Clariter Nominated For The 2020 S&p Global Platts Global Energy Awards

An East London Industrial Development Zone SOC Ltd (ELIDZ) based investor, Clariter, has been nominated as one of the finalists in the 2020 S&P Global Platts Global Energy Awards – “Award of Excellence – Downstream” category

Clariter has been selected as a finalist in the 22nd annual S&P Global Platts Global Energy Awards, an annual affair recognizing exemplary contributions by both companies and individuals in the energy industry. The 2020 finalists, chosen from some 300 nominated entries from more than 36 countries were announced by programme host S&P Global Platts, the leading global provider of energy and commodities information and spot market benchmarks. Established in 1999 and often described as “the Oscars of the energy industry”, the S&P Global Platts Global Energy Awards highlight corporate and individual innovation, leadership and superior performance in 21 categories spanning the entire energy complex.

On the event of their nomination, Clariter Chief Operations Officer, Petra Koselka, said: “We are proud to be nominated, and it is an honour to be amongst such a prestigious group of industry leaders. We hold the firm belief that Clariter heralds the future of green petrochemical manufacturing and would like to thank S&P Global Platts for highlighting the next generation of Downstream players.”

Congratulating the 2020 Award of Excellence – Downstream finalist, ELIDZ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Simphiwe Kondlo stated that the nomination is proof that Clariter is making meaningful strides in addressing the plastic waste crisis that is plaguing the world. “Supported by their disruptive technology, the company has found innovative ways of ensuring that plastic waste is recycled and refined for further use through an array of products such as cosmetics and wax applications.”

Furthermore, Kondlo added that Clariter’s role in the ELIDZ is more than that of just being an investor, this as both companies will  partner to create an SMME cluster, which will be  made up of a group of Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises that work with the multinational corporation in the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality region.

“The cluster is in two-fold, there is a group of emerging and medium-sized recycling companies that will enter into contractual agreements with Clariter for the sole purpose of collecting plastic waste for the company. The other group of companies will brand and sell the by-products which are pure industrial products such as oils, waxes, and solvents. These will then be used as drop-in ingredients in more than 1,000 different end-products, paints and coatings, leather and wood care products and even in cosmetics, replacing crude oil derived alternatives,” added Kondlo.

The winners of the 2020 Platts Global Energy Awards will be announced at a virtual celebration to be held on 10 December 2020.

Winning the award would add a feather in an already illustrated cap for Clariter, because they have been widely recognised in the industry for their contribution in ending plastic waste in the environment and reducing the demand for fossil fuels.

ELIDZ Rated The Most Advanced Eco-industrial Park In The World

As part of the East London Industrial Development Zone SOC Ltd (ELIDZ) programmatic approach to finding innovative ways of reducing our carbon footprint whilst maintaining a high rate of production, there is also a conscious effort to minimise our environmental impact.

The ELIDZ recently conducted an Eco-Industrial Park (EIP) assessment. This study conducted in collaboration with Sofies Sustainability Leaders Pvt. Ltd and the National Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA), released a report which revealed that the organisation ranks as the top, most advanced and eco-friendly Zone amongst establishments of a similar nature studied across the globe.

The assessment follows a 2018 greenhouse gas emissions inventory which was conducted in collaboration with NCPC-SA and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

According to the ELIDZ Sector Manager: Renewable Energy, Chris Ettmayr, the exercise was necessitated by the zone’s obligation to sustainable environmental practices combined with a need to ensure that the IDZ remains suitable for light industries.

“The ELIDZ has been striving to measure and monitor its environmental impact from its own operations as well as those of its investors and tenants. As such, sustainable growth can only be achieved in conjunction with minimising the impact on the environment. The ELIDZ has therefore been monitoring its carbon emissions, water use and a number of other environmental as well as social impacts. It is important to monitor this over time as well, to ensure that a baseline is available and projects to mitigate any negative impacts can be implemented and measured.”

The reports key areas of assessment included the organisation’s environmental, economic and social performance.

Furthermore, Ettmayr added that the assessment is an important benchmark for the ELIDZ as it will show neighbouring communities and potential investors that the company is environmentally conscious. “The ELIDZ’s mandate is to grow the economy, but not at the peril of people and nature. With the ELIDZ ranking number one amongst the global parks already audited, it also sets the IDZ apart from other zones of similar nature and it acts as a leader for others to emulate.”

Meanwhile the report states that the ELIDZ continues to perform favourably when pitted against large proportions of the benchmarks in the International EIP Framework. 42 out of the 51 international benchmarks were fully met by the ELIDZ (82% of the total benchmarks).

“Seven benchmarks were not met and the performance against two benchmarks will be confirmed through additional data validation. With current and upcoming initiatives, the ELIDZ intends to reach a performance of 88% of the international benchmarks. These results position the ELIDZ as a leading industrial zone in South Africa transforming into an internationally recognized eco-industrial park.”

Ettmayr explained that this achievement bodes well for the Zone’s marketing efforts as both existing and future tenants who have consumers who care for the future of the planet will be drawn towards the ethos that the ELIDZ continuously strives for perfection.

“The ELIDZ is aligned to the country’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gases and being responsible with the consumption of limited resources and this sets us apart from a marketing perspective and offers a unique selling point.” 

The ELIDZ has already put plans in place to address areas of improvement identified through the assessment which will further improve the organisation’s scoring in future audits.

“We have already started with a smart street lighting project which holds numerous benefits but there is also the next phase of this project, which is going to be embarked on, where the ELIDZ will be packaging projects to be taken to bankable feasibility stage. This will really enhance the status of our park and attract a new kind of responsible tenants and customers of the future,” concluded Ettmayr.

Supreme Court of Appeals ruling in favour of SANRAL

 The appeal to prevent the South African National Roads Agency SOC Limited (SANRAL) to claim guarantees from the joint venture that stopped work on the Mtentu bridge project in 2019 has been dismissed by the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA).

The judgment between Aveng Strabag (Africa) (Pty) and Strabag International GmbH (ASJV) vs SANRAL was handed down electronically by circulation to the parties’ representatives on Friday, 13 November.

“We are happy that the court has dismissed the appeal with costs. Our position that there was no Force Majeure, and as the contractor refused to return to site after the suspension of works was lifted we had no option but to terminate for abandonment of the project,” said Craig Mc Lachlan, SANRAL’s N2 Wild Coast Road lead project manager.

SANRAL will now proceed with calling in both the performance and retention guarantees to help cover the additional costs that will be incurred to complete the project with a new contractor. “The contractor and not the taxpayer should be held liable for all additional costs,” said Craig McLachlan

SANRAL had advertised the re-tender for the construction of the Mtentu River Bridge and associated roads on the N2WCR project. The re-tender closes on Friday, 19 February 2021.

According to court documents, at the heart of this appeal was whether SANRAL was restricted by the underlying contract between it and the joint venture ASJV from demanding payment in terms of a performance guarantee issued in its favour by the second respondent, Lombard Insurance Company Ltd. The guarantee was issued pursuant to a written construction contract, concluded between SANRAL and the ASJV in August 2017, for the construction of the Mtentu River Bridge on the N2WCR.

In 2019 both SANRAL and ASJV purported to terminate the contract. The following circumstances led to the termination of the contract.

From 22 October 2018 there were disruptions of the works by some members of the local community. The community raised a wide variety of demands including employment issues (split of labour between different villages, hiring of local semi-skilled labour who had failed assessments, wages, additional job opportunities), prioritisation of SMMEs from immediately adjacent to the project, disbanding the Project Liaison Committee, removal of certain persons linked to the contract and the  use of a local quarry to supply aggregate. Some of the disruptions took a violent turn and threats were made potentially endangered ASJV staff and workers. The engineer, acting on SANRAL’s instructions, suspended the works between 22 October 2018 and 13 January 2019. After agreement was obtained from all stakeholders on 08 January 2019 for work to resume without disruption the suspension was lifted.

Against this backdrop, the joint venture, on 30 January 2019, gave SANRAL a notice purporting to terminate the contract, effective seven days after the notice. The ASJV stated that the civil unrest and commotion at the site constituted force majeure which had prevented it from performing the works for a continuous period of 84 days. Having given notice of termination, the ASJV considered itself entitled to be released from further performance of its obligations under the contract.

SANRAL denied the existence of the force majeure and asserted that, if it ever existed, it had to come to an end on 9 January 2019 following a meeting with the local community. It had communicated this to the ASJV and instructed it to resume the works on 14 January 2019, which it refused to do. Accordingly, SANRAL contested the ASJV’s entitlement to terminate the contract. It gave the ASJV until 4 February 2019 to withdraw its notice of termination and to return to site, failing which SANRAL would itself exercise its right to terminate the contract.

On 5 February 2019, after the ASJV had still failed to return to site, SANRAL terminated the contract. The dispute as to whether the disruptions at the construction site consituted force majeure, which entitled the ASJV to terminate the contract, was referrred to artibration.

In the wake of the second purported termination of the contract, the ASJV sought SANRAL’s assurance that, pending the arbitration proceedings, it would not call up the guarantee. SANRAL not only declined to give such assurance but notified the JV of its intention to do so. As a result, the ASJV applied to the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Pretoria, for an interlocutory interdict, restraining SANRAL from calling up the guarantee, pending the outcome of the arbitration proceedings. The ASJV asserted that SANRAL’s call on the guarantee would be unlawful, as it had not met certain conditions in the underlying contract which limited its rights to call up the guarantee. ASJV lost this initiall case but subsequently were granted leave to appeal to the SCA. The case was heard by the SCA on 14 September 2020.

In court papers Judge TM Magoka said that the ASJV has failed to show that SANRAL was not entitled to payment of the guarantee before any underlying dispute between them is determined. Accordingly, the appeal must fail.  The appeal was dismissed with costs, including the costs of two counsel.

UIF to start opening and processing covid-19 TERS benefits for the extended period from next week

​​​The Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) will open and begin processing the latest and last round of Covid-19 Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme Benefits (Covid-19 TERS) applications from Monday, 23 November 2020 and will close at the end of December.

This follows the announcement last week by His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa, that the Covid-19 TERS benefits would be extended by another month, to 15 October 2020.

The extension has been subject to robust discussions with social partners at the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC). The receipt of Covid-19 TERS applications for the 16 September 2020 to 15 October 2020 will close on 31 December, and no further applications shall be accepted beyond that date.

This period covers the following categories of employees whose employers are:

Not permitted to commence operations under the Disaster Management Regulations;
Unable to make alternative arrangements for vulnerable workers, such as working from home or taking special measures under the OHS Direction to protect them; and
Unable to make use of their services because of operational requirements caused by compliance with the Regulations and Directions such as rostering, staggering working hours, short time and the introduction of shift systems.
The application process remains the same for the extension period and all claims must be lodged via the online portal https://uifecc.labour.gov.za/covid19// .

“As with previous claim processes, to apply in the new period, employers are required to upload similar documentation that include: signed approval or acceptance letter, bank confirmation letter, proof of payment to employees and refund to the UIF – if applicable. In keeping with strict governance principles, we will still subject payments to bank verification before releasing the funds into the applicant’s accounts. The immediate past has taught us that even under the pandemic, criminals are at large and looking to benefit through their nefarious means. We have an obligation to do everything in our power to ensure that funds are not paid into the incorrect accounts,” said Acting UIF Commissioner, Marsha Bronkhorst.

The Covid-19 TERS Relief Scheme was established to assist employees who lost income due to the Coronavirus and the regulations limiting economic activity during the various levels of the lockdown.

Since March 2020, just over R52 billion has been disbursed in 11.5 million payments through 1 million-plus employers.

Sponsorship Opportunity at the African Angels 2020 Golf Day

Education in South Africa is in crisis. The situation has been exacerbated by the recent lockdown and children in the poorest situations, risk being left even further behind. 

The African Angels Independent School in Chintsa East gives these children a quality primary school education to help secure a better future for them and their families.  Despite receiving no government funding since the school was established in 2012, the dedicated team at African Angels have managed to meet their financial commitments, through the support of long term donors and sponsors, and clever fundraising initiatives like the recent #88forangels. These funds are used to provide well equipped classrooms, qualified and experienced teachers, a properly applied curriculum and two meals a day, to ensure that our 142 children are ready to learn and grow to meet their full potential.

African Angels believe that a high-quality education will enable our children to become productive, employed and sound citizens of South Africa.  They need your help to keep going.

If you share their dream of a productive South Africa, and you can, please support their Charity Golf Day on 20 November at Olivewood Golf Course and Private Estate.

There are multiple ways to get involved, either as a participant, a sponsor, or both. These are outlined in the Matrix below. This is just a starting point for discussions – if you have other ideas on how you would prefer to get involved and contribute to this cause, please contact Lou Billet by email on louk@sponsoranangel.org.

Sponsorship options the African Angels Independent School Charity Golf Day 20 November 2020

Any support will be acknowledged in the event marketing programme before and after the event – the sooner you sign up, the more coverage you will receive. In addition, all sponsorships will attract a Section 18(a) tax certificate (donations receipt). 

By taking part in the Golf Day, you will reap the business benefits of networking with the East London business community while also investing in the future of South Africa’s children.

Caroline Kruger, who works with their team, will contact you in the next few days to discuss any questions you may have and to chart a way forward.