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Country Commercial Guides for FY 2000: South AfricaReport prepared by U.S. Embassy Pretoria , released July 1999 Note* |
IX. BUSINESS TRAVEL
1. Business Customs
Business customs in South Africa are generally similar to those in the United States and Western Europe. South African business people tend to dress conservatively. Loud sports jackets and slacks are rarely seen at work. South African businesswomen tend to wear woolen or woven cotton blend suits in the cooler months April through August.
In the warmer months cotton or linen suits are appropriate. Men tend to favor medium or heavy woolen suits for year-round wear. During the warmer months of October through March, darker lightweight fabrics such as tropical worsted are appropriate and a lightweight raincoat is recommended. A medium-weight overcoat is recommended for the colder months of April through August.
Business cards are usually simple, including only the basics such as company logo, name, business title, address, telephone number, and fax number. South Africans are very punctual, and South African businesspersons make every effort to be on time for appointments. Appointments should be made in advance of a business call.
2. Travel Advisory and Tips
2.1 Entrance Requirements. U.S. citizens traveling to South Africa require a valid passport. A visa is not required for regular passport holders on bona fide holiday or business visits for periods of up to 90 days or in transit. Visas are required, however, for extended stays, employment, study, and for diplomatic and official passport holders. Evidence of a yellow fever vaccination is necessary if arriving from an infected area.
Information on South African visa requirements can be obtained prior to departure from the U.S. by checking with the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C. or the South African Consulates in New York, Chicago, and Beverly Hills. For information on visa requirements for other countries, contact the Embassy of the country you intend to visit, or a travel agent, or an U.S. Consular Officer.
Travelers must declare all goods in their possession with the exception of personal clothing, essential toilet articles, and used sporting equipment. In order to be free from declaration, these goods must be for the passenger's personal use and not intended as gifts or to be sold, exchanged, or traded. All articles, used or unused, carried by the visitor as presents or parcels for other persons, must be declared. There are no restrictions on the amount of Dollars that may be taken into South Africa.
U.S. Dollars cannot be used in South Africa and must be converted into Rand by authorized foreign exchange dealers, hotels, commercial banks, and certain travel agencies. It is illegal to convey foreign currency to anyone else and Dollars may not be used in commercial or other private transactions.
With a valid carnet, a visitor may enter South Africa with his automobile for a period not exceeding 12 months. An import duty will be charged on entry and rebated on departure. If a visitor wishes to sell his vehicle during his stay or upon departure, he must first obtain an import permit and pay the relevant duty.
2.2 Traveler's Advisory. A new Electronic Bulletin Board has been established in the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs as a means for keeping the international traveler informed about security and crime problems abroad. The bulletin board known as the Consular Affairs Bulletin Board or CABB has been designed in compliance with the Aviation Security Improvement Act of 1990, which required the Bureau of Consular Affairs to create a bulletin board for use by the American public.
In addition to crime and security information, the CABB will contain data on a variety of consular subjects, including passports for U.S. citizens, emergencies involving U.S. citizens abroad, visas for foreigners wishing to come to the United States, acquisition and loss of U.S. citizenship, international adoptions and entry requirements for Americans wishing to travel to other countries.
In addition, the CABB offers copies of consular information sheets, which contain general information on every country in the world. Copies of the consular information sheet for South Africa are available from the consular sections in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Access to the CABB is free of charge to anyone with a computer and a modem. Callers simply dial 202-647-9225 from the modem.
Additional information can be found on the Internet at travel.state.gov.
2.3 Foreign Personnel. Foreigners who plan to work in South Africa temporarily must have proof of employment in order to apply for a temporary work permit. Applications should be made to the South African Embassy or Consulates in the United States. Permits are issued for one-year intervals and may be extended once in South Africa. The application process normally takes six to eight weeks. There is no fee involved. A foreign driver's license is valid for six months in South Africa. An international driver's license is valid for one-year, and must be obtained prior to leaving the United States.
There are no special restrictions imposed on families accompanying foreign personnel working in South Africa. Foreigners planning to work and/or live in South Africa must pay a deposit equivalent to the customs duty on personal effects that are brought into the country. The deposit will be refunded upon removal of goods or if the owner becomes a permanent South African resident.
2.4 Tourism. There are more than 1,500 licensed hotels in South Africa, ranging from small country hotels to large five-star city hotels. Rates are considered modest depending on the type of accommodations. Reservations should be made in advance, particularly in resort areas during the peak summer months of December and January. A guide to South African hotels and other tourism information is available from:
South African Tourism Board
500 Fifth Avenue, 20th floor
New York, NY 10011
Tel: (212) 730-2929; Fax: (212) 764-1980
Suitable long-term housing accommodations are often difficult to obtain promptly, so Americans planning lengthy stays should budget for four to eight weeks in a hotel until more permanent quarters can be located. Eating customs and menus are similar to those in Western Europe. Drinking water is both ample and safe. Tipping is lower than in Europe or the United States and ten percent is the typical rate. It is customary to tip porters, taxi drivers, waiters, and stewards.
2.5 Airlines. South African Airways, sharing a codeshare partnership with American Airlines, is currently the sole provider of direct flights to South Africa from New York's Kennedy Airport and Cape Town from Miami International Airport, although the Bilateral Civil Aviation Agreement authorizes additional direct flights. Northwest/KLM and United/Lufthansa also have codeshare flights to the U.S. via Amsterdam and Frankfurt respectively. As the new Civil Aviation Agreement currently allows up to 16 direct flights from the U.S. per week, it is expected that other U.S. carriers will begin direct service in the near future.
Over fifty foreign air carriers serve South Africa, including most European, Asian, and African airlines.
3. Business Infrastructure
3.1 Millennium Bug (Y2K). The "Millennium Bug" or "Y2K" problem arises due to computer systems and time-based consumer equipment not being programmed to recognize date digits starting with 20. On 1 January 2000, six digit date fields in many computer programs will read 01-01-00, causing the machines to interpret the date as 1 January 1900 rather than January 2000.
To monitor its own and the private sector's drive to Y2k readiness the South African government established the National Year 200 Decision Support Center (Y2K Center) in February 1998 to act as a watchdog monitoring the country's progress towards Y2K compliance.
In the relatively short time since it was established, the Center has been at the forefront of a national Y2K effort which has resulted in South Africa being recognized by the World Bank as one of only nine developing countries in Africa rated in the "highly aware" Y2K category and as having taken "concrete steps" to address the millennium bug.
Most banks, financial institutions and large utilities have run extensive tests on hardware and software systems to ensure Y2K compliance. At the level of the national government, the latest assessment, released in April 1999, showed the following among targeted departments:
Table 23. National Government Y2K Assessment
Department Status South African Revenue Service Final testing of all systems Dept. of State Expenditure Final testing of all systems Dept. of Transport Final testing National Intelligence Agency Final testing Dept. of Public Works Testing Dept. of Correctional Services Mission critical systems compliant Dept. of Agriculture Mission critical systems up and running Dept. of Finance Remedial phase/final testing South African Police Services Remedial phase Dept. of Foreign Affairs Final Testing Dept. of Home Affairs Remedial phase Dept. of Housing Testing completed Dept. of Justice Implementation phase Dept. of Labor (Main system) Awaiting approval to migrate to open system Dept. of Health All information systems compliant Dept. of Trade and Industry N/AOf great concern is the readiness of smaller businesses and local authorities. Less than 10 percent of small businesses have taken measures to ensure Y2K compliance. For most businesses, Y2K compliance in all their suppliers will be hard to monitor and assess, and non-compliant systems that link in to these organizations could disrupt operations. Additional information can be obtained from the National Year 2000 Decision Support Center.National Year 2000
Decision Support Center
Tel: (27 12) 427-8232
Internet: www.y2k.org.za
3.2 Commercial Language. South Africa has eleven official languages. All documentation is presently printed in English and Afrikaans. English is more frequently used commercially. Most companies in South Africa are able to correspond in either language. A majority of the white population speaks both languages, as does a considerable proportion of the non-white population.
There is some language sensitivity in South Africa, particularly among the Afrikaner population; consequently, many firms print much of their literature, including annual statements, in both languages. For information about languages spoken by South Africa's black and Indian populations please refer to the "Marketing and Distribution" section of this publication.
3.3 Local Time, Business Hours, and Holidays. Throughout the year, Standard Time in South Africa is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Winter Time. Clocks are not advanced in the summer. Generally, business hours are weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Most offices observe a five-day week, but shops are generally open from 8:30 am to 1:00 p.m. on Saturdays. Banks are open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
New Year's Day January 1 Human Right's Day March 21 Good Friday April 2 Family Day April 5 Freedom Day April 27 Worker's Day May 1 Youth Day June 16 National Women's Day August 9 Heritage Day September 24 Day of Reconciliation December 16 Christmas Day December 25 Day of Goodwill December 26Note: U.S. Government offices in South Africa are closed on American legal holidays. 3.4 Telephone Service. South Africa's country code is 27.
The city codes for major South African cities are: Johannesburg, 11; Pretoria, 12; Cape Town, 21; and Durban, 31.
The United States can be dialed directly from South Africa using the country code 091. Peak rate calls (called standard time) to the U.S. are from 07:00 a.m. to 07:00 p.m., Monday to Friday and discount rate calls (called callmore time) are from 07:00 p.m. to 07:00 a.m. Monday to Friday. All weekend calls are at discount (callmore) rates.
3.5 Electric Current. Electric current in South Africa is alternating current, 50 cycles, 220/380 or 230/400 volts, 1, 3 phases, 2, 4 wires; 240/415 volts for Pretoria; and 250/433 volts for Port Elizabeth. The current used for industrial purposes is 525 volts/50 cycles.
3.6 Express Mail Services. DHL and Federal Express offer air express services to South Africa. The state post office mail service is unreliable and slow. Within South Africa a currier or Postnet service is recommended. Airmail from the US is slow, it van take anything between 2 to 3 weeks.
3.7 Shopping. Shopping here is similar to that in the United States, with large and very modern shopping centers. Almost everything is available. Most stores are open from 8:30 am to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and from about 8:30 am to anywhere from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Overseas credit cards such as American Express, Master Card, Visa, and Diners Club can be used to pay locally.
Very few walk-in retails outlets are open 24 hours a day, but most fuel stations sell basic consumer and household items and are open 24 hours per day. 3.8 Sending Gifts. Duties on bona fide unsolicited gifts entering South Africa consigned by individuals in South Africa can be fully rebated as long as (1) he or she does not receive more than two parcels per calendar year; and (2) the value of each parcel does not exceed R400. This rule excludes goods that are contained in passengers' baggage, wine, spirits and manufactured tobacco (including cigarettes and cigars).
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Note* International Copyright, United States Government, 1999. All rights under foreign copyright laws are reserved. All portions of this publication are protected against any type or form of reproduction, communications to the public and the preparation of adaptations, arrangement and alterations outside the United States. U. S. copyright is not asserted under the U.S. Copyright Law, Title 17, United States Code.
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