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/ 15 September 2006
Opposition MPs have expressed outrage at the final list of nominations for independent communications authority Icasa’s council, which has been passed by the National Assembly. The list contains the names of two current department of communication officials and past councillor Mamodupi Mohlala.
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/ 12 September 2006
The second network operator is finally here, and it’s called Neotel. Managing director Ajay Pandey announced its first offerings in the wholesale market last week and said consumers and businesses could expect services by early next year. Pandey is a telecommunications sector veteran of 23 years, having honed his skills and expertise in the Indian telecoms sector.
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/ 4 September 2006
Africa’s largest pharmaceutical manufacturer has five times as many South African patients using its anti-retroviral (ARV) products as it had just more than a year ago. Sixteen months ago Aspen Pharmacare won a 58% stake of the government’s ARV tender, worth R1,2-billion in turnover to Aspen over three years.
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/ 1 September 2006
Lloyd Gedye attends a perfomance by The Hellphones and ends up feeling cheated.
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/ 1 September 2006
Dust off your bike, fuel shortages may soon hit again, says an investigation commissioned for the Department of Minerals and Energy. In December last year South Africa experienced a series of shortages in fuel supplies that caused major disruptions for commuters and businesses alike.
The government and anti-smoking lobby groups have South Africa’s tobacco companies in their sights as they launch an offensive against the flouting of tight regulations that outlaw the marketing of tobacco. According to anti-smoking lobby groups, tobacco companies are illegally giving away free tobacco products at luxurious secret parties.
If the government gets its way a new giant could soon be stalking the telecommunications sector. The new player, which would own significant telecommunications infrastructure, would be an alliance between the government, the major shareholder, and Tata subsidiary VSNL.
South African broadband consumer activist website MyADSL pays more than R10 000 a month to host its website locally when it could host it overseas for a mere R700. These exorbitant local hosting costs are causing South Africa’s ICT sector to fall behind international standards as content developers are prevented from using multimedia delivery.
The exploitation and damage done to human beings by apartheid is clearly documented, but the long-term damage wrought on the environment is not as readily recognised. For over 40 years the Orange river estuary, home to a unique wetlands system, was degraded by the effects of upstream farming and a road built by mining companies.
The Lowveld is playing host to the first South African animated feature film, a R15-million production based on Sir Percy Fitzpatrick’s classic tale Jock of the Bushveld. Film producer and director Duncan MacNellie originally adapted the story to film back in 1986 in a version that featured Gordon Mulholland and Jonathan Rands.