The US election, the death of Yasser Arafat, the controversy surrounding the Telkom BEE deal, the 'final' draft of the ICT Charter.

So what?, I wonder. What does it all mean to you and me? Are we any better/worse off for any of this?

The US election may have some slight economic spin-offs, but Africa was never high on the agenda of either candidate.

Any change in the Middle East will not make any difference here. The departure of Thintana from Telkom will not make any difference to the local telecoms rip-off, and neither will the ICT Charter, if it is ever really finalised!

Two queries spring to mind on Telkom though. What is happening about the SNO? Things seem to have gone very quiet recently.

The other point is, what exactly has Thintana done for Telkom since it got here. I can't say that I have noticed any improvements.

In addition, how much money did the company make from SA? The rumoured figure for the sale of its shares is R7bn, I am sure that it did not invest so much when it came here. In addition, how much did it take out of the country in profits etc?

Just a thought.

Michael Scarth