# Social Category > General Chat Forum >  Surprising stats

## Dave A

From our Fact-A-Day today



> 21% of South African sun bathers are aged 50 or more


Good grief! No wonder I don't go down to the beach as much anymore.

Top that for a surprising stat.

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## RKS Computer Solutions

Are those stats including the nude beaches?  yuk

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## Dave A

Just to help me get over Riaan's thought there:



> The Daily Sun is the most popular newspaper among Shoprite, Pick'n'Pay and Spar customers. Woolworths customers prefer the Sunday Times by a large margin.

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## RKS Computer Solutions

I thought my question pertained well to the subject at hand....   :Big Grin:   :Big Grin:   :Big Grin: 

Anyway, would the popularity of the newspapers have anything to do with the display variants used by the different markets?

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## Dave A

> would the popularity of the newspapers have anything to do with the display variants used by the different markets?


OK. Now you've just flown way over my head  :Surrender:

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## RKS Computer Solutions

Different stores have different placements of newspapers on their newsracks...  Might this be a factor?

Taking into account the average height of a South African boerseuntjie like myself, touching in at 6'7", average being 6' , would the newspapers being on my eye level be the ones I notice first and would that be the one I'm inclined to buy?

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## Dave A

Aah! I'm with you now.

I'd guess the Sunday Times reckons they've just got more discerning readers. 

What really interests me is that anyone would think of looking for a correlation between shopping preferences and newspaper preferences. I've had a thought rolling around in the back of my mind for a while now. Maybe it's time to bring it out to play.

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## Chatmaster

I think if you are looking for a specific newspaper you will buy it, regardless of where it is placed. The customers attracted by those shops must be a factor. I personally do not buy from Woolies, simply because they are way over priced. I much rather buy where I get value for money. I have an opinion about buying from Woolies but I might offend someone :Devil2:

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## Dave A

Oh stop being so bashful. What Sunday Newspaper do you read?

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## Chatmaster

I read the Raport offcourse, Sunday Times Afrikaans brother!  :Big Grin:  But I buy it next to the road on my way to church.

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## Dave A

Another one that has me surprised:



> 80% of South Africans believe that Minister Alec Erwin is one of our top three ministers. Minister Trevor Manuel is rated as one of top three by 20% of South Africans.

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## Dave A

Somewhere between surprising and disturbing:



> There are 5.3 million South Africans aged 22 or older living with their parents. 36% of them are employed. (AMPS 2008RA)

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## Morticia

Must be because the parents are suckers like me.....feeling helluva guilty charging the poor little mite more than R1 500 p.m. boarding/lodging/food/laundry/Dstv/gardener/domestic inclusive, well knowing that the poor little thing earns a pretty packet.  I have only myself to blame, LOL

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## daveob

You got any openings at R1500 pm ? How long is the waiting list ?

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## Dave A

> well knowing that the poor little thing earns a pretty packet.  I have only myself to blame, LOL


Snap!

Although funnily enough when my son announced he's planning to move out, some pretty foreign thoughts ran through my mind, I'll tell you.

Like "I'm going to miss him." 

Tried to do the rah-rah way-to-go. I'm not sure I was very convincing.

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## Morticia

Kids - they may leave your house but never your wallet...

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## Dave A

> A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited about Obama and Why He Can't Win by Shelby Steele (hardcover) sells for $14.96 (R150 at current exchange rates) on Amazon and R278.30 on Kalahari.


I heard a rumour Amazon isn't delivering to South Africa anymore. Can anyone confirm that?

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## Morticia

Yip - due to increased theft at SA Post Offices......... :Yawn: 

http://www.thetimes.co.za/Business/B...aspx?id=786567

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## Dave A

So we, the consumer, now have to pay 85% more!

I'm sorry - theft is costing this country a f***ing fortune.

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## IanF

Dave
I see you can get an audible download for $10.49.
I wonder if this wouldn't be a opportunity to get an ebook and print and bind it here?
It is big business in the states for self publishing.

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## Dave A

I guess we should be going the eBook route anyway for the sake of the environment. And cost savings too I guess. Good point, Ian. 

If we can't have Amazon keeping local pricing in check, at least when it comes to books there still is an alternative.

That's only part of the story though. It used to be good to be a South African. We were streaks ahead compared to the rest of Africa on so many fronts. But all that is being eroded.

South Africans having problems with credit card payments over the internet because we're associated with Nigerian style fraud activities.
You can't have a Paypal merchant account.
Now, no more Amazon.

We're going backwards.

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## duncan drennan

> Now, no more Amazon.


The guys at wantitall.co.za bring in products from the USA and Amazon (run by my 2nd cousins and a friend). They were actually invited by Amazon to visit after the increasing number of sales and now have direct access to their product database.

There is always an opportunity to be had.

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Graeme (28-Dec-08)

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## Dave A

For benchmark purposes - A Bound Man is available for R229.00 from wantitall.co.za

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## Dave A

68% of South Africans believe it is a problem that foreigners are taking the jobs that South Africans don't want. (FutureFact 2008)

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## Dave A

56% of South Africans say that if the police and government do nothing about crime, ordinary people have the right to take the law into their own hands. (FutureFact 2008)

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## Dave A

50% of women in South Africa with babies under the age of 2 are single (never married and not living together) (AMPS 2006 RA)

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## Loman

Why is technology in SA so very expensive??

For example a Logitec MX5500 is R 1 800 at dabs in the UK but almost R 2 500 in SA?

An Acer Notebook costs in Taiwan R 7 000 while here the same one is almost R 12 000.

I don't get it, is it because of taxes or what?
The problem i had in Mozambique was i had to bring in CCTV equipment from SA and paid a ridiculous amount for taxes because their argument was - I should have bought Mozambican products. How can i when they dont have any?

One might as well go to Taiwan and have a nice holiday and buy your laptop there and I'll bet you'll still have change. 

I'll gladly

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## Dave A

39% of banked South Africans withdraw their cash as soon as they receive it. (Finscope 2007).

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## garthu

Latest statistics released... 96.5% of all statistics are made up :Big Grin:

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## Loman

> Latest statistics released... 96.5% of all statistics are made up


This just in, 76.2% of old folk prefer to eat dog food. :Smile:

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## garthu

> This just in, 76.2% of old folk prefer to eat dog food.


Not sure whether to laugh or cry, feeling pretty old this year! - where that pack of kibbles....
Sad reality is that i think this holds some ground??

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## Loman

For Real?

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## Loman

> Why is technology in SA so very expensive??
> 
> For example a Logitec MX5500 is R 1 800 at dabs in the UK but almost R 2 500 in SA?
> 
> An Acer Notebook costs in Taiwan R 7 000 while here the same one is almost R 12 000...


Sorry about that one. I have no recollection as to how i 
managed to post this at the wrong thread. 

According to my doctor i'm suffering from 
temporary insanity brought on by my massif 
trauma of not having a reliable internet connection. :Wink:

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## Dave A

Worldwide, livestock burps are responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent - more than produced from all forms of transport combined. (Livestock's Long Shadow, Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome, 2006)

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## Dave A

The use of pre-paid cellphones jumped from 48% in 2006 to 64% in 2008, while the use of Telkom phones at home has fallen by half, from 16% to 8%.

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## Dave A

66% of divorced women use lipstick regularly while only 38% of single women do so. (AMPS 2008)

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## Debbiedle

> 66% of divorced women use lipstick regularly while only 38% of single women do so. (AMPS 2008)


bwhahaha  - I had a divorced friend that used to go to bed with her lipstick on - just in case "something" happened in the middle of the night!!   :Nono:

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## duncan drennan

> 64% of people with a monthly income of less than R1400 are happy/satisfied with the level of service delivery from their local council or municipality. For those with higher incomes, it is 70% (FutureFact 2008)
> 
> From eighty20 Fact-a-day


70%, that is quite high. So why do we always hear about the other 30%?

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## Dave A

Dissatisfied clients on average tell eight (?) times more people about their dissatisfaction than satisfied clients do.

30% is a pretty high *dis*satisfaction percentage!

Imagine if 3 out of 10 of your customers were not satisfied with your services - I certainly wouldn't regard that as good at all  :Frown:

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## duncan drennan

"Quite" high, was higher than I expected it to be.

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## Dave A

81% of urban South Africans agree with the statement 'I am disillusioned with the government'. (FutureFact 2008)

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## duncan drennan

So 81% are disillusioned and at least 60% are happy with service delivery. And that from the same study (FutureFact 2008). Hmmm  :Hmmm:

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## Dave A

I think the difference might be local vs national government and total vs urban demographics.

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## Dave A

> 77% of urban South Africans say they have some or complete confidence in Trevor Manuel, the highest of all the public personalities in the FutureFact survey. Next most confidence-inspiring were Tito Mboweni (63%) and Cyril Ramaphosa (60%). (Julius Malema achieved 34%). (FutureFact 2008)


The one that surprised me in this lot is Julius Malema.

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## garthu

Worrying really. I have heard alot of people refer to him as the next bob mugabe as he talks and acts the same way.  Sometimes takes the humour out of his silly remarks

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## Dave A

South Africa is the sole producer of the Mercedes Benz C Class, right hand drive vehicles (www.southafrica.net)

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## Dave A

> There are roughly 3.2 million Zimbabweans living in South Africa. Those who have been living in South Africa for five years or more have been granted permission to vote in the upcoming elections.


Given the spat about non-resident South Africans, this really did come as a surprise. And I thought you had to be a South African citizen to vote.

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## duncan drennan

AFD!  :Big Grin: 

Got me too, till I thought about it.

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## Dave A

> 74% of urban South Africans agree with the statement 'A lot of police are criminals themselves'. (Future Fact 2008)


Pretty sad, really.  :Frown:

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## Dave A

> 81% of South African adults voted in the 1994 national elections. For the 2009 elections the figure is roughly 59%. (StatsSA, IEC)


 :Huh: 

I suppose there are a lot of people who never registered as voters then.

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## Frankincense

...when "making your mark" dawns as "recieving your mark".....I expect mass exodus...revolution!

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## Dave A

> There are 20.2 million youngsters (aged 0-19) in South Africa. 73% live in the same household as their mother. 34% live with both their mother and father. (GHS 2007)


Pretty sad  :Frown:

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## Dave A

> There are an estimated 10,000 child labourers in South Africa (this excludes children in sexual slavery), most of which are trafficked into slave like conditions. (Anex CDW, 2008)


 :EEK!:

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## Dave A

71% of South African adults watched SABC1 in the past seven days. 16% watched no TV at all. (AMPS 2008B RA)

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## Marq

> 71% of South African adults watched SABC1 in the past seven days


This stat comes from a survey completed during the last Kaizer Chiefs/Pirates game screened on SABC1, in a shebeen, in Soweto and then extrapolated over the whole country.

The second stat comes from the same pub survey where Celtic supporter were interviewed who would never admit to watching the opposition teams in action.

The missing 13% were Man united fans waiting for their game to screen on Mnet.

(Source AMPS 2009 - Thats is of Course the well known - _Alternate Marq Perceived Statistics_)

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## Dave A

Marq, you're a bloody genius  :Rofl:

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## Superscenic

I also think 90% of statistics are made up. What is the person paid to walk around and interview people doing sitting on his behind in a shebeen watching soccer?

I think my belief is most people would rather sit on their behind making up numbers than actually go door to door (weather permitting) in sometimes dodgy areas.

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## Graeme

These stats are usually compiled from sample data - and outfits taking samples have to be damn careful how and when they pose the questions; for instance if I had to take a sample about attitudes to the death penalty, I could probably get two different answers in the same stretch of road:  Knock on doors at 9.00 am and the chances are good that the door will be opened by a young mother with a child on her hip and another clutching at her skirts - there she is, full of love for her children and the world at large - ask about the death penalty and she will freak out: "No,no,no, never ever!"  Go to the same address at 7.00pm and the door will be opened by hubby who has had a bad day at the office and an ulcerous drive home and his first scotch has not even begun to calm him down - "death penalty - hell yes - hang the bastards"

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## Dave A

And to support the risk of sample data not always giving an accurate result...



> Vodacom says it has 26.45 million South African subscribers. The AMPS survey estimates the figure to be 10.1 million. (Vodacom press release dated 27 January 2009, AMPS 2008B RA)

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## Marq

Almost the same as the number of clients I have....remarkable!

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## Marq

I received a call this morning on my cell phone from Exact Mobile offering me a vodacom contract with a deal worse that the one I have with them already. The 'operator' (besides being rude and nasty) had no idea that she was phoning a vodacom number whose owner already had a contract.  

How many of you out there have more than one contract with the same supplier for your private life? I am sure there are some who try to split their lives up between girlfriends and wifes but personally I think whoever is running exact mobiles marketing arm should be fired for wasting their money on useless call centre operations and the faxes that come through in droves. 

Now you know how vodacom can have so many subscribers. They must be counting potential call centre operations as well.

According to Vodacoms ceo last year - well in a fin24 report anyway - there are 48million sim cards out there. Vodacom say they have 26mill of those = 54%. The market penetration is roughly 70% with another two years good growth still left....mmmmm..... so the total market estimation is about 68million sims.  :No: 

Lets see there are supposed to be round about 50 million citizens. Say half (choose a number)  are too young, too old or too rural or too poor to own anything. Say 10% have two phones for office and personnel use. Thats 27 million - lets say 30 million citizens that have phones - does this mean there are currently 18million refugees, exiles, tourists, unaccounted for people in the land? Where is the balance that vodacom say are still out there waiting to hear from them. 

In may 2004 Vodacom had 10m subscribers and the total base was estimated to be 30mil - check it out. So in five years according to vodacom the market has increase by 18mil (60% growth) Total potential market by 126% and their percentage market share has grown from 30% to 54%. Woah....some poll this could be:- So..er Mr vodacom, what reasons do think there are for the huge population growth in the country:-
Somebody's not checking the borders.Somebody is smoking their socks.Census just got it wrong.Nobody is using a condom anymore.

Choose one or all - we are going to manipulate the stats anyway. :Cool:

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## Loman

> Thats 27 million - lets say 30 million citizens that have phones - does this mean there are currently 18million refugees, exiles, tourists, unaccounted for people in the land? Where is the balance that vodacom say are still out there waiting to hear from them.


The only thing it could be is three year old's getting cellphones within the next two years.

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## Dave A

> 2 million South African adults have personally been a victim of violent crime in the country in the past year. Only 60% of these cases were reported to the police. (AMPS 2008B RA)


More shocking than a surprise, perhaps.

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## Marq

Is the obvious question not....how do they know only 60% was reported?

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## Dave A

Sample surveys surely?

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## Marq

If they were not reported how do we know who to survey?

If we survey say 100 people in Westbury - you would get 100% to the question as to whether you have been a victim and 100% no report  to the police.

So then you extrapolate these results in the same way they got the 2 million number and the answer for this survey is that 0 people in the country have been a victim of violent crime.

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## Dave A

That's why these survey companies get the big bucks  :Wink:

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## Dave A

> 26% of urban South Africans agree with the statement: 'I see no reason to work if I can get a government grant' (Future Fact 2008)


How about you make more money?

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## Marq

Just to put this stat in perspective....




> In 2008/09, total spending on grants will increase toR69 billion, which is 10% of total governmentspending. This makes South Africa one of theworld's biggest spenders on social grants


 - 2008 the peoples budget

According to that article - 12 million South Africans enjoy the social grant.....mmmm.......46 million people in the country - 12 million on grants = 26% - fancy that hey - check the magic of numbers. 

Amounts of Grants as At 01 April 2009
*Grant Type                                  1 April 2009*  
Old Age grant                                  R 1010.00      
Disability grant                                 R 1010.00
War veterans' grant                          R 1030.00
Child support grant                           R 240.00
Foster care grant                             R 680.00
Care-dependency grant                    R 1010.00

69 brazilian by 12 bar = average R480 per month
Somehow looking at the above grants - I dont really see an average of R480 - which makes one question the 69 brazillian. The 26% is A OK as per the above calc so the total payout must more than we are being told about?

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## Dave A

...Or the bulk is made up of child support and foster-care grants, which is entirely possible.

Add the government payroll bill which apparently keeps about 34% of the working population afloat + the padded prices on contracts for pals and it's no wonder there's a problem funding other stuff.

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## Dave A

> 73% of South African adults agree or strongly agree with the statement ‘Job security is more important than job satisfaction’. (AMPS 2008)


I don't think this is healthy.

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## Marq

I don't think it is healthy either, but I do believe it's a true reflection on our society. The sheeple just attend work day in and day out, without much of a thought pattern beside what to do after work and even then theres not much brain wave beyond the pub or tv.

I wonder to what extent 'job security' is just maintaining and keeping ones job in relation to obtaining or retaining high monetary income. What I am saying is if they could earn more money would they have more job satisfaction?

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## daveob

> I don't think this is healthy.


Well Dave, that depends on which side you are looking from.

There are many reasons to make sure you keep your job security, even if you really don't like what you're doing or even really care about what you produce or who you work for.

For example :
To bend a quote by a real famous forum master :

Job security = easy access to :

-- banking facilities ( unsecured ), no matter if I'm behind on debts instalments.

-- Free support for my spouse, girlfriend, a horde of kids, a house in the suburbs, company car, cellphone (which will be used for 80% personal calls) and my retirement one day.

-- Free education ( and time off this krap job while being educated -- I will get sozzled every day on your account, so please don't expect me to learn anything ).

-- All mistakes paid for without penalty to my monthly income.

-- Don't have to work hard at keeping customers or finding new ones - the boss does that himself.

-- Promotion by age 30 and able to consider retirement by 40-45.

-- And if I don't deliver and the boss don't pay enough, I am really expected to trash the place - it's my duty.


So, you see, what reason would I have for wanting to leave this job - it's security gives me everything I need from it.

Now if you don't mind, I'll call in sick tomorrow and stay home, get depressed about my life, kick the dog and kill the bottle.

ps.. will be back the next day but doubt I will be very productive.

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Dave A (21-Jul-09)

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## Dave A

> The median daily parking rate for Sandton is $10.02 (Cape Town $9.02, Durban $3.76). In the City of London a day's parking will cost $68.07, and in Delhi $1.75. (Colliers International)


A pity the parking rate for Manhattan isn't in there. I recall seeing rates of $20 an hour in the theatre district.

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## daveob

Immediately made me think of this one :

A man walks into a New York City bank and says he wants to borrow $2,000 for three weeks. The loan officer asks him what kind of collateral he has. The man says "I''ve got a Rolls Royce -- keep it until the loan is paid off -- here are the keys." The loan officer promptly has the car driven into the bank''s underground parking for safe keeping, and gives the man $2,000.

Three weeks later the man comes into the bank, pays back the $2,000 loan, plus $10 interest, and regains possession of the Rolls Royce. The loan officer asks him, "Sir, if I may ask, why would a man who drives a Rolls Royce need to borrow two thousand dollars?"

The man answers, "I had to go to Europe for three weeks, and where else could I store a Rolls Royce for that long for ten dollars?"

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## Dave A

> 9.86 million urban South Africans feel there is no-one to complain to about poor service delivery in their community. 87% of them say that even when they complain, nothing is done to fix the problems. (Future Fact 2008)


I'm surprised it's not unanimous - or maybe the rest work for the civil service and use their inside connections  :Stick Out Tongue:

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## Dave A

> There are 10.1 million Vodacom subscribers in South Africa. The next most popular cellular network provider is MTN with 9.2 million. (AMPS 2008B RA)


I really thought the gap between MTN and Vodacom was bigger than that!

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## Marq

Depends who you going believe - Vodacom or amps.

see earlier post

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Dave A (19-Aug-09)

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## twinscythe12332

well, by 2007 estimates, Sa's population is 47.9 million... so if vodacom is correct, more than half the country uses their service...

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## Dave A

> 62% of adults living in Limpopo say the statement ‘These days there is no point in saving for something, it is better to buy on credit’ is true or very true. For those in the Western Cape, the proportion is 30%. (AMPS 2008B RA)


It would be cool to see what that stat is in each of the provinces, but that difference certainly gives pause for thought.

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## Dave A

Not so much surprising as good news worth sharing:



> It is reported that adult smoking prevalence in South Africa has fallen from 32% in 1995 down to 22% in 2006. (www.health24.com, September 2009)

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## Dave A

54% of rural households in South Africa have a monthly household income of R1,400 or more, while 54% of urban households have a monthly household income of R5,000 or more. (AMPS 2009 RA)

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## Frankincense

....when the highways are layed desolate....and the humans began to eat the humans....then shall they know "generic economic principles"..... :Sorry:

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## Dave A

> Electricity is currently being provided to 80% of South African households, up from 50% in 1995. (EU Municipal Outreach, Newsletter 17, April 2009


That's quite an improvement. How many power stations did we add in that time?

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## Alan

Ooookay, how many of those new connections are actually paying for the service?

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## Dave A

> Over the period 1997-2008, house prices in South Africa increased by 389%. In Australia, the figure is 163%. (www.economist.com) (2009-04-09)


So was our property price boom a bubble?

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## mark@suitegum.co.za

> So was our property price boom a bubble?


No. It was the upside of BEE and similar policies. The previously disenfranchised are gaining an economic foothold and creating a demand in a limited supply market.

A bubble bursting would lead to losses in the region of 50% of value. not the single digit contraction (at worst) we have seen here in the last 18 months.

"*In 2003 the average price of a home in Detroit was almost $98,000; this October it was $15,000*" - The Economist December 19th 2009, page 77.

Pop.

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## Dave A

I don't disagree entirely. By international pricing standards we started out underpriced and price-wise we've seen something closer to a correction than a burst bubble.

But on the flip side volumes are exceptionally thin. Is our property really priced to the market at the moment, or are prices being propped up by the underlying debt?

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## mark@suitegum.co.za

Well a burst bubble would manifest itself in massive volume to start with. Thin volumes indicate bargain buyers. People are sufficiently liquid to resist a forced sale, and those sales that are being consumated are probably in two camps; controlled, marginal sales by the purchasers of bargain deals selling out of their old home, and bargain buyers on the foreclose market, pushing for low prices, and thereby forcing the average down.

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Dave A (23-Dec-09)

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## Dave A

> 81% of South African adults voted in the 1994 national elections. For the 2009 elections the figure is roughly 59%. (StatsSA, IEC) (2009-04-28)


Did the novelty wear off, or is this a reflection of the quality of the people/parties on the ballot?

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## Dave A

> There are currently 4.6 million Internet users in South Africa; this represents 91% growth since 2000. (Internet World Stats, March 2009) (2009-06-22)


That's actually shocking! Atrocious!

Not even doubled in nearly 10 years...? Really pathetic!

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## Marq

I suppose in relation to the number of taxpayers, telkoms (govn) control of systems and high prices and the third world mindset, its probably not toooo bad.

Yes, if we view it light of an emerging economy and a developing country then its poor, just like the many citizens that will stay there until this crowd gets their act together. TIA

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## Dave A

I couldn't help thinking about the state of education discussion when I read this one:



> There are 13.7 million children in South Africa aged 6 to 18. 6% are not currently attending an educational institution. (GHS 2008)

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## Marq

Found the ratio I was talking to earlier:-



> Learners-per-teacher ratio is high (31.4), teaching and learning materials are insufficient and inadequate. Educators often have inadequate qualification and low motivation. Poor physical conditions at schools, lack of proper sanitation facilities especially in rural areas, widespread violence in and around schools contribute to drop out and poor performance.


 Unicef  children profile report 2009

I dont know what the norm is, that is expected....20-25?

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Dave A (13-Jan-10)

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## mark@suitegum.co.za

In the South African context, more important than student - teacher ratios, is the quality of the teachers. Our quality is generally very poor. This is exacerbated by high ratios, poor (teacher) discipline, poor (teacher) work ethics and too many teachers putting things up little kids' bottoms.

My primary school education was all above 40 per teacher, and we had few problems. My high school education was never above 22, and usually 15 to 20.

The modern ideal at top private schools seems to be aimed at 17, but a good teacher can work miracles with 31.

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Dave A (14-Jan-10)

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## Dave A

> There are 42,000 girls aged 13 to 18 who do not attend school because they are pregnant. (GHS 2008)


That sounds like a lot - especially given that condom use is so heavily promoted because of AIDS concerns (let alone the challenges of teen pregnancy)!

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## Marq

Obviously got the wrong sponsor, promoter and actor....er sportsman

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## Marq

I presume the source of these stats - GHS 2008 - stands for *G*irls *H*igh *S*chool - 2008 yearbook - a very reliable source indeed. :Big Grin:

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## Dave A

Or General Household Survey...

Mind you, it's done by Stats SA - you might have a point  :Oops: 

 :Big Grin:

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## mark@suitegum.co.za

> That sounds like a lot - especially given that condom use is so heavily promoted because of AIDS concerns (let alone the challenges of teen pregnancy)!


I wonder what the percentage is.

My dad was the headmaster of a private school. In the 70's he introduced girls to what had been a boys' school. Sometime in the 80's he had his first pregnancy. The thinking of the day was that the "bad girl should be expelled".

He went against the community and persuaded her to stay on to complete her matric. I seem to remember that her baby was born in the January following her matric exams. She went on to university, and today she's a doctor.

It was a novelty for the school, and a learning experience for all.

Why should the girls leave their studies while the fathers of their children stay at school, either as pupils or teachers?

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Dave A (17-Jan-10)

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## Dave A

> The proportion of households in LSMs one to three has declined from 36% in 2003 to 20% in 2009. (AMPS - various years. LSM stands for Living Standards Measure and is a frequently used basis to segment the consumer market in South Africa)


I was trying to work out whether this was good or bad news. It turns out it's good news. Essentially the percentage of people living in poverty is coming down.

The living standards measure runs from LSM 1 (people with the lowest living standards) to LSM 10 (people with really high living standards).

I also found this 2004 report on income and expenditure by LSM interesting.

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## Dave A

> 92% of urban adults agree with the statement 'It angers me that my taxes are used for luxury cars, body guards and other perks for government officials'.


At first I wondered who the 8% might be - perhaps government officials who get luxury cars, body guards and other perks?  :Roll Eyes (Sarcastic):

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## twinscythe12332

> At first I wondered who the 8% might be - perhaps government officials who get luxury cars, body guards and other perks?


They pay tax?  :EEK!:

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## mark@suitegum.co.za

> At first I wondered who the 8% might be - perhaps government officials who get luxury cars, body guards and other perks?


Some might suggest that the 8% may be the same 8% who gave the ANC their 65.9% majority.

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## daveob

It might be 1% government officials, 4% bodyguards and 3% luxury car salesmen. This means that each official has 4 bodyguards and 3 luxury cars ?

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## Dave A

> Permanent employment fell in South Africa at an annual rate of 2.4% during August, the 18th consecutive monthly decline. (Adcorp Employment Index, August 2010)


 :EEK!:

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## Dave A

> 34% of Zambian adults live in a household with a TV. In South Africa, the proportion is 85%. (Finscope Zambia 2009, AMPS2010)


Quite a gap!

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## Dave A

> Last Friday, the prime interest rate dropped to 9% p.a., a level last seen in May 1974. In the interim, it has been as high as 25.5%, in August 1998. (Reserve Bank)


And yet the property market is probably flatter than it was in the 1998 crash!

Go figure  :Confused:

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## Dave A

> 55% of South African adults have never heard of the National Credit Act or NCA. A further 21% have heard of it but don't understand what it is. (Finscope 2009)


 :Hmmm:  That leaves 24% who know what it is *and* understands *what it is*.

Of that 24%, I wonder how many actually *understand* it? Certainly not me - not completely.

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