R4bn for Molotsane's head

At the time of writing, the two most recent Telkom announcements on the JSE have read "resignation of CEO [Papi Molotsane]" and "resignation of director [Lazarus Lim]".

To use the word "resignation" to describe the first announcement may not be too accurate, say the analysts I have spoken to. But one thing is clear - the market has warmly applauded Telkom's dramatic and drastic axing of its CEO, Papi Molotsane.

Telkom documents show it has 557 million shares in issue, which means the share price jump of about R7.50 over the few days following the announcement has added more than R4 billion to Telkom's market capitalisation.

An excellent column from ITWeb's Cape Town correspondent, Paul Vecchiatto, looks at the sequence of events behind Molotsane's fall from favour.

Added to all this, the Solidarity trade union has made strong calls for government to probe Telkom, alleging corruption.

Other news this week may have been shrouded in the dark shadows of Telkom's internal wranglings, but there were some interesting points to note.

The well-organised Joburg Broadband Network Project is moving forward at a rate of knots. A total of 25 companies responded to a request for information for the project, and demonstration networks by many of those are expected soon. The city will decide which companies will progress to the next stage.

ITWeb exclusively reported today that the ICT charter is on its final stretch. It is ready for adoption, pending the steering committee's final approval next week. The charter is expected to come into effect within the next few weeks, heralding the end of a four-year, often-troubled process.

The gazetting of the ICT charter will essentially "legalise" black economic empowerment, said steering committee member Andile Tlhoale.

The market has warmly applauded Telkom's dramatic and drastic axing of its chief.

Dave Glazier, journalist, ITWeb

Elite law-enforcer The Scorpions recently caught an IT technician stealing from Standard Bank account holders. The individual was arrested at an airport hotspot, at OR Tambo International, last month. He was convicted and jailed for eight years, five of them suspended.

Sentech warned this week that, unless government allocates funding for the group's countrywide wireless broadband network, it is in danger of losing out on opportunities within the market.

While government refuses to help the signal distribution and broadband parastatal, it is understood several local financial institutions are courting the company, expressing an interest in partnering with Sentech on various projects.

The only problem with this idea is that Sentech is forbidden from obtaining funds from sources other than the National Treasury. A catch-22, you might say.

The South African-originating company Datatec said this week it will purchase UK-based Crane Telecommunications for the equivalent of nearly R300 million. Crane - a value-added distributor of voice, data and converged communications solutions - is expected to add to Datatec's impressive armour.

Certainly the most worrying news this week was that government's broadband plan, which was supposed to be finalised this year, has been put on hold, leaving the ICT industry without clear guidance on the country's broadband goals.

The Department of Communications' excuse can be accessed within this ITWeb exclusive from yesterday.