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GEORGE NEWS & VIDEO - A panel of business speakers brought a cautiously optimistic message about the economy to guests at the Citadel George Herald business breakfast at Tramonto on Thursday. The discussion was led by well-known television journalist, Freek Robinson.
Group Editors Operations Director and Caxton Digital General Manager Nicole Rimbault started the programme with an overview of the positive state of local media in South Africa today.
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This is reflected in the weekly circulation of local sold and free newspapers which stood at 6,4-million copies in 2017, compared with the dwindling figures of daily and weekend newspapers whose total daily circulation was at an all-time low of 2,3-million per day.
The sold publications of Group Editors in the Garden Route and Little Karoo number 32 840 newspapers, compared with the Burger's 5 100 daily copies in the same area.
George Herald is currently the third largest weekly sold newspaper in South Africa.
Group Editors is also maximising its clients' exposure online. It recorded over 1-million page views from over 443 000 unique visitors during January 2018. George Herald had over 528 000 page views for the month from 141 000 unique visitors.
"It is a captive audience interested in community news, sport, entertainment and lifestyle. For any hyper-local advertiser this is more powerful than anything that Google, Amazon or Facebook can offer," said Rimbault.
The speakers at the event, from left: Citadel chief investment officer George Herman, Outsurance CEO Marthinus Visser, Mediclinic CEO Edmund van Wyk and Group Editors Operations Director and Caxton Digital Manager Nicole Rimbault. Photos: Alida de Beer
Mediclinic anxious to build
Mediclinic CEO Edmund van Wyk assured the audience that their plans for a new regional hospital in George are on track.
In contrast to the rest of South Africa, where there is limited growth opportunities for the medical industry, they are positive about the economic outlook in the Southern Cape and has identified it as a growth point.
He said an alternative site has been found after their initial application for a site near the Garden Route Mall was rejected by George Municipality.
An agreement with the owner is in place, but the development is still subject to municipal approval. Van Wyk said the Mediclinic board is anxious for the development to go ahead, but if all else fails, the reserved funds will be channelled to investments elsewhere. The new hospital will be a R750-million investment.
One of Mediclinic's biggest challenges is a shortage of doctors and nurses. The group has resorted to bringing nurses from India with great success, although this is not their first choice. Therefore, training in South Africa must receive more attention.
The team from Grant Thornton.
Global upswing
Citadel CEO George Herman is positive about economies across the globe that are in a simultaneous upswing, a unique occurrence. He said with consumer sentiment at a record high and global rising interest rates, central banks' balance sheets will contract, creating bigger risk for indebted emerging markets such as South Africa.
Although our debt levels are the fifth worst in the world, Herman believes that President Cyril Ramaphosa is "the best leader in the world" to tackle the many "hot potatoes" we face, like expropriation, the shambles at state-owned enterprises, and an outsized government that is spending too much in the wrong places.
Economy must grow
Marthinus Visser, Outsurance Group CEO, stressed the importance of growing the economy to ensure job creation. Unemployment and a slow economy are also affecting the insurance industry. "Until there is more clarity on the land expropriation issue, the new dawn for South Africa will not be realised."
He referred to the R3-billion loss suffered during the Knysna fires and said a sharp increase in re-insurance premiums is expected.
These premiums are also under pressure due to natural disasters in 2017 in the US. Factors such as the slow economy and Uber are having a downward effect on car premiums. Fewer accidents happen because less people drive under the influence of alcohol, and in general, people drive less.
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The organiser of the event, Lourens Selzer, is looking forward to the next business breakfast later this year. "I have received a lot of positive feedback from guests."
He thanked the sponsors, namely Citadel (main sponsor), George Herald (media sponsor), Cell C, DoughGetters Accounting, Henque Waste, and Honda George.
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