A formidable public-private partnership today launched an ambitious set of programmes to reduce South Africa's service delivery backlog by injecting skilled graduates and high-level training initiatives directly into local government.
 

 

The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in South Africa considers the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) announcement on the electricity tariff increase as one more reason to halt the development of the second new coal-fired power station, Kusile.

South Africa’s very own all-electric car known as “Joule” will be on show next month at the Geneva Motor Show in Switzerland, one of Europe’s most important automotive industry events.

South Africa must never be shy to compete against the best countries in the world, said science and technology Minister Naledi Pandor after witnessing the first images from the Sumbandila satellite on Monday morning.

South Africa is one of the first countries to introduce the multilateration radio tracking system for air traffic tracking and control. This system costs less than a secondary radar system would, yet it tracks aircraft more accurately.

Another step towards increased connectivity for Africans was achieved this weekend when the East Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) was anchored in Mtunzini, on the north coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal.

The introduction of smart electricity meters will create a revolution in the South African power market, says consultancy Frost & Sullivan.

From January 2010 Vodacom Business customers will pay up to 50% less for their international Internet connectivity (local internet access portion included).

Steven Hayward, Executive Director of Vodacom Business South Africa says this drastic price reduction in international bandwidth is made possible by the increasing competition between undersea cable providers which in turn creates a sustainable competitive international bandwidth market in South Africa.

"Vodacom Business has taken advantage of this changing landscape to engage with multiple undersea cable providers to put together a blend of robust, redundant international fibre internet access at vastly reduced pricing - in some cases with a saving of up to 50% from previous pricing."

The WWF has challenged Eskom’s application to NERSA on the grounds that an alternative and more sustainable build programme would cost considerably less than the one currently proposed by the power utility. 

Professor Jean-Paul van Belle of Cape Town University’s Faculty of Commerce has won an international IBM Faculty award for developing an innovative toolkit to enable small businesses to break into e-commerce.

This year, 2010, is going to be a key year in the history of science, engineering and technology in South Africa as the country’s globally significant radio astronomy programme reaches key milestones.

At last, you won’t need to know even a single word of Tshivenda or isiXhosa in order to communicate with South Africans who don’t speak English.

Professor Steven Chown of Stellenbosch University is the inaugural recipient of the Martha T Muse prize for Science and Policy in Antarctica.

A mobile phone application that's been called Africa's first mobile health clinic walked away with the honours and more than R600 000 in prize money in the Nokia Africa Calling all Innovators competition.

A public-private partnership between a South African university and private investors is working on a plant to commercialise thin film technology in the country, an official said on Monday.

A rabies treatment produced in tobacco leaves, bioceramic material for bone replacement and biodiesel made from algae: these were just some the innovations produced by the CSIR in the past year.

South Africa's newest supercomputer, a Sun Microsystems hybrid, was brought online in Cape Town earlier this month, providing the local and regional research community with a powerful tool in their pursuit of solutions to problems in the fields of climate change, energy security and human health.

US computer giant IBM and South Africa's Canonical on Wednesday announced the launch of a Web-based service aimed at helping African businesses that cannot afford traditional personal computers.

South Africa and southern Africa's landmark first government-owned satellite was scheduled to be launched later Tuesday from the central Asian republic of Kazakhstan aboard a Russian rocket.

South Africa is the first country in which Microsoft will unveil new software that allows Twitter, Facebook and other hot internet services be delivered to low-cost "feature phones".

 

South Africa aims to become a regional centre for space technology, investing in satellite and telescope projects to support its economy.

South Africa aims to be among the leading countries in the biotechnology industry, Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor said on Thursday.

Seacom is commercially launching its fibre optic cable on Thursday in South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique, linking Africa to Europe and Asia and unlocking the continent's high-speed Internet potential.

A number of South African academics have earned recognition from international organisations in recent months for their outstanding work in their respective fields.

The Eastern Cape's Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has made it onto the 2009 list of the world's 21 most intelligent communities. The list is issued annually by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) on the basis of a community's capacity in and innovative use of broadband.