The long-awaited review of state-owned entities, released on Tuesday, raises the possibility of collapsing non-viable parastatals but skirts the vexed issue of privatisation. The report provides government with a range of options, including absorbing ailing state-owned enterprises (SOEs) into line-function departments, turning them into
South Africa’s real gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0,9% in the first quarter of 2013, Statistics South Africa said on Tuesday. The increase in GDP was lower than the 2,1% achieved in the fourth quarter of 2012. However, when compared to the first quarter of 2012, the GDP increased by 1,9%
The primary obstacle to providing world-class connectivity to South Africans is the lack of sufficient inland infrastructure. Overcoming this will require a coordinated effort. This is according to undersea cable company Seacom’s CEO Mark Simpson, who was speaking at the Satcom conference in Sandton
The Press Council of South Africa has told the department of communications that it can’t investigate a complaint of unethical conduct by Sunday Times reporters, a spokesman said on Monday. The council had said it had “no powers” to investigate, department spokesman Wisani Ngobeni said
Google may be planning to use blimps, balloons and other “high-altitude platforms” over developing markets in Africa and Asia to provide wireless Internet access to areas that are currently not well served. High-altitude platforms, or Haps, can be manned or unmanned aircraft, balloons or blimps that operate between 17km
Is it 1999 again? The heady days of the dot-com boom are long past and yet Yahoo’s sudden binge of acquisitions – some of them of dubious value – betray the same irrational exuberance and hope. This year so far, Yahoo has snapped up 10 companies. This is not that
Newspaper publishing and printing group Caxton has agreed to buy the 32,7% of FoneWorx held by a trust controlled by the Kirsh family, ending a dispute between the trust and management of the JSE-listed fax-to-e-mail specialist. The Kirsh family trust – led by
The high cost of broadband Internet access, low Internet penetration and slow Internet connectivity is holding South Africa back, according to Stanlib chief economist Kevin Lings. In a research note released this week, Lings says several global studies have found compelling links
SunSpace, started by a group of University of Stellenbosch students, has had a difficult and uncertain three years, filled with unfulfilled government promises and contracts that failed to materialise. Space has been identified as one of the department of science & technology’s five grand challenges – the others are the
In January, in the flurry of resolution that accompanies the new year, Dino Maloko (not his real name), 40, decided to bite the bullet and pay off his credit card. He was over R40 000 in the red, and he wanted to start the year off right. So he made a large payment into his bank credit card account and got his card debt
