PositionIT e-News

GIS, GPS, surveying and spatial applications in Southern Africa

Issue 54, March 2014

Who's footing the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill?

by Clare van Zwieten, editor

After a heated debate in parliament on 25 February 2014, the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill [B35 - 2013] (s76) was approved by the National Assembly and referred for concurrence to the Select Committee on Land and Environmental Affairs of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP)... (more)

The economic value of surveying and GNSS positioning services

by Chris Kirchhoff, Kirchhoff Surveyors

Chris Kirchhoff For those questioning the economic value of surveying and particularly GNNS positioning services, the Australian Government has prepared reports on the economic benefits which highlight the value of both augmented GNSS services but, more importantly, the critical role that positioning services and specifically surveying or geomatics play in the economic growth of a country... (more)

Zuma orders investigation into Project Vulindlela

by Clare van Zwieten, EE Publishers

President Zuma has issued a proclamation for the (SIU) to investigate the Dept. of Rural Development & Land Reform, the State Information Technology Agency and its service providers for alleged fraud, corruption and maladministration relating to the e-cadastre project (Project Vulindlela), and the processing of deeds on the Deeds Registration System... (more)

PositionIT Inbox, March 2014
Letters to the editor

This month's letters focus on trig beacon maintenance, the Legal Metrology Bill, and Project Vulindlela. One writer says technological advances will continue to have an impact on surveying and the surveying profession... (more)

Using SG data to determine economic activity
by Julian Williamson, Surveyor General's Office: Pretoria

The purpose of this article is to use documents submitted to the Surveyor Generals' Offices by land surveyors to determine the extent of economic activity taking place in the provinces. It also analyses the relationship between the projects submitted to each Surveyor General's Office and the number of land parcels being created ... (more)

NEM: ICMA and the development of proclaimed fishing harbours

by Simon van Wyk, Aurecon

With the promulgation and enactment of the National Environmental Management: Integrated Coastal Management Act (NEM: ICMA) on 1 December 2009, a paradigm shift in coastal management has occurred in South Africa... (more)

Runway construction at a live airport

by John Wallace, Topcon

Ask any contractor: there is probably not a construction project that doesn't need to be completed yesterday from the customer's perspective. Overlay that expectation with the added challenge of working on a live airport, and things need to move into warp speed... (more)

The Statistics South Africa Geospatial Strategy

by Ashwell Jenneker, Statistics South Africa

Sustainable planning and development cannot be done without adequate South African Spatial Data Infrastructure (SASDI) as a key strategic enabler. The Statistics South Africa Geospatial Strategy outlines the first steps of Stats SA towards the implementation of a SASDI... (more)

GIS and its role at the Electoral Commission

by Clare van Zwieten, EE Publishers

GIS plays an important role in enabling the Electoral Commission to fulfil its mandate to impartially manage free and fair elections at all levels of government. This article looks at the role played by the GIS Unit at the Electoral Commission in preparing for the upcoming national and provincial elections on 7 May 2014... (more)

Reviving pre-1994 historic address maps for Soweto

by Nic Klopper, 1Map Spatial Solutions

Sometimes radical out-of-the-box thinking is called for when faced with seemingly insurmountable problems. Reconstructing accurate address maps for Soweto - many years after they had been destroyed - was one such challenge... (more)

Large format printing solution for mining group

by Jana van Vuuren, Azero Avenue

The Anglo American Group of Mines' survey and drafting offices faced printing production challenges such as large file sizes clogging networks, limited file support, inconsistent and non-standardised equipment, outdated equipment, and employees moving around within the company's portfolio... (more)

Moving window display for Landsat 8

by Riaan Stegmaan, SANSA Earth Observation

Landsat 8 images are used by the departments of agriculture, water affairs, environmental affairs, and rural development and land reform, as well as the CSIR, the National Housing Agency (NHA), Eskom and GeoTerraImage (GTI), among others, in the planning and execution of their operations... (more)

GNSS-based solution for material flow control and landfill management

by Peter Rausch, Nuremberg Institute of Technology, University of Applied Sciences, Coburg and Michael Diegelmann, Rosenheim

Material Flow Control and Landfill Management (MFCLM) is one of the most challenging tasks for the construction industry and logistics services. To address issues related with MFCLM we propose an innovative GNSS-based solution called EPOS Material Flow Control and Landfill Management (EMFCLM)... (more)

Using GPS data to characterise driving patterns and fuel use

by Prof. Christo Venter and Prof. Johan Joubert, University of Pretoria

The use of global positioning system (GPS) technologies for collecting travel data is growing rapidly throughout the world. As GPS technologies improve, a number of shifts are occurring in their application. Data collection periods are also increasing beyond the traditional one-day survey, as respondents carry GPS devices for up to a week... (more)

Views, comment and opinion

PositionIT Inbox, March 2014

Zuma orders investigation into Project Vulindlela

The economic value of surveying and GNSS positioning services

Industry and institute news