The Budget Speech 2014, by Finance Minister Pravine Gordhan, was presented under easing global economic pressure, but on the back of a weakening Rand due to the dollar strengthening in the global recovery. South Africa have shown some economic stability and resilience over the last five years of global economic crisis.

The current administration has prepared the National Development Plan (NDP) for implementation by the next government administration. Timed to perfection with the upcoming elections. Promising that the implementation of the NDP over the next five years will provide economic stability, job creation, capital and infrastructural development that will benefit all in the 20 year old democratic South Africa. This sounds like a submission of a curriculum vitae (CV), by a 20 year old, to apply for the job for the next five years. Will they be successful in their application?

Job Creation and Economic Transformation

6 million jobs were created by government in the last 5 years. To meet the job creation requirement, Mr Gordhan is asking for a "Vision and strategy shared by leaders and the people" between the public and the private sector. "A vision founded on realism and evidence. It is time for action and implementation."

Business Growth

Business' need to look at expanding operations and starting new ventures. Growth is needed in Manufacturing to stimulate the economy and employment. Incentives of R10.3 billion over the next 3 years are on the table for these expansions. Business owners need to make use of these for real development. With the weak Rand, exports are attractive. Entrepreneurs need to be creative and adventurous to take the raw materials in South Africa and manufacture them into useful products. South Africa has a good reputation for quality. Hopefully new developments will maintain these standards. Make use of the incentives. Give us a shout if you need help with the business proposals and business plans.

Small Business Corporation (SBC) Tax changes

The lower SBC bracket has increased to R70,700. The next bracket is unchanged at an upper limit of R365,000. The brackets had very minor changes. This is very disappointing as it has not taken into account inflation increases.

Taxable Income (R) Rate of Tax (R)
0 to 70 700 0% of taxable income
70 701 to 365 000 7% of taxable income above 70 700
365 001 to 550 000 20 601 + 21% of taxable income above 365 000
550 001 and above 59 451 + 28% of the amount above 550 000

Employment tax incentives have been introduced for new employees below the age of 29 years. This PAYE rebate system was implemented a few months prior to the budget speech.

Turnover Tax

Turnover tax has seen no changes to the tax brackets

Individuals Tax

There is tax relief for individuals, particularly in the lower income brackets for taxpayers. A useful proposal to keep an eye on is that tax-free lump sum benefits will increase to R500,000.

Taxable Income (R) Rate of Tax (R)
0 to 174 550 18% of taxable income
174 551 to 272 700   31 419 + 25% of taxable income above 174 550
272 701 to 377 450   55 957 + 30% of taxable income above 272 700
377 451 to 528 000   87 382 + 35% of taxable income above 377 450
528 001 to 673 100   140 074 + 38% of taxable income above 528 000
673 101 and above   195 212 + 40% of taxable income above 673 100

Rebates
Primary R12 726
Secondary (Persons 65 and older) R7 110
Tertiary (Persons 75 and older) R2 367

Age Tax Threshold
Below age 65 R70 700
Age 65 to below 75 R110 200
Age 75 and over R123 350

Conclusion

Government is dependent on the private sector to create the jobs in South Africa. Capital Growth has been highlighted as a important for future job security. Make use of the incentives and weak Rand to develop your export markets.

Shared from the Business Soul Accounting Blog.

Poor attendances on Tuesday and Thursday last week, presumably because of the very hot weather, were off-set by a turnout of forty-six players on Saturday. We played the first of our new Lindsay's competitions and the winners were John Pattrick, Neil Tainton, Margie Seale and Jenny Hammond who gained a critical half a point on one end when two opposing bowls came to rest on the jack. Sincere thanks to Lindsay's Coffee Shop for the prize vouchers.

The Jaxx Roll on Wednesday was won by a team from Maritzburg lead by Gert Snyman. Winners of the Losers were Dave Hammond's team from Hilton. Jaxx and Dulcė's restaurants provided the prizes, for which our grateful thanks.

Entry forms for several NIBA competitions as well as the Club Nominated Pairs competitions are also on the board.

Duties: 2 – 8 Mar: OOD: Ron Buchel. Tabs: Derick Hull. Duty Team: Fred Palmer. Teas on 8 Mar: Graham Appleby & Peter Ayerst. Biscuits: 4 & 6 Mar. Barry Collier & Arthur Daugherty.

News supplied by Hilton Bowling Club.

Fuchsias, in particular, are plants that prefer the cooler weather and have taken a beating in this heat.

So, what to do to help your fuchsias get through this hot period? The plants in the garden are more able to regulate their temperature and moisture levels. This would particularly be the case if you had mulched your plants earlier in the season. The mulch benefits the plants immensely by keeping the roots cool and moist in the heat.

Those in containers, however, do suffer. The pots, particularly the plastic ones, can get very hot and almost "cook" the roots. The plants' leaves will start to droop and our natural reaction is to give it some water. Always check first how heavy the pot is, or, if it is too big to lift, stick your finger in the mix to check the moisture level. If the pot is light and dry, give it a good watering. If the water goes straight through and the pot still feels light, put a drip tray under the pot to allow the plant to soak up more water. Most potting mixes are bark based, which, when they dry out, are difficult to re-wet. Another trick is to mix a wetting agent in with the water. You can mix a squirt of dishwashing liquid into the watering can and water your plants to help wet the potting mix.

If, however, the pot is heavy and the mix is wet, just give the foliage a fine spray with plain water. This helps to cool the plant and assist it in trying to balance its loss of moisture through the leaves (transpiration). DO NOT give the plant any more water as this can literally "drown" the roots and could even kill the plant. As many plants are killed by over-watering as by under-watering!

Another option with smaller potted plants is to place the plant, still in its pot, into a larger pot and line the gap between the two pots with sawdust or shredded newspaper and keep this moist. This acts as an insulator to keep the pot and roots cool.

Your fuchsias may also need to have a light pruning. Take about 20% off the branches. The plant should "tell" you where to prune. Prune just above the new side shoots. This will provide a further flush of flowers before the end of the season.

Also, don't forget to feed with chicken manure (or Bounce/Accelerator) and 5:1:5 for garden plants and chicken manure and 3:1:3 (complete with trace elements) for potted plants. The feeding should be alternated every two weeks. Both garden and potted plants will also benefit from a regular weekly application of foliar feed.

Roses can be dealt with in a very similar way to fuchsias. That means giving a light pruning, feeding and mulching. You may also have to spray a fungicide to combat the black spot, which has been quite prevalent this season. But please make sure that your roses are planted in a well-drained mix. Roses love lots of water but hate being water-logged.

Coming up a talk on "FOOD FROM THE GARDEN":

March is the ideal time to get your veggie gardens going. It is starting to get cooler, bugs reduce in numbers and there are less weeds. I will be sharing with you a system of veggie growing which is organic, easy on your back as it requires little or no digging and produces fantastic veggies.

I will also talk about growing berries, fruit trees and some other out of the ordinary edible fruits.

When: Thursday, 6th March at 9.30 am.
Where: Tanglewood Nursery
What to bring: a folding chair to sit on, sun hat or raincoat (depending on the weather)
Cost: Bring some money to enter our lucky draw.

News supplied by Tanglewood Nursery in Hilton.

Well done and congratulations to Kudu House on winning the overall trophy at the Inter-House Gala on Friday, 21 February. Thank you to all who were involved in making this such a successful and memorable event.

Pictured here L-R Brogan Tedder and Leah Kriel, Kudu house captains, receiving the winning house trophy from guest of honour Rosh Tedder.

News supplied by Laddsworth Primary School.

At the AGM on Thursday, the Club conferred Honorary Life membership on Doug Robertson and Dave Hammond for their service to Hilton Bowling Club and to our district. Thelma Mylne was installed as President, with George Oldham as Vice President. Other members of the committee remain the same, except that Derick Hull replaces Dave Hammond as Immediate Past President. We thank all these members for their willingness to serve the club.

The out-going President offered to donate funds towards buying a new mower if other members would do likewise. By the end of the meeting, R13 500 had been pledged. Anyone else who would like to make a contribution should please contact Derick Hull (033 343 2901)

Photographs of prize winners are on the board.

Because of the extreme heat we are experiencing at the moment, it has been decided to start bowling at 14:30 until the end of March. Any change to this arrangement will be communicated to members by SMS.

Entry forms for several NIBA competitions as well as the Club Nominated Pairs competitions are also on the board.

Duties: 23 Feb – 1 Mar: OOD: Thelma Mylne. Tabs: Mike Mylne. Duty Team: Chris Purchase. Teas on 1 Mar: B & T O'Neil-Williams. Biscuits: 25 & 27 Feb. Ron Buchel & Joan Byrom.

News supplied by Hilton Bowling Club.

Grace College Grade 11 pupils, Rachael Webster and Megan Davidovics were awarded Half Colours for doing over 100 hours of Community Service each in 2013. Rachael completed 172,5 hours working with Aids Orphans and helping with Junior Youth at Church amongst others. Megan worked at the Elephant Sanctuary and completed 152 hours in total. This is such a well-deserved award for both and Grace commends them on their outstanding efforts.

Pictured: Rachael Webster (left) and Megan Davidovics (right).

News supplied by Grace College.

Lister & Lister provided prizes on Tuesday. Winners were Jean Pluke, John Bayley, Richard Lister and Andy Hitchcock. On Thursday we were washed out shortly after tea. Friday saw us playing the second monthly Investment Facilitators competition. A team of visitors under the guidance of Barry Earnshaw took the top honours, while Thelma and Mike Mylne with Dave Stevenson at lead won the second prize.

Our grateful thanks to IF for their sponsorship.

Despite not having prizes for the winners, thirty people turned out to play on Saturday. Although heavy cloud hung around all afternoon, the rain held off until we completed our games.

Thelma Mylne and Margie Garrard were in the NIBA President's team that played in the Quadrangular tournament last weekend. It was a good experience for them both and they thoroughly enjoyed meeting bowlers from all over KwaZulu-Natal.

Members are asked to bring a small plate of snacks to share after the AGM that will take place after bowls on Thursday.

Duties: 16 - 22 Feb: OOD: John Pluke. Tabs: Jean Pluke. Duty Team: Taffy O'Neil-Williams. Teas on 22 Feb: Deirdre & Bill McQuade. Biscuits: 18 & 20 Feb. Pat Bennet & John Bennie.

News supplied by Hilton Bowling Club.

We missed out on our bowling on Thursday, and the monthly prizes sponsored by Lister and Lister will be carried over. A crowd of forty-four players turned up on Saturday to play for chickens. As we had a mixture of rinks and trips, the prizes went to the team winning the highest number of ends. The winners were Chris Purchase, Colin Watson, Mike Mylne and John Bennie.

Well done gents, and thanks to Quarry Spar for the chickens.

BSA membership cards have arrived. These will be issued to players over the next week or two.

Ask Derick for your card.

The Notice of Meeting for the AGM on 13th February is on the board. Members are invited to nominate candidates for the following positions: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and two further members. Nomination forms are on the board.

The next Jaxx Roll will be played on 19th February. Entries to John Pattrick. (033 343 1931)

The next IF Sponsored Trips Competition will take place on Friday 7 February.

For the next few weeks, IF the forecast temperature for Pietermaritzburg exceeds 35 degrees, we will start playing at 14:30, but will try to confirm this by SMS.

Duties: 9 - 15 Feb: OOD: Dave Hammond. Tabs: Chris Purchase. Duty Team: John Pluke. Teas on 8 Feb: George Oldham and Janice Shipway. Biscuits: 11 & 13 Feb. Peter Bailie & John Bayley.

News supplied by Hilton Bowling Club.

Grace College pupil, Tristan White (Grade 10), competed in the Harescramble motorbiking event held at Jolivet Farm, outside Ixopo, recently. The event consisted of a 33km loop, which included forest rides, river crossings, hill climbs and an Enduro Track. It was Tristan's first race on a 125cc motorbike, having competed on an 85cc previously. He competed in the Senior category comprising 95 riders and clinched 3rd place after completing four 33km loops in 3 hours. Grace College is very proud of Tristan's achievement and wishes him well for the up-and-coming events.

News supplied by Grace College.

Elgé has just joined the team at Hilton Vet Hospital. She is one of our very caring and capable veterinarians. Elgé qualified in 2012 and was invited to complete an internship year at Onderstepoort in 2013. This is seen as quite an honour. Elgé is busy studying towards
an honours degree in veterinary medicine.

Elgé has 3 cats, 4 dogs and 4 horses. She enjoys working with cardiology cases and endocrine cases. This includes animals suffering from hormonal and glandular problems.

In her spare time, Elgé enjoys travelling, running cycling on and off road, horse riding, scuba diving and snorkelling.

The Worlds View Conservancy group invites you to join them on Sunday 2nd March 2014 for a walk through the Conservancy along the disused Railway line.

Time: 08:00-10.00
Duration: + - 2 hrs
Venue: Meet outside 19 Dunstan Place, Worlds View

Route:
We will walk through pockets of indigenous forests amongst the commercial blue gum and wattle plantations; enjoying the wonderful views over Pietermaritzburg, the vibrant bird-life and one of the last pieces of mist-belt grasslands in the area. We will be going through an old train tunnel and the plantation roads and will be steep in places but it is well worth the effort.

Please bring stout shoes, water, hats and sun-block.

Cost: R20.00 per head to the Worlds View Conservancy funds

For more information: Contact Hugh Temple This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 0828210048

Laddsworth entered 2 teams in the Kids Lit Quiz on Wednesday, 12 February, the Grade 7 team came second out of 22 teams. Congratulations to Siobhan Forbes-Wilkinson, Lilla Gopp, Stella Joubert and Hannah van Niekerk. They won R500 for their team as well as R50 book vouchers for winning a category. They scored 1 ½ points less than the winners, Athlone Primary School. Our Grade 6 team with Tatjana Witthöft, Luke Holtzhauzen, Danielle Terblanche and Erin Venter was placed 4th.

The reserves were Hannah Finch and Rebecca van der Merwe. Our teams who are continually encouraged by Mrs Houghting and her passion for Literacy, have an amazing knowledge on books, authors and illustrators.

Pictured L-R is the Grade 7 team ready for action.

News supplied by Laddsworth Primary School.

Greg Perrett first completed LEAP Challenge over 9 days, solo and unsupported, in May 2012. He attempted the Comrades Marathon the following day, but only managed to do 45km of the 89km event. He then decided to open the event to the public, as a mountain bike ride from Cape Town to Pietermaritzburg over 11 days.

LEAP Challenge exists to raise money for LEAP, which is the Learner Enhancement and Advancement Programme. This is a part of Grace College's broader outreach initiative, Masihambisane (let's walk together). LEAP successfully educates kids who are talented but don't have the means to afford good education. If you'd like to know more, you can read up on Masihambisane and LEAP, on http://www.grace-college.co.za/about-us/outreach/masihambisane

LEAP Challenge is a superb physical and mental challenge; it will take you to parts of your mind and physical ability which you have not examined before, and will distract you along the way with some of the most beautiful, deserted scenery which our country has to offer.

Approximately 60% of your entry fee goes to funding for LEAP. The exact amount is clearly disclosed on the 'details' page of the website.

To celebrate the day of love, Capulum students and staff baked hundreds of delicious cupcakes. These were sold to surrounding businesses and fellow students on Valentines day! The funds raised have been donated to CHOC (Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa) as a token of our support. Thank you to all who helped and to the Hilton businesses who supported us. We appreciate you!

News and photo supplied by Capulum College.

Buy ONE and get one FREE means half price cruising for you and a partner or friend!

Are you looking for a nicer way to visit friends and family in the UK or Australia this year?

Call 033 343 1380 for details of two great specials onboard the fabulous ASTOR, pictured on the left!

Contact Hilton Travel for more information!

Book by 28 February 2014 and Save an Extra 10% Bonus Discount on ALL Ocean View Cabins!

*Valid as at 11 February 2014 and subject to exchange rate fluctuations and availability when booking.

Now is your chance to experience the fantastic cuisine and exquisite ambience of MENDOLA which is situated at the start of the Midlands Meander. Start the weekend off with a romantic Evening and stay over at Mendola, with the person you would most love to be with and enjoy their company!

Make this Valentine's Day one to remember. Not because it is commercial, but because the one you love will appreciate being spoilt and what a wonderful surprise you can both share...BECAUSE YOU'RE WORTH IT!

We would love to host the evening and allow you to enjoy a super special VALENTINES DAY!!

For any Genuine Proposals on the Evening at Mendola, we will offer a Free bottle of CHAMPERS!! (Kindly note that we need to know in advance please.)

We are a Wedding Venue with Accommodation, so this will be the perfect time to see if this is the venue you have always been dreaming about!

DINNER AND STAYOVER

R600 per person Sharing- in up market,
2 Bedroom, self-catering Chalet. (FULL BAR FACILITIES)

DINNER ONLY

R275 per person for a Romantic Dinner by Candle Light with Champers and
Roses

BOOKING ESSENTIAL : 0792871619 - Linda or 082771344 -Gill

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MENU

STARTERS
Smoked trout mousse in a phyllo basket with a baby salad or

New Zealand mussels with a herb topping baked and served with garlic mayonnaise

MAINS
Farmhouse roast chicken and mushroom pie or

Roast rare fillet of beef with a luxurious pecorino cheese wine and cream sauce

Roast leg of lamb with minted gravy

Slow-roasted lamb shanks in a red wine sauce with baby onions and carrots – served on mashed potato

Roast baby potatoes

Roasted mixed vegetables

Green beans snap peas and peas with garlic butter

Courgettes

Broccoli with a sour cream and chive dressing

Honey glazed carrots

Baked butternut

DESSERT
Ice Cream with either our own caramel sauce or berry coulis

Apple crumble

Malva Pudding and Custard

Chocolate pots

Hilton College celebrate their most recent Springboks, Protea Hockey players Nick Spooner and Tim Drummond.

Image supplied by Hilton College.

The name Sh'Zen means natural in Japanese and reflects our philosophy and simple approach to beauty. We carefully select essential oils and plant extracts to formulate therapeutic blends that promote harmony for not only the skin and body, but for the mind and spirit as well.

Michelle Robinson is the Hilton based agent for Sh'Zen who will ensure that all your orders received before the Monday deadline are available by the weekend!

It's summer and bodies are out there so Michelle would like to share the special below...order on +27 (0)83 375 5302.