The value-added tax implications of the temporary change in use adjustments by residential property developers: an international comparative study

Residential property developers sometimes struggle to dispose of newly built residential premises, because of an oversupply of residential property in the market and decreased sales in recent years. Many developers have switched from speculation (when residential properties are built to be sold) to investment (when properties are retained to generate rental income). Some developers only lease out newly constructed dwellings temporarily in anticipation of selling them later at a more favourable price. Units may be held with the ultimate goal of selling them, creating taxable supplies. In South Africa, these changes in the use of residential property have value-added tax (VAT) consequences that result in a negative cash fl ow. In the 2010 Budget Speech, amendments to the harsh VAT legislation were proposed. This study examined the South African VAT legislation applicable to property developers during the period when residential properties are let out. The fi ndings suggest that the current South African VAT legislation relevant to changes in the use of residential properties is harsher than that in New Zealand or Australia, but that the proposed amendments offer some degree of relief. However, even with these amendments, there is insuffi cient relief, and another possible solution is proposed.Key words: value-added tax, residential property, change in use, temporary lettin

Exposure of rural households to toxic cyanobacteria in container-stored water

Cyanobacteria are potent producers of cyanotoxins that may present a health risk to people. This is especially important in rural areas where people use untreated surface water, containing cyanobacteria, for household purposes including cooking and drinking. Water is collected from these sources mainly in plastic containers, transported home and stored during use. This study investigated the occurrence of cyanobacteria and their associated toxins in these containers as well as in the associated surface water sources. The results suggest that cyanobacteria are transferred from the water sources to the containers and then survive and possibly grow in biofilm forming inside the vessels. Their associated cyanotoxins were not found in any health-significant quantities in containers. However, the occurrence of cyanobacteria in the water used by the households collected in containers clearly indicates that it can be an important route of exposure especially if toxic cyanobacteria are present in the source water. In several cases a risk of cyano-intoxication might exist unless the households undertake preventative measures.Keywords: cyanobacteria, cyanotoxin, microcystin, surface water sources, drinking water containers, biofil

Selection and prioritization of organic contaminants for monitoring in the drinking water value chain

The occurrence of organic contaminants in the drinking water value chain is of growing concern for the drinking water industry and its consumers. Because of the need to protect consumer health and retain their confidence on the supply, it is necessary to monitor for organic contaminants of concern to health. However, it is crucial to select and prioritize those organic contaminants of local relevance given the limited resources in developing countries. A generic protocol for the selection and prioritization of organic contaminants for monitoring in the drinking water value chain (from catchment to tap) was developed for use by Rand Water and other water utilities. The protocol was successfully implemented in the Rand Water supply chain resulting in a list of priority organic contaminants. The methodology used, recognizes the use of available information on other databases and the use of criteria tailor made for the drinking water industry

Oxygen consumption rate of Caenorhabditis elegans as a high-throughput endpoint of toxicity testing using the Seahorse XF(e)96 Extracellular Flux Analyzer

Du Preez G, Fourie H, Daneel M, et al. Oxygen consumption rate of Caenorhabditis elegans as a high-throughput endpoint of toxicity testing using the Seahorse XF(e)96 Extracellular Flux Analyzer. Scientific Reports. 2020;10(1): 4239.Caenorhabditis elegans presents functioning, biologically relevant phenotypes and is frequently used as a bioindicator of toxicity. However, most C. elegans in vivo effect-assessment methods are laborious and time consuming. Therefore, we developed a novel method to measure the oxygen consumption rate of C. elegans as a sublethal endpoint of toxicity. This protocol was tested by exposing 50 larval stage one C. elegans individuals for 48h (at 20 degrees C) to different concentrations of two toxicants i.e. benzylcetyldimethylammonium chloride (BAC-C16) and cadmium (Cd). Following exposures, the oxygen consumption rate of the C. elegans individuals were measured using the high-throughput functionality of the Seahorse XF(e)96 Extracellular Flux Analyzer. Dose-response curves for BAC-C16 (R-2=0.93; P=0.001) and Cd (R-2=0.98; P=0.001) were created. Furthermore, a strong, positive correlation was evidenced between C. elegans oxygen consumption rate and a commonly used, ecologically relevant endpoint of toxicity (growth inhibition) for BAC-C16 (R-2=0.93; P=0.0001) and Cd (R-2=0.91; P=0.0001). The data presented in this study show that C. elegans oxygen consumption rate can be used as a promising functional measurement of toxicity

The role of early childhood development and education (ECDE) in supporting learning and well-being in rural early childhood and primary schools in South Africa

This paper examines how early childhood and primary schools can be constructed as enabling spaces to improve the learning and well-being of children aged six to nine who live in multidimensionally poor, low-resourced rural communities in South Africa. Quality early childhood development and education (ECDE) can be the catalyst to break the cycle of poverty for many young children in rural areas. A systematic review was conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flowchart. A comprehensive search strategy using electronic databases and hand searches systematically whittled down an initial database of 30,080 articles to 16 articles for this study. A thematic analysis identified enablers and constraints for supporting children’s learning and well-being across three themes: (1) infrastructure, educational resources and child agency (2) initial teacher education (ITE) and (3) socioeconomic status. The findings and discussion highlight child agency as an enabler to learning and well-being and the structural and pedagogical challenges of implementing ITE curricula specific to rural educational contexts

Effect of heat-stress on conception in a dairy-herd model in the Natal highlands of South Africa

Regression models are proposed for predicting conception rate in a dairy herd under South African and especially Natal conditions. Conception rate (CR%) was related to mean monthly temperature-humidity index (THI) by curvilinear regression equation model; CR% = -812,7 + 28,61THI - 0,2322THI² (P = 0,061), and by linear regression equation model; CR% = 188,0 - 1,906THI (P = 0,023). Conception rate was related to numerical month of the year (M) by: CR% = 44,34 + 6,168M - 0,428M² (P = 0,1 06). Further investigations to test the proposed regression models under various dairy-herd conditions and to improve reproduction in South African dairy herds are needed.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi. Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.mn201

Utilizing formal innovation models to support and guide industry innovation projects

CITATION: van Zyl, H., du Preez, N.D., & Schutte, C. 2007. Utilizing formal innovation models to support and guide industry innovation projects. South African Journal of Industrial Engineering 18(2): 203-219, doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.7166/18-2-127.The original publication is available at http://sajie.journals.ac.zaENGLISH ABSTRACT: The high failure rate of innovation projects indicates that many companies are not getting the full benefit from their innovation projects [1], [2]. A research project was carried out during 2005 that explored and compared the existing formal models for supporting innovation, in order to address the identified problem. It proposed guidelines for improving and refining innovation projects. A case study that focused on the front-end of product innovation in the wine industry and the applicability of the formal W-model [3] to innovation activities was used to evaluate how formal innovation models can indeed effectively support industry innovation projects. The innovation life cycle was used to categorize a number of innovation frameworks for product, process, and enterprise innovation. Further research should focus on extending the case study to other industries, such as the automotive sector.AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die groot aantal onsuksesvolle innovasie projekte dui daarop dat maatskappye nie die volle voordele uit hul innovasie projekte kry nie [1], [2]. ’n Navorsingsprojek is gedurende 2005 uitgevoer om bestaande formele innovasie modelle te evalueer, ondersoek, en vergelyk, met die doel om bogenoemde probleem aan te spreek en riglyne voor te stel wat innovasie sal bevorder en verfyn. ’n Gevallestudie, wat fokus op produkinnovasie in die wyn-industrie, is uitgevoer om die toepaslikheid en effektiewe ondersteuning van die formele W-model [3] op spesifieke innovasie aktiwiteite te evalueer. Die innovasie-lewensiklus is ook gebruik om ’n aantal innovasie-raamwerke te kategoriseer in afdelings vir produk-, onderneming- en proses-innovasie. Toekomstige navorsing behoort te fokus op ’n uitbreiding van die gevallestudie na ander industrië soos die motorindustrie.http://sajie.journals.ac.za/pub/article/view/127Publisher's versio