Schalk Burger

Affordable housing agency the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco) has issued a tender, inviting manufacturers and suppliers of innovative building technologies to help it accelerate housing delivery, upgrade informal settlements and improve affordable accommodation across Johannesburg. Joschco is exploring innovative technologies to improve existing social housing and student accommodation developments. The technologies could help reduce operational costs, improve living conditions and support more sustainable housing delivery, it says.

E-hailing platform Bolt has added an electric vehicle (EV) category to its Johannesburg services through collaboration with the South African Meter Taxi and E-Hailing Association (Samtea), EV manufacturer BYD and other industry stakeholders supporting the rollout. The practical collaboration between the e-hailing and taxi sectors demonstrates how industry stakeholders can work together to create a more inclusive, integrated and future-ready mobility ecosystem, Bolt says.

South Africa needs to implement digital solutions to accelerate infrastructure delivery, including solutions that can improve the way the construction industry plans, builds and manages infrastructure, says University of Johannesburg Centre for Applied Research and Innovation in the Built Environment director Professor Innocent Musonda. Development finance institution the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) also emphasised the importance of supporting digital transformation across the region.

South Africa spends 6% of its GDP on education, which is more than other emerging markets – Brazil at 5.5%, China at 4% and India at 4.1% – as well as several developed countries, but has a skills gap and significant unemployment. Shifting this spending into demand-led approaches would get better results because how South Africa spends on education matters as much as how much it spends, says business organisation Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busisiwe Mavuso.

Development finance institution the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has approved a $503.75-million loan to enable Botswana to cushion the impact of the global energy shock and support structural reforms for private sector-led economic growth and job creation, particularly for women and youth. Through the Economic Competitiveness and Transformation Support Program (ECTSP), the loan will fund fiscal and private-sector reforms, aiming to lift non-mining tax value to 11.8% of GDP for 2027/28; raise private investment to 30% by 2028; and expand support for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and job creation.

The Automobile Association (AA) of South Africa has called on every municipality in the country to publish a list of its broken traffic lights and streetlights, as well as provide reference numbers and repair dates. Additionally, the AA wants the most urgent repairs done before the local government elections on November 4 or the start of the festive season in December.

International law enforcement cooperation organisation Interpol’s Operation Serengeti III, which was aimed at combating a full spectrum of digital threats faced by both users and companies, contributed to the arrest of 1 462 suspects and the recovery of $105-million, says cybersecurity company Kaspersky. The third edition of Operation Serengeti, from June 29 to August 31, saw Interpol bring together private partners, including Kaspersky, and investigators from 20 African countries and the US.

Africa is one of the most competitive markets in which to build data centres, and Lagos, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Nairobi have all seen increased activity in recent years. Lower labour costs, access to land and maturing local supply chains are key drivers of this, professional services firm Turner & Townsend’s ‘Data Centre Construction Index’ (DCCI) report shows.

South Africa is increasingly relying on imported medical technology and devices, while local manufacturers are relying on export markets for sales, with limited local procurement of locally produced healthcare devices, industry professionals revealed on October 27. Industrial development organisation the Localisation Support Fund’s (LSF’s) ‘Localising MedTech Manufacturing in South Africa’ study showed that four in five medical appliances were imported, while 47% of local companies operated at less than 50% utilisation rates.

The Radisson Hotel Group has opened its verified net-zero hotel Radisson Safari Hotel Hoedspruit, in South Africa’s Limpopo province, and aims to reach 100 verified net-zero (VNZ) hotels by 2030. The opening of the VNZ hotel demonstrates how an existing safari hotel can significantly reduce its environmental impact through changes across energy, dining, waste management, water conservation and responsible procurement, while maintaining the comfort and service guests expect, the company says.