Events and Exhibitions
SAIRAC JOHANNESBURG’S
56 TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
By Benjamin Brits
SAIRAC Johannesburg hosted their Annual General Meeting on
23 July 2020.
The meeting was held via the Zoom online platform with over
40 participants, and hosted by Robert Fox, Johannesburg
committee chairman.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown,
the committee did not hold their traditional “Christmas in July”
event, but offered attending members opportunity to hear guest
speaker, Mike Schussler.
The schedule of events started off with a moment of silence
for D Douglas, who sadly passed away.
Further there was discussion around the training schedule
before and post the lockdown whereafter Fox offered special
thanks to both Maureen Ramuabe and Johannesburg secretary
Mariet Pieterse.
Grant Laidlaw presented the financials and offered any
members who had any queries to direct these to either himself or
Fox via email.
Two awards were presented:
• Best student was awarded to Chad Vercuiel
• Most technical talks attended was awarded to Johan Bekker
The Johannesburg committee members will remain unchanged
for the following term.
Proceedings were then handed over to Mike Schussler –
renowned South African economic commentator in the media
and in academics. Being an economist for more than two
decades, Shussler holds a Master’s degree in Economics from the
University of Johannesburg.
A successful entrepreneur and CEO of an economics advisory
firm, he was named the ‘South African Economist of the Year’
twice and he has also been recognised as Small Business and
Member of the Year by the Jo’burg Chamber of Business.
Well-known for his innovative research from employment
to education indicators, Schussler invented and maintains the
Provincial Barometers and fixed investment indices which have
been widely published. They give insight into economic conditions
on a regional basis ‘ the first and only such indices in South Africa.
Schussler presented various current statistics and scenarios
to members, pointing out both positive and negative aspects for
the economy, and hence businesses. As he described it, the whole
world is in ‘shock’ both in the supply and demand states, where
there has been widespread disruptions in supply chains.
He pointed out the Achilles' heel for the South African business
community is the red tape, or lack of ease of dong business
coupled by the rampant and obvious corruption which leads to
lower business confidence (which is subsequently at its lowest
level since inception of the index in the mid 70s).
However with current standings of cash reserves by business
and the positive disposable income of households, and pension
savings within the top 12 positions in the world, the private sector
has a lot of legs to turn things around. He further pointed out
that fixing the problems in South Africa “won’t cost anything
financially – the simple changes in how the country is run will
result in a turnaround”.
Schussler (and other economists in the country collectively)
foresee a sharp recovery in the economy in the short term
followed by an expected longer three to five year ‘u-shape’
recovery path before levels reach pre-lockdown levels. It must
be noted that before lockdown the economy was already under
pressure with a weak rand and persisting load shedding that too
hurts the overall situation.
Schussler noted that in his view, commercial and retail stock
was in over supply particularly due to the change in online ordering,
and companies opting to allow employees to work from home, and
therefore the HVAC sector would expect results to be affected –
however on the refrigeration side with the changes in supply and
demand in the chain, that cold storage and warehousing would
become a hotspot as more goods will be required at a time but
likely less often making these facilities required.
Shussler ended off his very insightful presentation by offering
members a few key points in ways to ensure their business
continue uninterrupted though the challenges and opened the
floor to any questions. Some of which were his views on the loan
from the international monetary fund (IMF) and what investment
he would suggest - which he suggested to be the gold index fund
and even government bonds that currently offer an 8% return on
a 5-year investment.
The presentation was recorded and is available to
members. RACA
www.hvacronline.co.za RACA Journal I October 2020 11