The number of internet users in South Africa accelerated dramatically over the past year, driven by both smartphones and ordinary mobile phones, as the internet "finally arrived in the hands of the mass market".

This is the key finding of the Internet Access in South Africa 2012 study conducted by consultancy World Wide Worx.

The headline findings, released last week, showed that the South African Internet user base had grown from 6.8-million in 2010 to 8.5-million at the end of 2011 - no less than 25% growth.

World Wide Worx forecast that this strong growth would continue during 2012, taking South Africa's internet user base past the 10-million mark by the end of the year.

Demand for online content 'set to explode'

"These findings are a powerful signal that the demand for online content in South Africa is likely to explode in the coming years," said Justin Zehmke, executive producer of howzit MSN, which backed the study.

"The spotlight will not only be on online media, but also on social networking and electronic services in genera," Zehmke said in a statement.

"As the market grows and matures, we are likely to see a diversification in the landscape that will create space for successful niche media, a greater choice in information sources and a maturation of online services."

World Wide Worx MD Arthur Goldstuck said the internet in South Africa had "finally awoken, fully. Penetration is now approaching 20%, and for the first time we can see the mass market embracing digital tools on their phones."

According to the survey, 7.9-million South Africans access the internet on their mobile phones. Of these, 2.48-million access it only on their cellphones, and do not have access on computers. The remaining 6.02-million users access the internet on computers, laptops, and tablet computers.

However, 90% of this number - 5.42-million - also access it on their cellphones. This means that almost 8-million South Africans sometimes or regularly access the internet on their phones.

'Huge implications for media, social networks'

"This has huge implications for media and social networks," says Zehmke. "It means that, in the coming years, all services offered online will also have to be offered on cellphones."

While smartphones are the main driver of internet growth, the cost of data use is being driven down by the proliferation of undersea cables connecting sub-Saharan Africa to the rest of the world.

The study shows that undersea cable capacity to South Africa at the end of 2011 was 2.69 Terabits per second (Tbps), and due to rise to 11.9Tbps by the end of 2012.

"That capacity will double again in 2013," said Goldstuck. "While the industry position is that it won't affect prices, such an excess of supply must result in falling prices, which in turn will further drive up demand. The rapid growth we see this year will therefore be maintained through 2013."

The Internet Access in South Africa 2012 study was conducted using multiple methodologies, including primary research, interviews with providers, and market intelligence.

SAinfo reporter

South Africa's national women's football team, Banyana Banyana, were handed a very tough draw for the London Olympic Games on Wednesday. Their pool includes three teams ranked inside the top seven in the world.

At number three in the Fifa rankings, 2011 World Cup winners Japan present a formidable obstacle, while Sweden is ranked fifth and Canada seventh. South Africa is ranked 65th.

"Drawing World Cup champions Japan in our group ... well, it doesn't come much more challenging than that," captain Amanda Dlamini said in a statement on Wednesday. "But we are a highly competitive unit and will give it our all to make all those who have been supporting us, including the football fans in South Africa and across the African continent, proud.

'A dream come true'

"It's a dream come true for Banyana Banyana to be a part of Team SA at the Olympics, and I can assure you that the players will be working harder than ever in training in the hope of being among the 18 athletes who will get the chance to compete in London," Dlamini said.

South Africa face the Swedes first in Coventry on 25 July. That match is followed by another at the same venue two days later, against Canada. On 31 July, Banyana take on Japan in Cardiff.

Banyana coach Joseph Mkhonza was in London for the draw on Wednesday and shared his thoughts about it afterwards. "We are humbled to be here as this is a historic day for us as South Africans, and we have been drawn against some high-profile teams," he said.

'Not an easy task'

"It will not be an easy task for us, so we need to step up preparations to ensure that we're ready to compete against these three countries, but as you know the game of football can be very unpredictable, and this all depends on how a team performs on the day.

"We are very optimistic given the fact that, thanks to Sasol and Safa (the South African Football Association), we've been having various training camps since the beginning of the year to ensure that we make our presence felt coming to the Olympics as we look to promote women's football in South Africa."

South Africa will contest Group F at the Olympics. Group E is made up of composite team Great Britain, New Zealand (ranked 24th in the world), Cameroon (52nd) and Brazil (4th), while Group G includes the USA (1st), France (6th), Colombia (28th) and North Korea (8th).

After the group phase of competition, the top two teams from each pool will advance to the last eight, along with the two best third-place teams.

SAinfo reporter

The South African government has formally invited local and international manufacturers to submit bids to build 7 224 commuter rail coaches worth an estimated R123-billion, as the country pushes for a complete overhaul of its passenger rail service.

The 20-year fleet renewal programme of the state-owned Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) is expected to create around 65 000 jobs as a new generation of South African railway artisans and engineers come to the fore.

Speaking to journalists in Johannesburg on Thursday, Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele said these would be modern trains "defined by greater passenger mobility, automatic train protection and a high quality of crashworthiness ... carrying capacity is high, they are energy-efficient and very light, largely based on aluminum rather than heavy steel."

Comprehensive passenger rail programme

The investment would, over time, achieve significant economic benefits for the country as well as the benefits of an efficient transport system, while serving as the catalyst for a comprehensive passenger rail programme over the next 30 years.

Over the next decade, the government would be implementing "a number of rail interventions aimed at making rail the backbone of our passenger transport system".

The revitalisation of passenger rail travel in the country will run parallel with a massive push to shift the transport of freight in the country from road to rail.

Earlier this month, state company Transnet announced details of a R300-billion investment in infrastructure aimed at creating over half-a-million new jobs while making its freight rail division the fifth-largest in the world.

Both programmes are in line with South Africa's new multi-billion rand infrastructure drive, announced by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation address in February.

65% localisation target

Piet Sebola, head of Prasa's rolling stock acquisition, told Business Day on Thursday that the fleet renewal programme came with a 65% localisation target, requiring manufacturers to invest in production and skills transfer in South Africa and to establish a manufacturing base in the country by at least 2016.

In addition, Prasa will be spending around R15.5-billion on new rail signaling and train depots.

According to Business Day, Prasa has also begun work on a parallel, three-year, R25.9-billion investment in high-density commuter stations.

Prasa is the operator of commuter rail service Metrorail.

SAinfo reporter and BuaNews

20 April 2012

The e-tolling system on Gauteng province's main highways will become operational on 30 April as planned, despite opposition from motorists, business, unions and a pending court challenge, says South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) CEO Nazir Alli.

Addressing journalists in Pretoria on Thursday, Alli said there was no chance that the implementation of the e-tolling system would be delayed, as this would only result in additional costs.

He said the number of motorists who had registered for the system had increased to 500 000.

Last week, the agency gazetted that motorists who did not register for e-tags would end up paying more per kilometre.

No arrests or impounding of vehicles

Alli said it would be a criminal offence for a motorist to use the toll roads and not pay the tariffs, adding that South Africans could not pick and choose which laws they wished to obey and which they did not.

However, Alli dismissed media reports that there would be "Sanral police" serving unregistered motorist with tickets. He said Sanral did not have the power to arrest anyone or to impound anyone's vehicles.

Instead, he said, Sanral would use the current law enforcement agencies to warn motorists of the implications of their non-compliance.

Full consultation 'well in advance'

Alli said the issue of tolling some of Gauteng's main highways was not new, but had been part of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project from the time the plan was introduced in 2007.

The matter had been approved by Cabinet. Sanral had also had to get permission from all the relevant local authorities, and public consultations had been held, and this had happened long before construction started, Alli said.

He said Sanral had documents to prove that extensive consultation on the project was undertaken within government, with business and labour, and with the public, and that presentations on the project were made when it was announced.

'Nothing to do with Public Investment Cooperation'

He rejected allegations that the government was pushing ahead with the system despite opposition because the state-owned Public Investment Cooperation (PIC) had acquired bonds in Sanral.

The PIC manages investment funds on behalf of public sector entities. Among its clients is the Government Employees Pension Fund.

Alli said the PIC did not buy Sanral-issued bonds only. "It invests in other state-owned entities, which have a mandate to bring about development in the country."

'How else fund the road maintenance backlog?'

He said the question South Africans should be asking was how the country was going to fund its lagging infrastructure and transport system, adding that there was a R149-billion backlog on maintenance of the country's roads.

He said the e-tolling system worked and provided at least one solution to the country's fiscal and infrastructure development and environmental challenges.

Quoting statistics, Alli said that out of the 606 000 kilometres of public road in the country, 3 120 kilometres were tolled.

He added that the most fundamental contribution of the e-tolling system had been job creation, as at least 20 000 jobs had been created in the construction phase of the project.

Now the project had created 1 200 permanent jobs in toll revenue collection and other areas.

Also speaking at the briefing, Cabinet spokesperson Jimmy Manyi said the government had done a lot to accommodate the public, especially the poor, in that taxis and buses were excluded from paying the tolls, while the middle class had also been considered because there was a R550 cap for regular road users.

Source: BuaNews

19 April 2012

Historically South Africa's premier tennis venue, Johannesburg's Ellis Park Tennis Stadium is gearing up for a bumper week of wheelchair tennis, featuring some of the world's leading players.

The Acsa South African Open, the country's premier wheelchair tennis event, which forms part of the international circuit, takes place at Ellis Park from 21 to 25 April.

A grade one tour event, it has attracted a top entry from overseas and will allow local players an opportunity of gaining all important world ranking points, and a chance of qualifying for the London Paralympics in August.

'A truly historic venue'

"Ellis Park is a truly historic venue and will be a fitting wheelchair-friendly host for the tournament," tournament director Holger Losch said in a statement.

"The venue has played host to top ATP, WTA and ITF events, including Davis and Fed Cup, and now that our Acsa SA Open is being played at Ellis Park we can honestly say this 'grand old lady' has hosted the best of all tennis events."

Losch continued by saying that preparations were well on track to host a truly memorable tournament. "We have been hard at work in making sure Ellis Park will be a warm and hospitable host. The courts are in good shape and the facilities have been well adapted for the players.

"After successfully hosting the World Wheelchair Tennis Championships last year, we feel in tune to host a great week's tennis in the City of Gold."

Leading South Africans

Already confirmed as entered are South African's top ranked men and women's players Lucas Sithole (world number nine in the Quads Division) and Kgothatso Montjane (world ranked 10 in the Women's Division).

They will be joined by international stars representing Australia, Great Britain, Italy, Scotland, Japan, Poland, Sri Lanka, Germany, Netherlands, France, Brazil, China, Malaysia and Israel.

Notable players that have entered include world number four Marjolein Buis and world number nine Sharon Walraven, both of the Netherlands, in the women's division. In the men's division there will be three players ranked in the top 20 of the world, namely Scotland's Gordon Reid (12), Ben Weekes of Australia (15) and Japanese star Yoshinobu Fujimoto (17).

In the Quads, Andrew Lapthorne of Great Britain is ranked number four and Maro Innocenti of Italy, ranked tenth, join Lucas Sithole in the battle for the title.

Divisions

The tournament will have men's, women's, quads and junior divisions, with each made up of singles and doubles events.

The tournament draw takes place on Friday at 18:00 at the Reef Hotel in Johannesburg, with the opening round starting at 09:00 on Saturday morning.

Round two is scheduled for Sunday, the quarter finals for Monday, semi-finals on Tuesday and the finals on Wednesday.

SAinfo reporter

16 April 2012

A number of athletes achieved Olympic qualifying standards at the Yellow Pages South African Senior Track and Field Championships in Port Elizabeth on the weekend. However, a number of big names have yet to meet the marks required for participating at London 2012.

Among those to meet the set standards were 10 000 metres runner Steven Mokoka, decathlete Willem Coertzen, 400 metres hurdler Cornel Fredericks, 100 metres sprinter Simon Magakwe and javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen. LJ van Zyl, third in the 400 metres hurdles at last year's World Championships, had secured his place a week earlier.

Superb run

Mokoka produced a superb run in the 10 000 metres to record the third fastest time ever by a South African athlete. His 27:40.73 was over four seconds inside the Olympic A-Qualifying time of 27:45.00.

Mokoka has also qualified for the marathon and will need to make a decision about which event he wishes to contest.

"My coach and I haven't decided yet which one I will go for," he said in a statement. "My agent is looking to find me a few 10 000m races in Europe, and with faster athletes in the field I am sure I can go faster."

He, however, suggested that he will contest the longer race when he told the IAAF: "I think the marathon is best".

National record

Coertzen improved his national record in the decathlon from 8 146 to 8 244 points, which bettered the Olympic standard by 44 points.

"I am absolutely ecstatic. I've worked so hard the last few years," Coertzen said. "I’ve been away from South Africa, training in London for the last five years, specifically for this."

400 metres qualifier

Fredericks, who placed fifth in the final of the 400 metres hurdles at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, in 2011 won the event in 48.91, comfortably below the required time of 49.50 seconds.

LJ Van Zyl had been struggling with a leg injury since running his qualifying time last week and finished second in a slow 51 seconds flat.

Javelin star Viljoen did just enough to attain the Olympic qualifying distance, with a best throw of 61.15 metres, which was 15 centimetres over the mark of 61 metres.

Sprint sensation

Sprinter Simon Magakwe recorded the fifth fastest time yet by a South African in the 100 metres, equalling the 10.11 seconds set by Tshakile Ndzimande way back in 1988. The South African national record of 10.06 has stood since 1988 behind the name of Johan Rossouw.

It was Magakwe's fourth successive national 100 metres title and he later did the double by winning the 200 metres.

They were not, however, the only athletes to excel.

Mokoena beaten

Long jumper Zarck Visser defeated Beijing Olympic Games silver medallist Khotso Mokoena with a personal best of 8.21 metres. Mokoena finished second with a best jump of 8.13 metres. Unfortunately for both athletes, their best jumps were achieved with the wind level above the permitted one metre per second mark.

"My coach and I had been discussing it during the week," Visser told the IAAF. "“We knew I could jump around 8.20. After (the competition) Khotso said 'Congratulations'. He didn't know what else to say."

World champions short of marks

Former world 800 metres champions Mbulaeni Mulaudzi and Caster Semenya both won national titles but failed to achieve the Olympic qualifying standards.

Mbulaeni came up 0.18 seconds short of the Olympic mark of 1:45.50, winning from Andre Olivier and Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg in 1:45.68, while Semenya won the women's title in 2:02.68.

Oscar Pistorius, who ran 45.20 in the 400 metres in March, inside the required mark of 45.30, was well off the pace this time around and had to settle for seventh place in a slow 47.28 seconds. The title went to Lebogang Moeng in 45.75.

Narrow miss

Moeng narrowly missed out on the 200 metres title by one-hundredth of a second. Magakwe claimed the honours in that race in 20.59 seconds.

South African steeplechase record holder Ruben Ramolefi was just outside the Olympic standard of 8:23.10, with a time of 8:24.48. He was pushed all the way to the line by Tumelo Motlagale, who finished second in 8:24.76.

In the men's 20km walk, Lebogang Shange set the third fastest time by a South African, clocking one hour, 25 minutes and 48 seconds.

The Rainbow Nation

South Africa is a culturally diverse country, one nation made up of many peoples.

A group of 39 former World Bank managers and economists - including Francois Bourguignon, the development lender's chief economist from 2003 to 2007 - have endorsed Africa's candidate to lead the institution, Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

In an open letter published on Wednesday, the group called on the Bank's executive board to make their decision on merit, when the board for the first time considers more than one candidate for the job.

"We believe that Mrs Okonjo-Iweala has outstanding qualifications across the full range of relevant criteria," they said.

Competition for US nominee

Okonjo-Iweala, a former World Bank managing director, and Jose Antonio Ocampo, a former finance minister of Colombia, are competing with the US nominee Jim Yong Kim, a public health expert and president of Dartmouth College.

Under a tacit agreement, the US picks the World Bank president, always an American, and Europe puts a European at the helm of the International Monetary Fund, the Bank's sister institution.

Writing in their personal capacity ahead of the candidate interviews next week, the ex-Bank officials said "we care too much for the institution and for its historic development mission not to speak up."

The letter was signed by a number of Europeans, including Bourguignon, as well as Barbara Kafka, an American who served over 33 years at the Bank in a range of posts.

Candidate 'the times call for'

Tunisia's central bank chief, Mustapha Nabli, a former head of the Bank's Middle East and North Africa region, also signed. His country has not endorsed a candidate.

Okonjo-Iweala "would bring the combination of her experience as finance and foreign minister of a large and complex African country with her wide experience of working at all levels of the Bank's hierarchy in different parts of the world, from agricultural economist to managing director."

While the other two candidates also have strong qualifications, "she would be the outstanding World Bank president the times call for."

The World Bank plans to select the successor to outgoing president Robert Zoellick by 20 April, the start of its spring meetings with the IMF.

South Africa's backing

Nigeria, South Africa and Angola jointly announced Okonjo-Iweala's nomination in Pretoria on 23 March, ahead of a World Bank constituency meeting between the three countries.

"We are very proud as Africa and certainly this constituency to confirm that the Minister of Finance of Nigeria is going to be a candidate for the president of the World Bank," Gordhan said.

"She would be a candidate of choice not just on the African continent but well beyond as well.

Gordhan added that the G20 had made a decision that future processes for the selection of heads of international finance institutions like the World Bank needed to be open, transparent, democratic and merit-based.

"We believe that the candidature of Minister Okonjo-Iweala enables those that are going to make this decision in Washington to have before them an eminently qualified individual who can balance the needs of both developed and, importantly, developing countries," Gordhan said.

Okonjo-Iweala would also "provide a new vision and sense of mission to the World Bank and its relevance, particularly to developing countries across the globe".

Sapa, with additional reporting by SAinfo

Opportunities, incentives, regulations, assistance.

Transport Minister Sibusiso Ndebele has thanked South African motorists for their behaviour over one of the safest Easter weekends on the country's roads - while stressing that more work still needs to be done to reduce the road accident rate.

While 181 people still died on the roads over the four-day period, according to preliminary reports, this is sharply down from last year's figure of 296.

South Africa's Easter weekend holiday period is notorious for its high number of accidents and fatalities as tens of thousands of people make their way to various holiday and religious destinations.

"We would like to compliment all road users who adhered to the rules of the road, as well as all our law enforcement officers and emergency services personnel who went beyond the call of duty," Ndebele said on Wednesday.

At the same time, Ndebele said that while the statistics were positive, much still remained to be done.

The minister was speaking at the launch of "Think Pedestrian" campaign in Johannesburg. Pedestrians account for nearly 40% of South Africa's road fatalities annually.

Over the long weekend, 56 roadblocks were held and 905 motorists were arrested - 562 for drinking and driving, 226 for reckless and negligent driving, and 117 for other offences.

About 355 unroadworthy vehicles were taken off the road and 249 public transport vehicles were impounded.

Provincially, there were 30 fatal accidents in KwaZulu-Natal, 23 in Gauteng, 32 in Limpopo, 25 in Mpumalanga, 19 in North West province, 15 in the Free State, 20 in the Eastern Cape, 13 in the Western Cape, and four in the Northern Cape.

Speeding, dangerous overtaking, fatigue, drinking and driving, and unroadworthy vehicles are all major contributing factor to accidents.

Ndebele said road deaths and injuries not only caused enormous pain and suffering to the victims and their families, but also cost the economy billions of rands each year.

In a bid to reduce future road fatalities, Ndebele has instructed the country's traffic authorities that a minimum of 10 000 motorists be screened for alcohol every month.

Source: BuaNews

South Africa's track and field athletes have to compete in the Yellow Pages SA Senior Championships in Port Elizabeth this week to be considered for selection for the London Olympics. Expect a top-quality, action-packed competition!

The most recent qualifying standard was achieved by 400 metres hurdler LJ van Zyl at the Yellow Pages Interclub meeting on Thursday, 5 April, in Pretoria. He clocked 49.42 seconds to dip under the qualifying mark of 49.50 seconds.

World Championships medallist

Last year, Van Zyl won bronze at the IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea. As a medal winner, that result already counted as achieving a first qualifying standard. However, he had to achieve the qualifying standard after 19 March too.

Caster Semenya (800m) and Sunette Viljoen (javelin throw) fall in the same category as Van Zyl, having won silver and bronze respectively in Daegu. Should they reach the qualifying standards at the Senior Championships, they would join Van Zyl at the Olympics.

Semenya needs to break the two-minute mark in the 800m, with the A-standard set at 1:59.90, while Viljoen needs to throw 61m in order to qualify. She has already bettered that mark this year, registering 61.41m at the North West Provincial Championships on 17 March.

110m hurdles

Lehann Fourie achieved the A-standard in Gainesville, Florida, on 6 April in the 110m hurdles when he crossed the line in 13.31sec, well within the qualifying time of 13.52 sec.

A number of other athletes have recorded A-standard qualifying marks at least once. They include three men in the 200 metres, namely Lebogang Moeng, Thuso Mpuang, and Simon Magakwe, who has also achieved the qualifying standard in the 100 metres.

In March, Oscar Pistorius ran 45.20sec at the Gauteng North Provincial Championships to better the required mark of 45.30. He was part of the South African 4x400m relay team that won silver at the World Championships last year.

Tsholofelo Thipe has met the required standard in the women's 200 metres.

Close

A number of athletes have narrowly missed the set standards, including Willie de Beer in the 400m, Elroy Gelant and Gladwin Mzazi in the 5000m, Ruben Ramolefi and Dean Brummer in the 3000m steeplechase and Cornel Fredericks in the 400m hurdles.

Women that that have come close to the A-standard in their respective events are Rorisang Rammonye in the 400m and Wenda Theron in the 400m hurdles.

The Yellow Pages SA Senior Championships takes place at the Xerox Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Nelson Mandela Bay. The first event starts at 09:15 on Friday. The last event of the day will start at 17:00. Saturday's programme begins at 06:30, with the last event at 17:25.

Tickets are available online from itickets.co.za, via telephone on 086 1000 291, or at the gate. They cost R25 for adults and R15 for children.

SAinfo reporter

The latest version of the state's Industrial Policy Action Plan will see the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) investing R102-billion in targeted South African manufacturing sectors over the next five years, says Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.

"Our experience in the implementation of the plan demonstrates that industrial policy works, provided it is well designed, adequately resourced and informed by robust and constructive stakeholder dialogue and partnerships - this has been demonstrated in a number of sectors," Davies told reporters at the launch of the 2012/13 version of the plan in Pretoria on Monday.

Positive state intervention

The Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP), introduced five years ago, has been hailed as a robust formula that allows for positive state intervention to assist industrial development in volatile global markets.

Under the plan, the IDC has provided funding amounting to more than R12-billion to manufacturing ventures in the "green" sector as well as the automotive, agro-processing, textiles and other priority industries since 2010.

Davies accepted that the plan had been carried out in the face of severe global and domestic economic difficulties. The slowdown in the global economy had led to a drop in export demand from two of South Africa's traditional markets - Europe and the United States.

Despite this, the latest version envisaged new gains as the economy was starting to stabilise in some sectors, Davies said.

Automotive sector leads the way

Over the last year, the automotive sector had emerged as one of South Africa's strongest manufacturing industries, committing more than R15-billion in recent investments in the country from both assemblers and component suppliers.

This has been accompanied by large increases in vehicle assembly volumes, with recent investment interests including a US$100-million joint trucks and car assembly facility.

Davies said the implementation of successive versions of the IPAP had resulted in significant achievements and ongoing scaling up of interventions to retain, grow and diversify South Africa's industrial base.

A major achievement has been the conclusion of work to amend regulations of the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act to enable the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to designate industries for local procurement, including procurement by state-owned enterprises.

The first batch of sectors designated in 2011 included buses, rail, textile, food industries, and television set-top boxes for conversion of digital broadcast signals.

"So while the road ahead may be a difficult one, a strong foundation has been laid," Davies said.

"This makes it possible to arrest the threat of de-industrialisation and grow value addition and jobs in the manufacturing sectors of the economy, thereby underpinning economic growth and employment creation in the rest of the economy."

Source: BuaNews

First-world infrastructure plus a vibrant emerging market equals huge investment potential!