China's Stroke of Genius!

Over the past few days we've been reading about South Africa (SA) being invited to be part of the BRIC economic formation. The invitation into the BRIC family was been made by the formation's biggest and most influential partner, China. By all accounts, the invitation is due more to South Africa's influence on the African continent than the country's economic strength.

China's is one of South Africa's biggest trading partners and South Africa is Africa's largest economy. The size of SA's economy, no doubt gives the country great influence over decisions taken by the African Union (AU) and  the regional organization, the SADC. It is now emerging that one of the reasons China may have invited SA to be part of  BRIC (the acronym may be changed to BRICS should SA accept this invitation), is to leverage South Africa's influence on the African continent. It is an open secret that China is looking for opportunities to invest its accumulated cash stockpiles and Africa is as great an investment candidate for China as any other region in the world. What better way to understand the goings on in Africa than to bring South Africa to the BRIC table to share on the African agenda. China's invitation of SA to be part of BRIC can only be described as a stroke of genius. Previously I wrote about how China's may one day becomes Africa's new colonizer, and one day we may look back at China's invitation of SA to be part of BRIC as the event which accelerated this neo-colonization attempt.  

Now the question is whether or not South Africa should accept this invitation. In my view, President Jacob Zuma should accept the invitiation to sit at this auspicious table, if only for selfish reasons for the benefit the economy of South Africa and perhaps those of other countries on the African continent.

My Top Stories of 2010

The year 2010 was filled with many events and news, both good and bad. Below is my list of the most memorable news which shaped the headlines in 2010.

Political

1. President Jacob Zuma re-shuffled his Cabinet, in a move that seemed to increase his power-base within the ruling party, the ANC. The Cabinet re-shuffle was followed by changes in leadership in some of the Provinces. 

Economy/Business

1. Arcillor Mittal SA, gives a staggering +R9 bil stake to a group of investors in a controversial BEE deal which involves President Zuma's son
2. The mighty Wal-Mart made moves to acquire MassMart but after much investor and union revolt, Wal-Mart settled to secure a controlling 51% stake in MassMart. The deal is yet to be inked.

Technological

1. South Africa welcomed its fourth mobile network provider: 8.ta
2. The continued rise and influence of Facebook. Some time in 2010, the social network notched up its 500-millions users and more users keep signing up daily.

Social

1. South Africa successfully hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2. The three biggest disasters of 2010 that captured the imagination of the world must surely be: a) the earthquake which struck the small island-nation of Haiti b) the volcanic eruption in Iceland which brought European airlines to a stand-still and c) the damaging BP crude-oil accident off the Gulf of Mexico

What were your top stories? Happy 2011!

Imagine uncapped-data for Africa!!

Telkom Tower and UNISA in Pretoria

I'm currently reading a book, "The Facebook Effect" by David Kirkpatrick and one of the many enlightening things he describes in the book is how Facebook and other technology companies like it, really started to see exponential growth in terms of users and usage after the telecommunications networks in the US introduced the “all-you-can-eat” data sales concept became. The concept is borrowed from the restaurant industry, where customers would order a buffet, meaning for a set price, the diner could eat as much as they could during that specific visit to the restaurant (of course no doggy-bags allowed).

Lessons from the US about data usage

In the data space, this translated to the network operators and their distribution partners, offering bandwidth at a set fee, usually per month. This offering is also often referred to as uncapped data. During the particular month, the user could surf, upload and download as much data as they wished. The advantage of the uncapped data concept  for the customers is that they could now extend their surfing activities beyond essential content to more recreational content. The uncapped data method of selling bandwidth has the effect of reducing the cost of using the Internet and offers the consumer the freedom to roam wider and do more on the Internet. The advantages for the network operators is that because the user pays in advance, the network could guarantee future revenues. Indeed we can not overestimate the role of broadband has also played in the growth of Internet usage in the developed countries. A combination of both uncapped data and enhanced bandwidth has therefore been a potent recipe for the Facebook phenomenon and other similar Internet offerings.   

  

Uncapped Data for Africa

Imagine therefore the potential that could be unlocked if governments around the world, but specifically in Africa, encouraged telecommunications networks to offer some form of uncapped data pricing mechanism. This could unleash all sorts of creative and commercial opportunities in Africa for individuals and businesses alike. In my view, the uncapped data proposition could truly help to improve the economic well-being of the people of Africa. With uncapped data, the more than 500 million mobile subscribers across Africa, would begin to use their devices for more than just voice and SMS. The world of the Internet and online commerce would become a reality for all. Illiteracy however would remain lurking as the main  barrier and threat towards growth and penetration of Internet usage.

Not all rosy

To be sure, the uncapped data proposition has its downsides for both the consumer and the network operators. The networks would have to invest in more robust infrastructure in order to cope with the possible surge in usage. Happily, Africa is entering the world of broadband, with many of the underseas cables slowly coming into stream. The consumer may begin to dabble in unsavoury content, such as pornography etc. However, the impact of the upside offered by uncapped data, would far outweigh any downsides.

Let’s have “uncapped data for Africa, shall we!!”

Part2: Pres Zuma setting a foundation for his legacy

During a state visit to Cuba on Dec 7th, President Zuma, accompanied by some members of his cabinet, announced a credit line package to Cuba, which package includes the cancellation of a R1,1 billion debt which Cuba owes to South Africa. Since the announcement, many have been arguing about whether or not South African can afford to write off such a big amount in debt when the country is faced with such high unemployment (23.5%) and poverty. Those who make this argument miss the point and the point is that South Africa is yet to make proper amends to those countries which helped advance the liberation struggle course during the rime of apartheid.

The foundations of Zuma's legacy are becoming clearer 

The point therefore, is that the credit line package along with the debt right-off, are a gesture by President Zuma on behalf of the ANC and the people of South Africa, aimed at making it right with countries such as Cuba for their contribution to the liberation course of the ANC and its alliance partners. As stated in an earlier article, it is my view that what is beginning to emerge is that President Zuma seems to be on a path towards building a legacy which will tell a story of his Presidency as being the one which initiated the process of paying back to those countries which for decades invested heavily in the sustainability of the ANC during the decades of apartheid. Many would argue that you can never put a price on the role such countries as Cuba played in keeping the ANC and its allied partners alive during the critical struggle years. "Paying" back old debts is therefore going to be the hallmark of President Zuma's foreign relations agenda. South Africa must e expect more such gestures from President Zuma in the future, aimed at other countries. 

What legacy will Pres. Zuma leave behind?

Many Presidents come into office with a clear agenda of the key things they would like to achieve during their time in office. Presidents always want to leave behind a legacy and I have no doubt that President Zuma has his own agenda. If he does have an agenda, it is certainly not overtly communicated indeed I often find myself wondering  what legacy President Zuma is really building for himself.  

Follow Zuma's travels for clues

In recent times, President Zuma has been spending a lot of time outside the country, either on official state visits or simply attending critical multilateral gatherings such as the recent African Union-EU Summit in Tripoli, Libya. I have come to observe an emerging pattern with regards to the choice of countries which the President has been visiting of late. Recently he traveled to Angola, Zambia, China, Libya and now of course, Cuba. 

All these countries have one special thing in common and that is, they were somehow directly or indirectly  involved in helping to keep the ANC movement "alive" during those tough decades of he apartheid era. I have therefore come a private conclusion that perhaps President Zuma is somehow seeking to establish stronger diplomatic relations between South Africa and these countries.  In my opinion, Zuma may be setting about to position himself (consciously or inadvertently), as the President who can be spoken of as having started the process of making diplomatic amends between South Africa and those countries. The list of countries which helped keep the ANC "alive" is endless and in some instances, debatable. 

With this in mind, I expect President Zuma to make a more concerted effort towards improving diplomatic ties with more of those countries, among them are Swaziland, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and even Russia.