African Renaissance: Biographies

Used with permission

JAY NAIDOO
Minister for Telecommunications
"We have a vision in our country where I would like to see people in every household have a postal address, a physical address, an Internet address as well as a telephone address."

Used with permission

PETER DZINGWA
Phoneshop owner
"I think cellphones are what Africa has been waiting for....(South Africa) came to a standstill for 40 years. There was no development there, a lot of guns going off....now the cellphone has actually made them lift those 40 years and be smack right in the middle of everybody's communication system, which I think is a fantastic thing."

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ALAN KNOTT-CRAIG
Group Chief Executive Officer, Vodacom
"What people generally do is say, well if these areas are third world and poor, let's put old and cheap used technology in there. Wrong approach altogether. You go for the most modern technology, that's the best way to do it. And I think GSM have proved that in South Africa."

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ROSS MACDONALD
Group Executive MTN
"We believe that the pay phone route is more accessible (than the phoneshop route) by using existing places of business as installations, and at those places of business having vendors who sell prepaid debit cards.... the phone is accessible 24 hours a day."

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ELLEN VILAKAZI
Phoneshop owner
"And then when I stated with Vodacom I didn't even have a car, now I have two cars, and then my house, I'm satisfied with my house, furniture, everything. It's nice and I live a better life with my husband now."

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MAUREEN MPHATSOE
Phoneshop owner
"Right now I must say it's actually doing very well....it's a very good kind of business, especially because I don't spend a lot of time there."