOR THE FUTUREThe Centre for Fine Art Animation and Design lead Durban’s

animation industry.

ECONOMIC INDICATORSKey economic indicators for KwaZulu-Natal.

4446

52

5048

6 BUSINESS IN DURBAN summer 2011

TALKING POINT

The relief of the suspensionof road tolling projects wasnot confined to Gautengwhere commuters werefacing daily charges for

the use of the freeway network in andaround Johannesburg. In Durban manycommuters could be facing daily chargesas well if and when improvements andextensions to the N2 commence and atollgate is installed at Isipingo.This prospect became more immediate

when the minister of environmental Affairsrecently accepted the environmentalImpact Assessment (eIA) which meantthat the construction of the road couldnow proceed. The tolling of that road isstill subject to another public consultationprocess which, as I understand it, is notconsidered to be effective and can bediscounted in practical terms.In accepting the eIA, the minister was

dismissive in her response to socio-economic issues which were at the veryheart of the Chamber’s objections, aswell as those of many companies southof Durban. They have evaluated the costof daily toll payments to their businessesand their workers and found these to beastronomical over time.At the very heart of the issue is a

combination of the economic need forbetter infrastructure, better maintenanceof it, and the high cost, a cost, which isbeyond government’s ability to affordwithout additional sources of revenue. Thefact that government’s only meaningfulsource of income is the tax-payingpopulace, including business, seems toescape many of us who have a sense thatpublic money is available inexhaustibly.The Greek people in their

demonstrations against austerity, forexample, cannot understand the parlousposition of their national treasury. In ourcountry, we want government to do awhole lot more, but fail to support themeasures that would make this possible.In the case of the N2, the south African

National roads Agency Limited (sanral)has committed to building a high-qualityhighway from Durban to east London toreplace the dreadful Transkei road whichhas been the bane of motorists who havehad to travel this route over many years.since the amount of traffic on such ahighway will be limited, this new road isnot affordable unless daily commuters inDurban contribute significantly towards itscosts. Therein lies the problem – and therank immorality.The N2 south is already tolled and

is a highway of good quality. Durbancommuters are not contributors towardsthe costs of this road. But, in terms ofsanral’s plan, they will become significantcontributors to the upgraded extension ofthe N2 into and through the eastern Cape.From all accounts, sanral has not tried tohide this: apparently a spokesperson haseven gone so far as to state categoricallythat the N2 development is possible only ifpaid for by the people in Durban.No wonder that there are moves to

mount a legal challenge to the minister’sacceptance of the eIA. What is beingcontemplated is palpably unfair. It has nobase of principle at all. And it compromisesthe public’s understanding of the tollingpolicy which was to support city-to-cityhighways and not to fleece commuterswho, often through lack of suitablealternative routes, are captive toll-payerson national roads.

but who fits the bill?Great Roads

Many people were mightilyrelieved when the Ministerof Transport announced asuspension of road tollingprojects pending furtherconsultation

A NDR EW L AYM AN

to touch your heartFrédérique Constant and Nina Badric share one passion: Supporting the International Children’s Heart Foundation.We will donate the cost of a life-saving heart scan for each Frédérique Constant Double Heart watch sold.

Made by hand

INVESTMENT

8 BUSINESS IN DURBAN summer 2011

EVERYONE knows that Durban has a very strong

tourism brand – but it’s now time that people realised

it’s also a hot business destination.

“It is important for Durban business to be

recognised. There are so many industries here as well as

opportunities and potential,” said Lynette Ntuli, the Durban dynamo

behind the Durban Business Enhancement Initiative, better known

as Durban Invest. Ntuli wants Durban Invest to be at the forefront

of making business thrive and grow, thus creating a vibrant economy

and ultimately achieving that national priority: job opportunities.

It might be a relatively new organisation – now in its second year

of existence – but it means business.

Durban Invest’s Lynette Ntuli isthinking big for local businessGetting

down tobusiness