Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Boom gates go hi-tech at South African malls

      17 July 2025

      Megayachts and mansions: the lavish life of 80-year-old Larry Ellison

      17 July 2025

      Mobile money lifts Africa savings to decade high

      17 July 2025

      South Africa loosens media ownership rules – but keeps one hand on the remote

      16 July 2025

      Eskom targets 32GW green energy shift by 2040

      16 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Samsung’s bet on folding phones faces major test

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      OpenAI to launch web browser in direct challenge to Google Chrome

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025
    • In-depth

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      MultiChoice is working on a wholesale overhaul of DStv

      10 July 2025

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | Samsung unveils significant new safety feature for Galaxy A-series phones

      16 July 2025

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025
    • Opinion

      A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

      15 July 2025

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » Spectrum auction, graft arrests cheer South African spirits

    Spectrum auction, graft arrests cheer South African spirits

    By Agency Staff1 October 2020
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    South Africans were cheered this week with three announcements many thought would never come: arrests in relation to state corruption and plans to sell vacant farmland and new Internet spectrum.

    Four government officials and business people were detained on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a R255-million asbestos audit project awarded by a provincial housing department, according to a police unit. These were followed on Thursday by the indictments of Angelo Agrizzi, a former executive at services company Bosasa, and Vincent Smith, a senior politician in the ANC.

    The moves represent a rare sign of progress in the fight to curb graft that became rife under former President Jacob Zuma. His successor, Cyril Ramaphosa, launched an inquiry into corruption in early 2018, but many South Africans had become disillusioned with the process as few have been held accountable. That only worsened at the height of the country’s Covid-19 pandemic, when a string of dubious contracts to supply personal protection equipment came to light.

    Vodacom Group and MTN Group have long called for more spectrum to help grow in their domestic market

    The government went on to announce the imminent auction of almost 900 vacant or underutilised state-owned farms across the country, a move aimed at helping those discriminated against during apartheid. Land has long been a highly emotive issue in South Africa as the minority white population continues to dominate private ownership more than a quarter century after the first all-race election in 1994.

    Spectrum

    The auction of new broadband spectrum is another government pledge that has been on the back burner for years. Yet the industry regulator on Wednesday laid out plans to sell more than R8-billion worth over the next six months. Ramaphosa had included the initiative in an economic revival plan published earlier this month, which also contained promises to fight graft.

    Vodacom Group and MTN Group have long called for more spectrum to help grow in their domestic market. They claim the lack of bandwidth is responsible for the country’s relatively high data prices, another source of public disgruntlement.

    The rand strengthened for a fourth consecutive day, gaining 0.8% to R16.61 the dollar as of 1.14pm in Johannesburg.  — Reported by John Bowker, (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP



    Angelo Agrizzi Bosasa Icasa MTN top Vodacom
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleAt last, South Africa gets moving on spectrum
    Next Article Jeremy Ord on the past, present and future of Dimension Data

    Related Posts

    Mobile money lifts Africa savings to decade high

    17 July 2025

    MTN Group appoints new chief enterprise officer

    16 July 2025

    South Africa’s telcos battle to monetise 5G as 4G suffices for most

    15 July 2025
    Company News

    Ransomware in South Africa: the human factor behind the growing crisis

    16 July 2025

    Mental wellness at scale: how Mac fuels October Health’s mission

    15 July 2025

    Banking on LEO: Q-KON transforms financial services connectivity

    14 July 2025
    Opinion

    A smarter approach to digital transformation in ICT distribution

    15 July 2025

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.