Pravin Gordhan

At Home
Foneworx Holdings’ earnings were flat in the first half of the year, because of the negative impact of the 2010 Soccer World Cup on sales at two of its subsidiaries. For the six months to December, revenue improved marginally by 0.9%, to R46.2 million, and gross profit dropped 5.6%, from R28.8 million to R27.2 million. Foneworx says the drop is due to higher sales costs at MediaWorx. - ITWeb
A bitter spat between City Power and a former service provider over SIM cards has resulted in large companies in Johannesburg receiving estimated bills for their electricity consumption. The utility’s largest customers, which account for about 70% of revenue, are billed through an automated process that uses smart meters. However, when the utility awarded a new contract at the end of 2009, the SIM cards in the meters were never handed over.
- ITWeb

The South African Revenue Services system that will be leveraged by the home affairs “Who Am I Online” project achieved a 57% improvement in queuing times during the tax season. SARS introduced an electronic queue management system at its branches in time for the tax return period. It says the system has had a substantial impact on reducing queuing times. Finance minister Pravin Gordhan" rel=tag>Pravin Gordhan said a 57% improvement in average queuing times was achieved, despite a 58% increase in the number of taxpayers visiting branches during the 2010 tax season.
 - ITWeb

Third mobile operator Cell C will continue to invest in its R5 billion network, as it prepares to upgrade the speed of its new HSPA+ network from 21Mbps to 42Mbps. Cell C first unveiled its new network in Port Elizabeth (PE) in September last year as part of a phased rollout. The company confirmed recently that it is on track to begin its upgrade to 42Mbps, starting in PE by latest end of May. - ITWeb

Organisations’ focus on IT systems delivering business continuity is greater than the concern over the price of technology, according to a survey commissioned by Lenovo. The Corporate PC Trends and Buyer Behaviour Survey was conducted between November and December last year. - ITWeb

IPv4 addresses are expected to run out in Africa within the next year, and a lack of preparation for the new IPv6 protocol could be disastrous for business. Réan van Niekerk, MD and founder of Metacom, says, “The transition to IPv6 will take time, but I do believe that it will have a snowball effect and if you are not proactive you will be left behind.” - ITWeb

The Department of Transport is now allowing oral presentations from the public with regards to the controversial e-tolling system. It also says citizens can post, hand-deliver, e-mail or fax written submissions on the matter. This comes after complaints from the Democratic Alliance that the methods for the public to engage on e-tolling were too limited. The department previously only allowed for written, posted submissions. - ITWeb

The Government Communication and Information System says the DPW has challenged middle and senior management to make computer training available to workers, including cleaners and those who make tea, so they can access work e-mails. Minister Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde also challenged women working within the department to mentor women in their communities and teach them to read and write. - ITWeb

Into Africa

Airtel in Sierra Leone has once again contributed to the Rural Education campaign. The company has adopted the REC School in Tombo as a pilot school and more schools will be adopted in other strategic deprived rural communities in the country. The company is currently working on refurbishing the whole school buildings; providing furniture, scholastic materials, and basic motivating stipends for teachers.
- Concord Times

The Kenyan government is lobbying to have a change of council by-laws to make installation of CCTVs mandatory in all buildings. Vice president Kalonzo Musyoka is further asking insurance companies to review their premiums to enable business owners install CCTV cameras. “This will increase confidence in Kenya as an investment destination,” Kalonzo said at the launch of  Integrated Security CCTV, a new company dealing in installation of CCTVs in Kenya. - Nairobi Star

Rwanda has registered a healthy growth in cellphone users with the country’s three telecom operators adding some 1.2 million subscribers in 2010, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency has said. Mobile subscribers clocked to 3.6 million by January this year from 2.4 million in January 2010, even though the country has the second lowest mobile penetration in EAC after Burundi. - The New Times

Zambian mobile phone operator NetOne recently received a shot in the arm when it signed a
$45 million loan agreement with the China Exim Bank to fund network expansion and other modernisation projects. Stanbic Bank will handle the fund disbursement for the projects to be undertaken by Huawei Technologies of China, long-term partners with NetOne. NetOne MD Reward Kangai said he was optimistic that the company would tap into the growth opportunities that lay ahead. - The Herald

Analysis based on satellite images and maps is helping to identify the flows of people fleeing the political violence in Libya to neighbouring countries. One of the first discoveries based on that information is that the real number of displaced persons could be less than has been reported by the news media. - IPS

The Nigerian Bureau of Public Enterprises has directed Omen International Limited to re-validate its reserve bidder status for the privatisation of Nigerian Telecommunications and its mobile subsidiary, M-tel. The directive is contained in a statement issued by Chukwuma Nwoko, BPE spokesman in Abuja. Omen International Consortium emerged the reserved bidder at the financial bids ceremony for NITEL/M-tel held on 16 February 2010 with an offer price of
$956 million. - Vanguard

Abroad

A rare Wall Street downgrade stoked fears that Apple’s growth is slowing and sent its shares sliding for the second straight day as nervous investors ponder the impact on the tech industry from Japan’s largest-ever earthquake. The world’s largest technology company lost about $14 billion of value after JMP Securities’ Alex Gauna downgraded the stock, pointing to a sharp pullback in sales growth at Apple’s largest Asian contract manufacturer as a sign that business was also slowing at the iPhone and iPad maker. - Reuters

Social networking sites such as Facebook, or search engines such as Google, may face court action if they fail to obey planned EU data privacy rules, European Union justice chief Viviane Reding. Reding will propose an overhaul of the EU’s 16-year-old laws on data protection in the coming months to enforce more safeguards on how personal information is used. - Reuters

Indian security agencies are not satisfied with a plan offered by Research In Motion for them to have access to data on its BlackBerry Messenger services, junior Telecoms Minister Sachin Pilot told parliament. RIM gave India access to its consumer services, including its Messenger services, in January after Indian authorities raised security concerns, but said it could not allow monitoring of its enterprise e-mail. - Reuters

Japanese electronics manufacturers warned production would be hobbled by further supply and distribution problems as companies struggle with power blackouts after the disaster in Japan. Canon said it would suspend production at one of its main plants in Oita, southern Japan, blaming problems with parts supply and distribution. - Reuters

Media giant News Corp aims to build its own social-gaming business as valuations of games companies, such as FarmVille maker Zynga, skyrocket, its head of digital media said. Jonathan Miller also said News Corp’s The Daily, a newspaper designed for Apple’s iPad, has had hundreds of millions of downloads since its launch in the United States last month. It will begin charging readers for subscriptions next week. - Reuters

Google’s online video service YouTube said it has bought video technology company Green Parrot Pictures for an undisclosed sum. The Dublin, Ireland-based company specialises in providing intellectual licensing and high quality picture manipulation technology. Its video improvement technology has been used in Hollywood movies like Lord of the Rings, Spiderman and King Kong. - Reuters