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The Winter Knights of the Round Table event took place on 28 June, in the Tusk Rio Casino's Parking Area from 6pm till late and was, once again, a great success. Music, dancing, an enormous bonfire and lots of freshly made and very potent punch kept the cold at bay for the Klerksdorp Round Tablers and their partners, friends and, of course, the supporters who turned out to help raise the excellent amount of R17 000.00 for charities in our city. Round Tabler Robbie Rossouw said “We raised over R17 000.00! That works out to 571 blankets which will be donated to worthy causes in the city.” Some 1600 Round Tablers across the region spent the night in the cold at various venues with no protection other than a Round Table T Shirt and jeans, relying entirely on the generosity of the public to survive the wintery night this past weekend. The aim of this unique event is to raise donations of food, clothes and blankets for the less fortunate. This effort forms part of a charity initiative staged across the entire Southern African region, from Durban to Swakopmund and Polokwane to Cape Town every year. Call Robbie Rossouw on 082 924 0353 or email eventmaker@gds.co.za to make a late donation or for more information on this event. Last year guests of the Rio Casino - Escapades Theatre were entertained during the “Ages of Dance” by an array of expert dancing, as well as celebration performances by the winners and up and coming dancers in the KOSH area. On 2 August the Escapades Theatre at the Rio Casino will host the 2008 Rio-Matlosana Youth Dance Festival and with 120 items and 200 dancers, it guarantees to be an entertaining day. This year the organisers of the Rio-Matlosana Youth Dance Festival have planned to host a feast of fine arts entertainment for all keen followers. “Dancing Kaleidoscope” will be a two night only show at the Escapades Theatre, Rio Casino Resort, on 15 and 16 August. Special performances by the category winners of the Rio-Matlosana Youth Dance Festival, as well as dancing exhibitions by most of our expert dancers will set the theme for a kaleidoscope of People, Dance, Music and Poetry. For further information and bookings please contact 018 4683916 during office hours. Rising petrol prices have led to a significant decrease in petrol sales, suggesting that many smaller petrol stations may be forced to close if the price spiral continues. And while some sources claim the deregulation of fuel prices is imminent, others have shot down the possibility, saying trade unions would never allow it due to the threat of job losses. Peter Noke, spokesperson for the SA Petrol Retailers' Association, said the decrease in petrol sales was "an indication that the economy is pinching", but more especially that rising petrol prices were hurting motorists. In respect of possible deregulation, he said this was "not far off" due to increasing pressure from oil companies and big business. Noke, however, cautioned against deregulation, saying it would put the viability of small petrol stations at risk, with the consequent threat of job losses. Fuel retailers are heavily regulated and operate off very tight margins. According to Noke, the static gross profit of petrol retailers is currently 6,5 percent. Effectively that means that, on average, the retailer keeps 64,7c from every litre of petrol sold. Of that, 20,4c must go to wages for pump attendants. The remaining 44,3c is left for the retailer to pay all other operating expenses. Noke estimated that there are about 56 000 pump attendants in South Africa, with the average pump attendant's wage feeding about five people.The closing of petrol stations would have a disastrous effect on unemployment, not to mention the people dependent on those wages, he said. Noke confirmed that a number of individual retailers had reported decreases of up to 12 percent in petrol sales. Mziwakhe Hlangani, spokesperson for the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) which represents the country's pump attendants, expressed concern for their jobs in the future. He said "smaller petrol stations are collapsing under the pressures caused by high fuel prices", and that the union was in discussions with the government in a bid to lift profit margins of retailers, and to protect the jobs of the country's thousands of pump attendants. In a bid to assist consumers and suppliers, the government did put into effect the planned 5.4c per litre increase on the wholesale price of fuel at midnight on 1 July. This means the price of fuel went up only 74c per litre, as opposed to the previously reported 81c, pushing the price of 93 octane unleaded fuel to R10.66 per litre in Gauteng. Minister of Minerals and Energy Buyelwa Sonjica made the announcement on 30 June. She said the ever-increasing fuel price had necessitated a need to carefully review and collectively find solutions to challenges facing the country. "Fuel taxation can be tweaked to benefit consumers who are already overburdened,” she explained. |
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