 Mobile Rules

Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the fastest-growing mobile market in the world, according to research from Deloitte, using data from the GSMA Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Observatory. SSA has had a phenomenal average annual growth rate of 44 percent in this sector since 2000. Mobile connections have shot to 475 million, compared to just 12.3 million fixed line connections. This is the highest proportion of mobile versus fixed line connections in the world. The research said the mobile industry will generate almost 15 million new jobs in SSA between 2015 and 2020.

 New Bank Notes

South Africa

New bank notes bearing the image of the first democratically-elected president, Nelson Mandela, entered circulation in South Africa in November. The new notes featuring the face of Mandela on the front and pictures of the Big Five animals (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino and buffalo) on the back include denominations of 10 rands, 20 rands, 50 rands, 100 rands and 200 rands. The notes are printed with the world's top security features, including a watermark of Mandela, micro-printing, unique numbering, a security thread and color-changing ink, as well as raised print to aid the visually impaired.

 Maritime Strategy

Africa

The African Union has set 2050 as the deadline to secure Africa's territorial waters. Africa is the last continent without a maritime strategy and the continent is losing billions in annual revenue without a comprehensive strategy to police, patrol and promote the maritime economy and resources along its coastline. "Africa remains the continent that suffers most from illegal and unregulated fishing, maritime terrorism, piracy and armed robbery at sea," said Annette Leijenaar, from the Institute for Security Studies, a South Africa-based think tank.