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Cape Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Established in 1804, the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the oldest member-based business organisation in Africa. It is mandated to serve, enable and lead business. This is achieved through a multitude of services, networking opportunities as well as robust advocacy on behalf of business.

The Chamber represents business of all sizes and virtually all sectors. Our members count on us to be their eyes and ears in the Western Cape as well as on a national level, and we work tirelessly to ensure that we serve our members’ needs.

As a key player in the business landscape, the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry truly believes that we are Where Opportunity Meets.

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Upcoming Events

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Land Expropriation without Compensation - Strategies, options and solutions

28th March 2019 11:00

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Networking Breakfast - Getting the most out of your membership

29th March 2019 08:00

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Coffee Club Networking - The Power of Customer Centricity

2nd April 2019 08:00

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Employment Contracts - Workshop

2nd April 2019 08:30

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Everything you want to know about LinkedIn - Workshop

2nd April 2019 08:30

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Lunchtime Networking Event - Winelands

3rd April 2019 12:00

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Compromise & Deferment of Arrear Taxes - Webinar

3rd April 2019 13:00

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Chamber Book Club: Women Leadership in Emerging Markets

4th April 2019 18:00

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Events

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LATEST NEWS

26 Mar
Majority of Cape Town property owners believe current property valuations system is unfair

Majority of Cape Town property owners believe current property valuations system is unfair

The vast majority of Cape Town business and residential property owners believe that their properties have been significantly overvalued by the City and that the present system of determining valuations is unfair. In a survey of our member base, 63.2% of respondents saw the rating system as a wealth tax while only 36.8% said it was a reasonable way to raise revenue for local government. What surprised us most was the number of properties which our respondents said were overvalued by 100% or more. One would expect variations of perhaps 20% but when the 100% figures appear then it is clear that something is very wrong. Nearly 61% of respondents said their business properties were overvalued while 73% said their residential properties were overvalued. In response to the question “Leaving sentiment aside, if you were offered the equivalent of municipal valuation for your property would you accept or reject the offer” 57% said they would accept the offer and sell their properties. This is a very significant comment as it reveals the real extent of dissatisfaction with the valuations and that people have no confidence in the system. This was confirmed when more than 82% of respondents said they did not believe the […]

Featured Item Press Releases
18 Mar
New round of extreme load shedding

New round of extreme load shedding

The new round of extreme load shedding gives businesses and municipalities no option but to look for other suppliers of electricity. We have already seen the whole Old Mutual office complex in Pinelands go off grid and we will see many more cases like this because businesses cannot cope with an unreliable supply of electricity. The present crisis is hurting businesses, municipalities and Eskom. Business needs electricity to survive. Eskom desperately needs to sell more power to keep going but instead finds its revenue going down while its costs increase as it has to use expensive diesel to keep its emergency gas turbines going. In addition, Eskom has to spend more money on long overdue maintenance. Any business person knows what falling sales and rising costs mean for a company. The situation will also hurt struggling municipalities which rely on electricity income to subsidise their costs and keep their distribution systems and rate-paying commercial and industrial firms going. This has created a situation where roof-top solar looks more attractive every month and where municipalities like Cape Town want to make use of independent power producers. They have no choice. The long-term effects will be bad for Eskom, the country and for […]

Featured Item Press Releases
12 Mar
Janine Myburgh hands over Chamber reigns to the new President

Janine Myburgh hands over Chamber reigns to the new President

The Cape Chamber could not be in better hands as I hand the reigns over to Mr Geoffrey Jacobs. I’ve served as president for five eventful years which saw a rise in the Chamber’s profile. This was confirmed by independent research which found that the Chamber brand equity had significantly increased during this time. The new president is well equipped for the job. Geoff is probably the best qualified president we have had in recent years. He was brought up on the Cape Flats, educated in Athlone and went on to earn Masters degrees in business administration and history. Most of his experience in the business world has been in the human resources field. I am particularly pleased that he is a former school principal with a deep and practical understanding of education. I believe this will be of great importance as we go forward for there is nothing like knowledge to break down social and professional barriers. South Africa has too many underachieving schools and that leads to underachieving lives. We see the results in business, and it is my wish that business and the Chamber will take a greater interest in education, especially basic education and I’m sure Geoff will […]

Featured Item Press Releases
11 Mar
Cape Town will be staging the 2023 Netball World Cup

Cape Town will be staging the 2023 Netball World Cup

The Cape Chamber is delighted that Cape Town will be staging the 1922 Netball World Cup. It is once again proof that the City at the foot of Table Mountain has the power to draw and stage international events and that will be good for business, good for jobs and good for tourism. The tournament will put Cape Town on TV screens around the world and it should be a great advertisement for everything we have to offer. At the same time it will be a challenge. The centre of the tournament will be the underused Good Hope Centre and it will be good to see the centre brought back to life, but the big challenge will be to improve the surrounding areas. This is a vital historic part of the City which has been much neglected in recent years. We have unfinished buildings, open spaces and a planning vacuum. I hope the City sees this as a challenge to deal with old problems and a sorry story of injustice. Perhaps it will even give it a new District Six or should we call it District Seven for luck and a future of renewal. Janine Myburgh President of the Cape Chamber

Featured Item Press Releases
8 Mar
The best that can be said about the new electricity tariff increases

The best that can be said about the new electricity tariff increases

The best that can be said about the new round of Eskom electricity tariff increases is that they are not as bad as they might have been. We are still looking at three years of above inflation increases with the bitter knowledge that every time we pay for electricity we are paying for corruption and incompetent management. Naturally we are pleased that Nersa has curbed Eskom demands but this does not solve the problem. It is now up to Eskom to cut its costs. It is time to ask questions about how many jobs Eskom has destroyed in the last decade when electricity tariffs were increased by about 300%. We know that that half the foundries in the country have had to close down because they could not afford the electricity. The aluminium smelters have closed down and how many mine shafts have been put on care and maintenance? Perhaps even worse is the number of mining and industrial projects that have been put on hold or cancelled because the price of electricity made them uneconomic. We also want to know why Eskom was unable to collect debts from many municipalities which together owed R38 billion for electricity. Some people pay […]

Featured Item Press Releases
6 Mar
Rail Enforcement Unit proves battle against vandals and copper thieves can be won

Rail Enforcement Unit proves battle against vandals and copper thieves can be won

In its first three months of operation the new Rail Enforcement Unit has already proved that the battle against copper thieves and vandals can be won. In the past 12 months the value of damage to the Metro Rail system was R107.7m but in the three months from November last year to February this year the amount of damage sustained was zero, according to a joint report by Metrorail, the City of Cape Town and the Provincial Government. This is due to the co-operation between all three organisations and private security. When we all work together we can win this battle and save Cape Town’s vital rail system. In fact, the joint effort gained ground as the value of goods recovered during the three months was greater than the value of goods stolen with the losses due to theft amounting to R858 000 while the value of goods recovered was more than R2.6m. It is successes like this which turn the tide. We have a long way to go but the knowledge that security staff are making a difference will give them more confidence and that, in turn, will improve their performance. The next step in the battle is to make […]

Featured Item Press Releases
27 Feb
City’s bid to buy renewable energy directly from independent power producers

City’s bid to buy renewable energy directly from independent power producers

The Cape Chamber has welcomed the attempt by the City of Cape Town to speed up its bid to be allowed to buy renewable energy directly from independent power producers. At present the matter between the City, the Department of Energy and NERSA is before the Gauteng High Court but the City now wants it to be treated as urgent. The recent load shedding and the threat of more to come makes it essential for all cities and the economy as a whole to have access to additional sources of electricity. New solar and wind power would cost about 80 cents a unit which is more expensive than the wholesale price the City pays Eskom for electricity but with the kind of tariff increases being demanded, 80 cents a unit will be a very good price in a few years time. Renewable energy will be entirely financed by the independent power producers and will not affect the City or Eskom’s borrowings. The plan is to limit the renewable energy projects to a total of 400 MW. This is a relatively small amount of power when compared to the 1 800 MW supplied by the Koeberg nuclear power station. In addition, […]

Featured Item Press Releases
25 Feb
Frightening aspects of the Draft Expropriation Bill

Frightening aspects of the Draft Expropriation Bill

One of the most frightening aspects of the Draft Expropriation Bill is that it gives our 257 municipalities the right to expropriate property without compensation. In the letter of objection to the Bill I’ve said that the biggest demand for land was in the urban areas so municipalities would be the authorities most likely to do the expropriating and they would be given dangerous powers which most of them were not competent or equipped to use. The performance of our municipalities leaves a great deal to be desired. This is clear from the fact that only 33 of our 257 municipalities obtained clean audits last year and the auditor general has complained of the lack of accountability and that his advice is simply ignored. In addition, there was a vast corruption problem with, for example, municipalities collecting money for electricity and spending it on other projects instead of paying Eskom. Municipalities now owe the electricity company R17 billion. Municipalities cannot be trusted to implement expropriation without compensation fairly and with the administrative justice demanded by section 33 of the Constitution. The Bill gives five examples where “nil compensation” would be justified but it also states that expropriation without compensation is […]

Featured Item Press Releases
22 Feb
Budget announcement designed only to keep us afloat until after elections

Budget announcement designed only to keep us afloat until after elections

This budget will not solve any of South Africa’s pressing economic problems or bring us closer to solutions. The Chamber’s impression is that it is a holding or “treading water” budget designed to keep us afloat until after the election. We have urgent problems like dealing with Eskom and the other state-owned entities which are on the verge of bankruptcy. Drastic measures are required but if we expected them in the budget we have every reason to be disappointed. The Minister did not shy away from the seriousness of our problems and warned that that we would have to deal with bitter fruit but he offered us little we will have to wait until after the election. Predictions of an economic growth rate of 1.5% are optimistic and, weighed against an increase in the debt-to-gdp rate, it is clear that we are slipping backwards. It was clear from the Minister’s remarks that he knows what kind of decisions will have to be made in the near future but the question is whether there will be the political will to make those decisions. At present the indications are that there is such a diversity of opinions in the ruling alliance that […]

Featured Item Press Releases
15 Feb
SOPA 2019 painted a clear picture of where SA could be without corruption

SOPA 2019 painted a clear picture of where SA could be without corruption

Premier Helen Zille’s State of the Province address and her account of the progress made in the Western Cape give a clear picture of where South Africa could be without the corruption that has plagued many other provinces and state-owned enterprises. Nothing says this more clearly than the Auditor General’s figures on local government where only 33 municipalities out of 257 achieved clean audits and 21 of them were in the Western Cape. This is a clear indication that the corruption problem is well contained in the Western Cape and it is surely one of the most important reasons for our success. In the public sector as a whole the Western Cape achieved had 83% clean audits. Next best was Gauteng with 52%. The figures clearly show that the Western Cape is the leading province in the country and the best place to live. The number of jobs  created in the Western Cape had increased by 25% over the last 10 years while job numbers grew by only 18.8% in Gauteng and 8.8% in KZN. In almost every area the record of success is outstanding and the indications for the future are good. Even a field like agriculture grew and […]

Featured Item Press Releases
11 Feb
Shocked by load shedding

Shocked by load shedding

The Chamber is shocked by the sudden dramatic increase in load shedding. How is it possible for six units to go down at the same time? It is just too much of a co-incidence and we must ask if this is not another case of sabotage? Sabotage was blamed for a previous bout of load shedding, but the form it took was never explained to the public, except for workers who prevented coal deliveries from taking place. Stage Four load shedding is very serious indeed and it will affect commerce and industry. This will also affect the jobs of other workers, especially in heavy industry and it is time that workers whose jobs are at risk raised their voices. The new crisis will affect businesses confidence and I can see foreign investor turning away and looking elsewhere for investment opportunities. To make matters worse the blow has come in the middle of the tourist season and at a vital time for agriculture, two of our most important industries. In the long term it will also mean more businesses and home owners making decisions to go off grid leading to further problems for Eskom and its staff. Janine Myburgh President of the Cape […]

Featured Item Press Releases
8 Feb
Courageous State of the Nation Address

Courageous State of the Nation Address

The Chamber has praised the courageous State of the Nation Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa and says business will support the reforms he announced. We have to warn, however, that implementing the changes will be a major challenge and bring Ramaphosa into conflict with members of his own ruling alliance. The big threat is from the unions at Eskom who have already shown that they are willing to strike and obstruct coal deliveries no matter how much damage this will do to the country. The speech also revealed that the President has a deep understanding of the fundamental problems that are crippling the economy. The one disappointment was the reiteration of the dangerous expropriation without compensation policy which is likely to undo much of what he is trying to achieve. The Chamber is pleased to note his determination to eradicate corruption and the strengthening of the National Prosecuting Authority to speed up the process. If he is successful we may need some new jails. We also welcome the new emphasis on technical education for the modern world but the introduction of tablets in schools is something that will have to be handled with great care. It is a very cheap […]

Featured Item Press Releases
4 Feb
Keeping car licence fee increases down to 3% for the WC is a significant achievement

Keeping car licence fee increases down to 3% for the WC is a significant achievement

Keeping car licence fee increases down to 3% for the Western Cape is a significant achievement for the provincial government. It is also a pleasant surprise for the public who have been left punch drunk from a series of above inflation increases in administered prices over the last few years. Many of us thought 3% increases were an extinct species. It will also help the Cape to deal with the problem of motorists and truck owners licensing their vehicles in other provinces where licence fees are artificially low to “poach” business from the Western Cape. It is happening in an election year, but it is still a welcome indication that costs are under control in the province. Janine Myburgh President of the Cape Chamber

Featured Item Press Releases
9 Jan
Eskom’s 59% tariff increase over three years

Eskom’s 59% tariff increase over three years

The Eskom disaster has reached a stage where its problems can no longer be solved by price increases and drastic action is now required. In fact price increases will make things worse and reduce Eskom’s chances of recovery. One of the problems was that Eskom’s request for three 15% increases for the next three years did not tell the full story. Nersa has already granted an increase of 4.41% and when we add this to 15% we are already looking at an increase of nearly 20% in year one. The next 15% increase will be applied to a tariff that has already been increased and the third 15% increase will apply to a tariff that has already been increased twice so the total increase over three years will be nearly 59% and not the 45% that has been reported. The second problem is that demand for electricity is falling and would continue to fall as people turned to alternatives like gas, more efficient electric appliances and LED lighting. The only solution is to reduce costs. We know from independent studies that Eskom is over staffed by about 60% and that salaries are much higher than similar utility companies in other […]

Featured Item Press Releases
7 Jan
2018 matriculants do well to improve pass rate

2018 matriculants do well to improve pass rate

The matrics of 2018 have done well to improve the pass rate in difficult circumstances but there is still a great deal of room for improvement in the basic standard of education in the country. Some of the stories of individual successes against all the odds have been truly inspiring and fill us with hope for a better South Africa. The class of 2018 had to cope with an array of modern distractions like social media yet they still managed to do the work and produce the results. They deserve our congratulations. However it’s important not to be carried away by the success of the few because the real challenge is to improve the literacy and numeracy of the many. Politicians are rightly concerned about the number of learners who fall by the way before matric, but I believe there is a bigger challenge for the future and that is to make sure our education system produces matriculants who are equipped to deal with the changing demands of the modern world. There is no doubt that we are becoming more reliant on technology and this meant more emphasis should be placed on the STEM subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths. Students […]

Featured Item Press Releases
12 Dec
Breaking the Eskom monopoly

Breaking the Eskom monopoly

The ongoing threat of load shedding means that breaking the Eskom monopoly and allowing the Cape Town City Council to buy electricity from independent power producers has become an urgent matter. The City has already made an application to the High Court to be allowed to deal directly with IPP’s but its arguments were based largely on the threat of climate change and the court decided that it was not an urgent matter. The situation has now changed and we are living with a daily threat of load shedding. We urge the City Council to again approach the court with new evidence and a request for the matter to be treated as urgent. Cape Town is already buying surplus electricity from people who have installed rooftop solar panels but in small quantities. One of the problems is that joining the electricity department’s scheme to have their solar panel tied to the grid is expensive. The City charges R450 a month to connect solar to the grid and R8 000 for a new meter. One member of the Chamber said it was unlikely that he could sell enough surplus electricity to recover the monthly fee and the cost of the meter was […]

Featured Item Press Releases
11 Dec
Cape Town voted best City in the World for six years in a row

Cape Town voted best City in the World for six years in a row

The Chamber is delighted that Cape Town has been voted the best City in the world by the conservative readers of Britain’s Daily Telegraph for the sixth year in a row. The news comes a week after Cape Town was voted as the second best city by a much wider audience of the magazine Travel and Leisure. We should bear in mind that we are being judged largely as a holiday city and as a summer refuge for “swallows” from the northern countries. This is also a great compliment to the people of Cape Town who have made visitors so welcome. As a city we still have many challenges ahead of us but this accolade should spur us on to extend the City’s international appeal well beyond the tourist season. We should also bear in mind that the Telegraph readers are sick and tired of the Brexit debate and that this has probably put them off Europe but it was satisfying to note that Cape Town came out ahead of Tokyo, Vancouver, New York, Sydney and San Francisco as well as the historic Italian cities of Venice, Florence and Rome. Janine Myburgh President of the Cape Chamber

Featured Item Press Releases
5 Dec
Business needs to be less reliant on Eskom power

Business needs to be less reliant on Eskom power

Eskom’s problems will take many months or even years to fix and the Chamber believes it is time for businesses to plan to be less reliant on Eskom power. The City of Cape Town has already gone to court in a bid to get round the Eskom monopoly and be allowed to buy electricity directly from independent power producers. This is a good move and we applaud the City for taking the initiative. But it is not enough. Business has to do its own planning. Eskom’s main problems are the coal supply and the lack of maintenance on its generating plants. South Africa has huge reserves of coal but the problem is that most of this coal is being transported by road at great cost and that problem will not go away quickly. Eskom has failed to develop the mines near the power stations and to do so now will cost money that Eskom doesn’t have and it will take years. Maintenance problems are partly the result of a loss of skills and, once again, there’s no quick fix. If the City wins its case to buy power directly from independent power producers all the necessary investment will come from the private […]

Featured Item Press Releases
5 Dec
Economic growth shows we’re regaining lost ground

Economic growth shows we’re regaining lost ground

Economic growth of 2.2% in the third quarter of this year is encouraging but South Africa has a long way to go before it shakes off the effects of policy confusion and under investment. The figures show that the big problem is the mining industry which slumped by 8.8%. This is a self-inflicted wound and stems from the policies the government planned to introduce in the Zuma years which had the effect of discoursing investment in new mines and exploration. It will take a long time to catch up. Also encouraging is the 6.5% growth in agriculture despite drought problems in parts of the country. This matters because agriculture is a big employer and it is a timely reminder of the expropriation threats to this growing industry. It is an industry which is vital and we can’t afford to see it go the same way as mining. Prospects for the Western Cape are also improving after the drought and the indications are that we are in for a good tourism season. The film industry is also recovering and it is now clear that we are regaining ground lost last summer. Janine Myburgh President of the Chamber

Featured Item Press Releases
3 Dec
Significant drop in fuel prices ahead of the festive period

Significant drop in fuel prices ahead of the festive period

The Chamber has welcomed the significant drop in the price of both diesel and petrol as a Christmas bonus for the hard-pressed people of South Africa. It will make a big difference to the holiday season and we could see a boost in internal tourism. This will be welcome after the tourism losses during last year’s drought. The second thing to note was that we were having to deal with fairly wild fluctuations in fuel prices and this made planning difficult for business. I understand that the reasons were that the exchange rate and the oil price both moved in our favour at the same time, but we need to find ways to stabilize the prices. I know that these are factors beyond our control but we must bear them in mind in the review of the fuel price review. The priority has to be to get our economy performing again to remove most of the exchange control variations. In the short term we should make the most of the Christmas bonus and try to put some money away to help us deal with the inevitable increases next year. We know that OPEC and the Russians have already agreed to reduce their […]

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Established in 1804, the Cape Chamber of Commerce is the oldest member-based organisation in Africa. The Chamber has remained contemporary and relevant with a wide range of services, including information, training, networking, trade facilitation and robust advocacy on behalf of our members. We are the voice of business.

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