Thabo Mohlala House number 63, Shelley Road, Lombardy East, is owned by Transnet. It has a big yard, five rooms and two bathrooms. Since April Piet Mabotja*, a young security officer from Lebowakgomo in the Northern Province, has been standing guard around the clock for a pittance R20 a month. Four months later, Mabotja is […]
We need to look afresh at how technology can bring high-quality services to all, writes Chris Bell While fibre optic cables are today being laid around the coastline and in major African cities, there still remain vast tracks of the continent where populations are unlikely to benefit from these investments. The danger is obvious: rural […]
Marianne Merten Feel like visiting the pyramids without leaving your armchair? Or maybe getting to grips with Heathrow Airport in London before stepping off the plane? Simply enter what looks like a miniature television game show set, sit and let the computers do the rest at the virtual reality laboratory at the Institute of Satellite […]
Telkom is expanding its network, but costs are slowing demand Jubie Matlou Telephones for hundreds of rural villages and townships spread across the country are ready to ring. About 70000 towers punctuate the country’s landscape, waiting for subscriptions from villagers to connect a telephone line. Labelled the wireless local loop, each tower has a 10km […]
The government and unions are set for battle over the restructuring of telecommunications Jubie Matlou Tough negotiations lie ahead between the government and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) over the listing of Telkom on the securities exchange. Telkom is the first of the public utilities that the government has earmarked for privatisation, […]
Khadija Magardie The decision last month by a magistrate to acquit 15 white parents on charges of assaulting black pupils in Vryburg, in the North West province, should be used to refocus attention on legislation bringing judicial officers to book for racist judgements. This was one of the issues raised at a public hearing this […]
Susan Chala Letty Motshwene (52) of Motsephiri in the Northern Province has come a long way from abject poverty to tending a vegetable garden in a school-yard. It took a few months to harvest and take the fresh produce home as a form of food security. Motshwene was not alone there were 30 women in […]
Marianne Merten A bill of at least R220 000 excluding legal fees of tens of thousands of rands is expected for the two official probes into whether public submissions on the renaming of two Cape Town streets might have been manipulated. The costs for the current inquiry by corruption buster advocate Willem Heath and the […]
If I interpret the buzz correctly, effort and money is being invested in getting the ailing sport of kings on its feet again. And not a moment too soon. By the time this column appears The Vaal racecourse will have had its meeting on its spanking new sand track, adding a new dimension to racing […]
Paul Kirk Parts of South Africa’s railway infrastructure are slowly being carted away piece by piece in shopping trolleys and home-made carts. Durban’s unscrupulous scrap metal merchants have, in the past, been known to buy all manner of metal much of it clearly stolen. The latest target for scrap metal thieves in the city is […]