Новости за 04.06.2021

MTN Group will bid again for an Ethiopia operating telecom licence in the second round if mobile financial services are included, its CEO said on Friday after losing the first round. Mobile financial services is key to MTN's strategy as it continues to evolve from just providing voice to also providing data, digital services and mobile payment and lending solutions as demand for these services rise.

A research study on skills in the automotive components sector shows that technical vocational education and training (TVET) institutions and technical universities must develop industry-aligned curricula and must produce work-ready candidates to close the skills gap in the sector. More than 70% of the respondents who participated in the inaugural 'High Gear Quarterly Skills Survey' said their organisations face a skills gap within the artisan, skilled and leadership occupation categories, with the... Читать дальше...

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Coega Development Corporation (CDC), in the Eastern Cape, will together develop an industrial research facility that is dedicated to the production of commercially viable biofibre products and applications. The CEOs of the organisations on June 4 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that paves the way for a public-private partnership that will allow the local industry to make headway in the undersupplied global market of biofibres.

The Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), in partnership with the South African Police Services (Saps), departments and entities of the City of Joburg (CoJ) and private companies that are affected by illegal mining activities, embarked on a joint operation raiding the Jumpers Informal Settlement, in Cleveland, on the June 2, the CoJ has informed in a statement. It points out that Johannesburg is one of the cities in South Africa that is badly affected by the spike in illegal mining.

eSwatini has added two more solar photovoltaic (PV) plants to its sustainable energy portfolio, as another of its projects – the Lavumisa 10 MW solar PV plant – nears completion. In a statement, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy acclaimed that eSwatini has made considerable strides in establishing itself as a leader in the rollout of sustainable energy projects while becoming less dependent on neighbouring Mozambique and South Africa for electricity.

Gauteng-based water utility Rand Water intends on laying criminal charges against members of the public for using abusive language to its employees during water shortages. This follows a series of email correspondences received by Rand Water’s customer service centre, in which members of the public used profanities to express their frustrations.

South Africa’s biggest city plans to seek at least R3.8-billion in investment in solar and gas-fired power as well as battery storage to improve electricity supply. The City of Johannesburg will issue a request for information for the construction of a 150-megawatt solar plant, 50 megawatts of rooftop solar panels and the refurbishment of an idle gas-fired plant that could generate 20 megawatts in September, the municipality said in a presentation on Thursday. It will also seek information for the... Читать дальше...

Leading US carrier United Airlines announced on Thursday that it had signed a commercial agreement with US startup aerospace company Boom Supersonic to both purchase aircraft and implement a cooperative initiative to increase commercial aviation’s sustainability by accelerating and increasing the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). The aircraft order is for 15 of Boom Supersonic’s Overture supersonic airliners, currently under development, with options for another 35. In terms of fleet... Читать дальше...

Despite having faced major challenges in 2020, 4 Africa Exchange-listed Heartwood Properties recorded net asset growth per share of 25% for the financial year ended February 28. Since first listing on the stock exchange in March 2018, it has grown its net assets by a total of 93%.

State-owned power utility Eskom has announced that load-shedding will be suspended from 12:00 to 17:00 on June 4, to allow Parliament to pass a series of Appropriation Bills. The Deputy Speaker of Parliament requested that the utility suspend power cuts during this timeframe, as passing these Bills are essential to keeping government operating.

London-based artificial intelligence (AI) research and applications organisation DeepMind is supporting postgraduate students in the fields of applied mathematics, statistics, electrical and electronic engineering and computer science at Stellenbosch University (SU). Six scholarships are available to students who wish to pursue a two-year MSc in Applied Mathematics or Computer Science or an MEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

Twelve Ghanaian technicians have wrapped up their three-month training course at the Nissan Rosslyn plant on the assembly of the new Navara pick-up, in anticipation of the opening of a Nissan plant in their home country next year. The first Navara pick-ups for customers are expected to start rolling off the assembly line at Nissan South Africa from the end of this month. The vehicle will go on sale across numerous African markets in the months that follow.

The Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA) says that, because South Africa relies heavily on its natural ecosystems and landscapes for its tourism sector, it is incredibly important that the country’s waste management sector adopts the best and latest technology to avoid irreversible ecosystem damage resulting from waste. The organisation states that waste and its afterlife is one of the greatest environmental challenges currently and that, when waste is not recycled, repurposed or treated... Читать дальше...

Creamer Media's Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about the difficulties that continue to affect the domestic steel market, unhappiness about safeguard duties and the way ArcelorMittal South Africa prices its steel and how the steel master plan process may help to address these problems.

Multinational packaging and paper group Mondi has signed a new €750-million five-year multicurrency revolving credit facility (RCF) agreement to refinance an existing facility that was due to mature in July 2022. Mondi explains in a release that the RCF incorporates key sustainability targets linked to Mondi’s Action Plan (MAP2030), which contains ambitious 2030 sustainability goals.

The Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority (TCTA) and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) have concluded two loan facility agreements, totalling R5.5-billion and spanning 20 years, for the implementation of Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP), which forms part of South Africa’s Vaal River System. The investment comprises R3-billion and R2.5-billion loans and was negotiated alongside other facility agreements with the five major banks in South Africa for a total of over R15-billion.

South African Mineral and Energy Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe and the two most senior officials in his department denied corruption in court papers responding to allegations by a losing bidder in a power tender. Director-General Thabo Mokoena confirmed that he and his deputy met Aldworth Mbalati, executive director of DNG Energy, at Kream Restaurant in Pretoria in November, but denied they tried to secure a bribe. Mantashe denied allegations by Mbalati that a business associate and a relative... Читать дальше...

For the Khoi and San - South Africa's first inhabitants - a verdant patch of land in Cape Town embodies victory and tragedy. The two communities drove back cattle-raiding Portuguese soldiers there in 1510. But, a century and a half later, it was where Dutch settlers launched a campaign of land dispossession.

Consumers have to be aware that taking their vehicle to an independent service provider (ISP) while it is still under warranty may result in some segments of that warranty being voided, should the work, or part fitted, not be up to standard, cautions National Automobile Dealers’ Association (NADA) chairperson Mark Dommisse. NADA represents more than 1 400 franchise dealers nationwide.

A video round up of this week’s magazine, highlighting our cover story, features and Business Leader.

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) is exploring the use of machine learning to make more effective use of its data collected from field devices, such as vehicle-detection systems and cameras, and floating car data, which is a collection of anonymised road traffic data from Global Positioning System (GPS) and cellular providers. The data is used to support infrastructure planning and the detection of and emergency response to incidents on the national roads. Machine learning can enhance the use of the data for applications... Читать дальше...