BRICS rank and file

On August 22, the BRICS circus rolled into town – into Johannesburg, to be exact – and was set to remain there for three days. Why the city, named after two surveyors, Johann Friedrich Bernhard... 

Camera

I wanted to have ‘Lights, camera, action’ as the headline of this article but then it dawned on me that there is hardly any electricity to power the lights; its supply is intermittent at best. As... 

Fowl play

How time flies! As I sat down to write this piece, it was the first day of August. The date may not be of significance to you, but this will largely depend on whether you have been counting down... 

Metal export restrictions

For many years, I have spent Friday afternoons ‘eagerly’ scrutinising the Government Gazette. I contend that most of the gazettes are published simply for landfill and recycling purposes, as they... 

Signed languages

South Africa now has a twelfth official language, following the historic signing of the  Sign Language Bill into law by President Cyril Mamaphosa on July 19. South Africa is  the fourth African... 

Agoa-less?

Exactly 701 days! That’s the time that remained, at the time of writing, before the expiry of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa), the legislation introduced on May 18, 2000, to assist... 

Frozen in time

Exactly 1 589 days previously at the time of writing, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) had published in the Government Gazette – on February 22, 2019 – its... 

ATA Carnet turns 60

On June 22, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) joined the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of its ATA Carnet at the thirteenth World Chambers... 

Flickering economic growth

On June 15, the Africa department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released a note titled ‘South Africa's Economy Loses Momentum Amid Record Power Cuts’. It evoked the words a former... 

Greedflation

Inflare is Latin for ‘to blow into’ or ‘inflate’. No prize for guessing the word from which inflation is derived, but can you guess where, when and why the word came into being? The US would have... 

PROVE IT

There is an age-old rhyming Russian proverb, “doveryay, no proveryay”, which became hugely  popular in English in the 1980s as “trust but verify”. This was  after Suzanne Massie, a scholar of... 

Another bad report card

I wrote piece on June 6, which was reminiscent of the days gone by when your teacher gave you your school report in a sealed envelope addressed to you parents. Back then, you had the power to delay... 

Sounds like a melody

What if government policies were like a musician’s song catalogue? You would expect the songs that made it on to the album to be the musician’s best efforts. They would have to be even more so if... 

Standardising ‘nationality’

I recall a time when, as a much younger me, I was in absolute awe of centenary celebrations. It was a time when neither anyone known to me nor the possessions that my family owned had turned 100... 

Let us . . .

Let us do what? How about “Let’s grow South Africa together”? If you need reminding, this was the title of the governing party’s 2019 election manifesto. I recalled it when I saw government’s... 

Brothers in arms?

Are the World Customs Organisation’s (WCO’s) Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) and the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO’s) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) brothers in arms or combatants? They seem... 

Citrus fruit dispute sequel

It’s said there are seven foods that have led to war and that civilisation is a mere 24 hours and two meals away from barbarism. It probably depends on your definition of barbarism, as we might... 

Logistics Performance Index

On April 20, the World Bank released its ‘2023 Logistics Performance Index (LPI) Report’, subtitled ‘Resilience and Reliability are Crucial in the Performance of Logistics’. The Bretton Woods... 

Enabling fair trade

Assuming you are reading this piece on its date of publication, in 34 days’ time, the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) will be celebrating its twentieth year of... 

Getting less for more

The phenomenon where you “get less for more”, also known as shrinkflation, is today’s reality. For a quick refresher on the product equivalent, you should reread the piece published in this column... 

Dedollarisation

So, will South Africa be joining, or should it be following, dedollarisation – arguably because South Africa is a Brics nation? Should you need reminding, Brics is the acronym for the supposed... 

Face the IMF’s music

To face the music means to accept the unpleasant consequences of one’s actions. The saying originates from an age-old tradition where disgraced officers were ‘drummed’ out of their regiment. In... 

SA not so happy a place

Aristotle contends that there are things we want for their own sake, while everything else we do is for us to be happy. Happiness is by no mean a simple concept; the ancient Greek philosopher... 

AEO – oh no!

On March 10, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) released a notice titled ‘Become an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) and enjoy the benefits’. Strangely, but unsurprisingly, Sars’ AEO... 

Incoterms® centenary

According to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), “Incoterms® is the world’s essential terms of trade for the sale of goods”. Incoterms®, a registered trademark, is the abbreviation for... 

Greylisted

It is customary to dedicate this column to the Finance Minister’s Budget speech which it is presented, and this year it was delivered on February 22. It thus speaks volumes when the speech is... 

No national crime disaster

The headline message of the Third Quarter Crime Statistics, released on February 17, is that more than 83 murders and 138 rapes are recorded daily, making South Africa one of the most violent... 

Unmitigated disaster

As I pondered the title of this week’s piece, there were many candidates: ‘Electric dreams’, ‘Powerless’, ‘Power grab’, ‘Married to the problem’ and ‘When a disaster is born’. And ‘disaster’... 

Misplaced charity

Charity starts at home, as the old adage goes. If South Africa Tourism (SAT) needs any reminding, we should deal with the needs of those close to us before thinking about helping others. This... 

Averagely corrupt

There you have it: South Africa is averagely corrupt. Well, it’s apparently so in comparison with the rest of the world. So, on average, South Africa is seemingly fine. The obvious question is:... 

Birthday unplugged

As I sat down to write this piece on January 23, it was 37 days before a hundredth birthday. Want to venture a guess as to whose birthday it would be? A hint: quite ironically, you will need to... 

They’ll stand by them

“Oh, why you look so sad? Tears are in your eyes. Don't be ashamed to cry …'Cause I've seen the dark side too …”, as The Pretenders would let you have in their 1994 Grammy Award winning song, I’ll... 

A year of hope

“No more champagne; And the fireworks are through; Here we are, …; Feeling lost and feeling blue; It's the end of the party; And the morning seems so grey; So, unlike yesterday; Now's the time for... 

Scrap it – Interrobang

This year has been one of repeat performances. So, unlike the infamous sitcom catchphrase from Allo 'Allo!, it was never a case of “Listen very carefully, I shall say this only once”. In this, the... 

Customs commercial fraud

On November 24, the World Customs Organisation (WCO) published its first ‘Global Trendspotter Report on Customs-Related Commercial Fraud’, which was compiled by customs experts and WCO Regional... 

eATA Carnet project

Did you know that about 190 000 ATA Carnets covering merchandise valued at R449.87-billion are issued by 80 countries or customs territories each year? More importantly, do you know what an ATA... 

No spring chicken

The International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (Itac) has published a notice in the Government Gazette about the initiation of a sunset review of the antidumping duties on... 

Will State shipping line float?

Whatever floats your boat! That’s what I thought when I saw the predraft South African Shipping Company (Sasco) Bill, 2022, which was published on November 1 “to provide for the establishment of... 

Please, Sir

“I want some more,” requested Oliver Twist in Charles Dickens’ 1837 novel, Parish Boy's Progress. Just how nicely the South African Revenue Service (Sars) is going to ask the South African taxpayer... 

Tariff determination process

The South African Revenue Service (Sars) on October 27 presented what it called “a comprehensive tariff determination webinar” to educate traders and travellers and increase their compliance with...