October 2010

Stand up to be counted: Census 2011

Johannesburg - South Africans countrywide have been called to participate in Census 2011 - the third national census since the advent of democracy.

The countdown began on Sunday with Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) confident that counting the nation will go smoothly.

Speaking at the launch of the census, Kefiloe Masiteng, the Deputy Director-General for Population and Social Statistics, said the census should be something that the nation is proud of.

Stats SA will deploy 120 000 officials dressed in yellow bibs across the country to document all people, including illegal immigrants and the homeless from 10 to 31 October 2011.

"We will ask you about your access to services such as water, electricity and sanitation. Out of this arsenal of information we will know whether South Africa is making progress or not. We will also know what needs to be done," said Statistician General Pali Lehohla.

As part of Stats SA's preparations for next year's census since the last one was conducted in 2001, a dress rehearsal began on the streets of Pretoria on Saturday.

Pretoria - The public now has the opportunity to voice their input on the country's energy mix with the release of the draft Integrated Resource Plan (IRP).

The Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) on Energy said the IRP 2010, which is the country's electricity master plan, will be released for public comment today.

The IRP is the country's 20-year electricity plan, which aims to show South Africa's future electricity demand, how the demand can be met and at what costs.

From 2011 to 2016, rolling blackouts are anticipated unless extraordinary steps are taken to accelerate the realisation of the non-Eskom generation and energy-efficiency projects.

Accordingly, the country will require an energy mix by 2030 comprising of 48 percent baseload coal, 14 percent baseload nuclear, 16 percent renewable energy, 9 percent peaking open cycle gas turbine, 5 mid-merit gas and 2 percent baseload import hydro.

The IMC looked at various scenarios, which include a case where only the direct costs of each technology are considered. They also mulled the cancellation of the Kusile power station.

CPD Workshop for Architects in Gauteng : Integrating AV Technology Into Design

KEYNOTE SPEAKER : BOB SIMPSON - Writer and lecturer on Audio Visual and Lighting Control topics, his books include "Effective Audio Visual", "Videowalls - The Book of the Big Electronic Image" and "Lighting Control - Technology and Applications". He has worked on many corporate, control room, EXPO, museum, theme park and permanent exhibition audio visual projects.

Over the last few months the South African Institute of Architects have been working with the Southern African Communications Industries Association (SACIA) to promote the adoption of professional standards in the local audiovisual industry.