infrastructure - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Undersea cables for Africa’s internet retrace history and leave digital gaps as they connect continents

LARGE parts of west and central Africa, as well as some countries in the south of the continent, were left without internet services on 14 March because of failures on four of the fibre optic cables that run below the world’s oceans. Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Ghana, Burkina Faso and South Africa were among the worst affected. By midday on 15 March the problem had not been resolved. Microsoft warned its customers that there was a delay in repairing the cables. South Africa’s News24 reported that, while the cause of the damage had not been confirmed, it was believed that…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Why are floods in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal so devastating? Urban planning expert explains

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

THE devastation caused by the recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa demonstrates again that the country is not moving fast enough to adopt appropriate urban planning. It should integrate risk assessment and management in the design and development of cities. This is becoming more urgent as the frequency of floods increases. HOPE MAGIDIMISHA-CHIPUNGU, Full Professor, University of KwaZulu-Natal Most South African cities were built a long time ago before climate change was predicted. KwaZulu-Natal experienced flooding in July 2016, May 2017, October 2017, March 2019, April 2019, November 2019, November 2020, April 2023, June 2023, and now in January 2024.…

Jul

2023

By TANNUR ANDERS and ANAIT MIRIDZHANIAN

Focus: South African food producers warn of higher prices as infrastructure crumbles

BUSINESS

SOUTH African food producers, among the biggest on the continent, are spending hundreds of millions of rand mitigating prolonged rolling power blackouts, water supply issues and crumbling infrastructure. This investment, sometimes at the cost of essential capital expenditure, will eventually be passed onto consumers, making food prices higher for longer, food companies, economists and lobby groups told Reuters. It comes at a time when South Africa is already struggling with acute unemployment, 14-year high-interest rates and ballooning inflation and complicates efforts of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to ease interest rate hikes. "We are very aware of the struggles…

Apr

2023

By BIRD STORY AGENCY

Tight economy, big opportunity draws private sector investment in Africa’s infrastructure

BUSINESS

A new World Bank report shows that the rise of private participation is driving infrastructural developments in Africa at a time when economic headwinds have strained national budgets meant for development. The report, ‘Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) 2022’, shows that the number of projects and countries benefitting from private participation in infrastructure has risen to a record high. “This can be attributed to the flow of investment levels surging in Africa during the pandemic when more popular investment regions such as East Asia and the Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean were facing the brunt of the crisis,”…

Dec

2022

By The African Mirror

Fighting rages in east Ukraine, Europe agrees extra military aid to Ukraine

WORLD

NICK STARKOV and PAVEL POLITYUK RUSSIAN forces pounded targets in eastern and southern Ukraine with missiles, drones and artillery, Ukraine's General Staff said, while millions remained without power in subzero temperatures after further strikes on key infrastructure. European Union foreign ministers agreed to put another 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) into a fund that has been used to pay for military support for Ukraine after it was largely depleted during almost 10 months of the war. The EU ministers were also due to discuss a ninth package of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, while Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was set to…

May

2022

By The African Mirror

Dar es Salaam’s bus rapid transit: why it’s been a long, bumpy ride

AFRICITIES

INFRASTRUCTURE projects are often subject to political aspirations. But when they are not realised as promised or their costs multiply over the years, the projects turn into public controversies. After a while, the aspirations, promises and controversies settle as the infrastructure system becomes an integral part of the environment and society. Dar es Salaam Bus Rapid Transit is such a project. It was planned to improve urban transport by gradually replacing minibuses in Tanzania’s largest city. Author MALVE JACOBSEN, Post-doctoral researcher, Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz Various challenges, like unclear construction plans, residents’ protests and unexpected costs, led to several…

Feb

2022

By The African Mirror

Addis Ababa yet to meet the needs of residents: what has to change

AFRICITIES

WITH an estimated population of more than 3.7 million people, Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, is home to about a quarter of Ethiopia’s urban population. The city generates well above 29% of Ethiopia’s urban GDP and 20% of national urban employment. Author EZANA WELDEGHEBRAEL, Research Fellow, University of Manchester Over the last two decades, Addis Ababa has witnessed rapid socio-economic changes and a drastic physical transformation. This was propelled by a development-oriented government and the private sector. However, the city faces challenges around housing, transport, infrastructure, services, youth unemployment and displacement. I’m part of the African Cities Research Consortium,…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

The cost of looting in SA: R7 to R10-billion, counting…

BUSINESS

CLAIMS for damage and theft from businesses affected by civil unrest in South Africa are likely to be between R7- billion rand and R10-billion rand, the head of the only insurer covering political violence in the country told Reuters. Days of riots and looting have left more than 70 people dead, hurt thousands of businesses and damaged major infrastructure in some of the worst civil unrest in decades. Triggered by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma last week after he failed to appear at a corruption inquiry, it has widened into an outpouring of anger over poverty and inequality. Sasria,…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

Water, power cuts and neglect are taking their toll on South Africa’s top hospitals

HEALTH

A fire at one of the biggest public hospitals in Johannesburg, the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, and the delay in reopening the facility has brought infrastructural issues into sharp focus. The fire broke out in mid-April. Only now is a phased re-opening of the hospital being undertaken. PROFESSOR DAYNIA BALLOT, Head, School of Clinical Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand The reopening was delayed due to fire safety issues. A host of compliance measures weren’t in place. These included fire hydrants without a water supply, fire hydrants without correct couplings, non-functional fire doors and a lack of emergency lighting in…

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

‘Use technology, enabling infrastructure to harness resources and build the Southern African economy’

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

MATHEWS PHOSA OPPORTUNITIES for growth and development will always present themselves naturally, but economic dynamism is critical. As such, the key to real economic dynamism is about leveraging opportunities into real sustainable value. Value for our people, our neighbours, our region and our Continent. The real economic boons or revolutions have been based on converting opportunities into value. The Industrial Revolution was about effectively deploying vast amounts of capital for productive capacity to stimulate industry, goods and related services. Converting opportunity, which is access to capital, into real sustainable value, is the backbone of sustainable infrastructures such as rail, seaports…