How To: Advanced Search for L2Q Buyers

For our L2Q Buyers – use the Advanced Search with keywords, page numbers and/or payment reference to select specific items to send RFQ’s to Vendors.
Learn about some L2Q basic functionality with a quick video tutorial from “The How-To Series”.

(Duration 1m 39s)


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About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Reach out if you want to talk: L2B, social media, construction, technology, marriage, parenting, popular culture and travel. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

Projects Infographic: KZN (2020)

View our Projects Infographic for KZN and get the inside scoop…


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About Marlaine Andersen

Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer

Why are Coal-Powered Power Stations harmful to the Environment?

posted in: General 0

Why are coal-powered power stations harmful to the environment?

Fossil fuels are indeed the top fuels used all over the world for generating power and electricity. Among the fossil fuels, coal is the most widely used fuel in power plants. Coal-fired power plants boiler use different kinds of machinery that convert heat energy produced from combustion into mechanical energy. Coal, gas, and oil are fossil fuels responsible for most of the world’s electricity and energy demands. Coal, which is readily available in most of the developing and developed world, has been used as a major source of fuel even in ancient human civilizations. It also found its use in historic steam engines at the dawn of the industrial revolution.

There are many advantages to coal power stations like Reliability, Affordability, Safety, etc. but as much as coal is reliable and affordable how safe is it?

The major disadvantage of coal is its negative impact on the environment. Coal-burning energy plants are a major source of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to carbon monoxide and heavy metals like mercury, the use of coal releases sulfur dioxide, a harmful substance linked to acid rain.

Air pollution from coal power stations causes disease and kills thousands of South Africans every year, says UK expert. Air pollution from coal-fired power stations kills more than 2,200 South Africans every year and causes thousands of cases of bronchitis and asthma in adults and children annually.

In 2016 these were the statistics that were provided by Dr Holland to the Department of Environmental Affairs and to members of the Environmental Affairs and Health Portfolio Committees

2 239 deaths per year: 157 from lung cancer; 1 110 from ischaemic heart disease; 73 from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;719 from strokes; and 180 from a lower respiratory infection
2 781 cases of chronic bronchitis per year in adults
9 533 cases of bronchitis per year in children aged 6 to 12
2 379 hospital admissions per year
3 972 902 days of restricted activity per year
94 680 days of asthma symptoms per year in children aged 5 to 19
996 628 lost working days per year
All these statistics and yet the Minister of Mineral Resources unveiled the long-awaited Integrated Resource Plan, saying “coal will continue to play a significant role in electricity generation. This is a 10-year plan which includes increasing the country’s current 47,000 megawatts of energy by 1,500 megawatts from coal, 2,500 megawatts from hydro, 6,000 megawatts from solar and 14,400 megawatts from wind. Mantashe said coal would contribute 59% of the country’s energy, as “the country has the resource in abundance” and coal-fired power plants “are going to be around for a long time.”

For clean fresh air, we must say no to coal. It continues to fuel climate change, supercharge extreme weather events, poison our air and consumes precious freshwater.

Sources:
Phys
LinkedIn
The Guardian
CER


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About Nazeema Sishi

I am a content researcher who just started with Leads 2 Business in February this year, I work in the Daily Tenders South Africa department. I am a young vibrant lady who enjoys meeting new people and doing new things. I welcome challenges and always find new ways of doing things. I am a mum and I love spending time with my not so little, very talkative son.

Electricity in Africa

posted in: General 0

Africa’s people don’t have access to electricity – why and what is being done?

So I was a bit worried about the topic of this blog and I’m not going to lie…doing research on it gave me a bit of a wake-up call. It made me realise how easy and often we take things for granted. I have realised that the small things in life are what truly counts and that without them people’s lives can be really dim 😉

The first question…WHY?

Some countries don’t have enough resources to provide electricity to the citizens. If those countries don’t have the resources or if they don’t have the money to buy or build the resources that generate electricity, the country, unfortunately, can’t provide it to their citizens. Today, one in three Africans do not have access to electricity, which means they have to make use of paraffin or spend their lives in darkness. Power providers are financially unable to provide electricity and often suffer from old infrastructure, which then means they can’t deliver their services to customers. If this does not change, there will be more people without power by 2030 than there are now.

One of the major barriers to electrification is the cost of a grid connection. A grid connection in Kenya, for example, is estimated at USD 400 per household…I mean, really!

Another big reason…Some households won’t be metered as they do not have a formal address, or people live in an area that is difficult to access – for example near flood plains or in informal settlements.  So then again how would these families be able to afford USD 400 to be connected to electricity???

And then probably the biggest reason…Corruption…between service providers, power theft and the establishment of electricity cartels also upset and limits electricity access.

So, let’s look at some statistics:

The number of people without access to electricity globally has dropped, from 1.2 billion in 2010 to 840 million in 2017. It is predicted that by 2030, there will still be about 650 million people without access to electricity, and 9 out of 10 of them will live in Sub-Saharan Africa…how scary is this!

Which country has no electricity? – South Sudan is the country with the worst level of electricity access in the world, with a minimal amount of 4.5% of the population connected to the power grid as of 2014. Only 7% of those living in Burundi have access to electricity, while in Chad this figure is 8%.

The 15 most under-powered countries are all based in Africa. In Sierra Leone, the situation had gotten worse since 1990, down from 18.4% to 13.1%. Same situation in Angola – down from 47% to 32%, Djibouti – down from 63.4% to 46.7% and Kiribati – down from 95.2% to 48.1%.

Across most of central Africa, the overall percentage who have access to electricity averages less than 21.22%. Many clinics and hospitals lack access to reliable electricity as well as half of the secondary schools in sub-Saharan Africa do not have power.

The below graph is a good illustration of the percentage of households in various countries who have access to electricity:

With this all being said, what can be done to improve this situation for millions of people on the African continent?

A very important recommendation is that households must be encouraged to have individual meters to measure their electricity usage. Installing prepaid meters can be very beneficial whereby it gives low-income households the option of paying in smaller amounts instead of a bigger amount at the end of the month this allows poorer households to budget and pay for electricity as and when they can.

A study found that the above option can be very beneficial and affordable to the poorer households. However, service providers must minimize technical and commercial power system losses due to activities such as meter tampering. Increasing tariffs, which are the rates consumers pay for electricity, are also necessary but should aim at large- and medium-size consumers first and in line with service quality improvement.  Sharing the initial cost of connection across all electricity users, including large- and medium-sized firms, could also help take away the burden of upfront connection costs for poor households. However, a more efficient billing system should be implemented to ensure revenue is collected on a broader scale and not always just focus on large and medium-size consumers.

Millions of people still living without access to electricity live in urban areas. Most are within a stone throw from existing power grid infrastructure. So, why aren’t these consumers connected to the formal grid?

Urban communities also often face many challenges in obtaining access to electricity. These range from extremely high costs of a connection, to informal housing, power theft and many more.

Decentralised renewable energy technologies (solar, wind, small hydro) offer an important solution for “under-the-grid” electrification. They are simple, fast and easier to set up. They have short installation times, and also offer a reliable electricity service for informal settlements. The willingness to pay for decentralised renewables is much higher than a grid connection because they are seen as more reliable. People are looking for new ways to create a more reliable and efficient system to produce electricity.  Another advantage of decentralised renewables is that they are much easier to maintain than current grid systems in place and also contribute to factors such as job creation.

Access to reliable, safe, and affordable electricity can improve so many lives in Sub-Saharan Africa—people can work longer and be more productive, children can study at night and hospitals can provide reliable healthcare to those who need it.

In conclusion, there is light at the end of the tunnel…60% of the newly connected population were in rural areas, where it is more difficult to connect people. The urban electrification rate increased from 72% to 74% and rural electrification increased from 16% to 23% in the same time frame. These solutions show that with the right approach, and simple innovations, Africa’s prospective urban customers can finally get access to electricity. This, in turn, will boost countries’ economies and will hopefully provide a brighter future for all!

Sources:
Worldbank
WRI
Economist
QZ
The Conversation
Brookings
Express


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About Shanelle Suresh

I started at Leads 2 Business in 2023. I worked in the Projects Department as a content researcher for the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and the Gauteng region. I've experienced many great opportunities for growth and learning in this time. I am now IT Admin Support and I am loving the new ways of contributing to the company's success. My colleagues are always willing to share their knowledge and expertise.

Featured Company: Afrimat (Pty) Ltd – Western Cape

 

Who’s who in your Industry?

This week read all about Afrimat’s Western Cape Division and the products they supply here …

Afrimat 3a

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About Shanna Knezovich

I started my journey with Leads 2 Business in 2013 as an Account Co-Ordinator. I transitioned into an External Sales position as an Account Executive in 2015. I help professionals within the building & construction industry keep up to date with the latest project and tender information as well as source new business opportunities throughout Africa.

Project Infographic: Mining – Africa (2020)

View our Project Infographic: Mining – Africa 2020 and get the inside scoop


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About Marlaine Andersen

Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer

Featured Project: Segilola Gold Project – Nigeria

 

Description
Thor Explorations flagship project is the Segilola Gold Project in Nigeria which comprises a proposed open pit gold mining project based on an indicated mineral resource defined by a comprehensive drilling program over 16 000m of RC and Diamond Drilling to define a high grade resource and probable reserve.

 

Status Region
Underway Nigeria
Category Value
Infrastructure R 100 million+
Industry Timing
Mining 17 months
Sector Class
Private Invited / Negotiated

 


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About Melanie Miles

One girl who would rather wear boots than high heels...

How To: Request Prices as a Buyer – Part 2

For our L2Q Buyers – Request Prices Part 2 – includes how to add use the Vendor Search, Filters, add Preferred Vendors, Select Vendors and Send RFQ’s.
Learn about some L2Q basic functionality with a quick video tutorial from “The How-To Series”.

(Duration 4m 35s)


To view more from our How To Series, please visit Leads 2 Business Blog.
If you are interested in becoming one of our subscribers, please visit Leads 2 Business.
To view our Wiki Help with screenshots and video tutorials, please visit Leads 2 Business Wiki.

About Sasha Anderson

Millennial Mom + wife living the hash-tag life. Reach out if you want to talk: L2B, social media, construction, technology, marriage, parenting, popular culture and travel. Remember: If You Fail - Fail Forward

Leads 2 Business Weekly Quote

posted in: General 0

This week’s quote is from, Nelson Mandela. We thought quotes from him would be most suitable this month as it’s his Birthday Month.

“We can change the world and make it a better place. It is in your hands to make a difference.” Nelson Mandela


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About Marlaine Andersen

Leads 2 Business Advertising Co-ordinator and Digital Designer

COVID-19: It’s not all bad….

posted in: General 1

I’m sure you think I have lost my mind but believe me, I am just as anxious to jump off this “coronacoaster” as the rest of you.

It’s no secret that this pandemic has been devastating to the whole globe, everyone has been affected in some way or another, whether it has been from the tragedy of a life lost, or if you have suffered financially during this time, perhaps you have been retrenched or have had your salary or hours slashed – we have ALL been affected.

Nothing is simple any longer.

If you are a smoker you are looking down the barrel of the illegal cigarette trade of which you have now become very familiar with and which is attached to an exorbitant rate for a single box just so you may have a drag with your morning coffee.

No longer can you on the “spur of the moment” make the decision that you would like a glass of chardonnay with your Saturday brunch…. unless of course, you remembered to stop and stand in a ridiculously long cue at your local bottle store on a Thursday before all liquor sales close until the following Monday!

Of course, not even this is possible now with the alcohol ban back in play…

Understandable our anxiety levels are off the charts, trying to keep our family safe, our companies afloat and of course to try and remember our masks every time we leave the house… I myself have had the pleasure of turning myself right around, right outside our local grocer several times now to head back home and retrieve a mask from my ever-growing collection.

But… it’s not all bad

And let me tell you why!

Mother Nature has just received a well-deserved break!!!

And it seems fitting that it was World Environment Day on the 5th June which was during out lockdown, this is a day we celebrate “her” and all that she does for us.

The worldwide lockdown has brought about significant reductions in emissions of smoke and waste due to oil consumption, not to mention a reduction in litter. This in its self has had a positive effect as we have recently seen wildlife roaming, trotting and swimming about freely 🙂

I hope that these pictures warm the cockles of your heart as they did mine and remind you that we are not alone on this earth, not everything is about us and life is still beautiful!

 

Amazing right!

Animals are not the only beneficiaries of this terrible pandemic, we have seen lockdown camps across the country; feeding, clothing and homing our most vulnerable, this has led to many social and economic issues being brought to the forefront like drug addiction which is now being dealt with, with mostly compassion and understanding. There have been countless private entities who have come together to collect and distribute food, clothes, blankets etc. and it’s lovely to see the humanity or as we like to refer to it as “Ubuntu” amongst our South Africans!

I’m not blind to the corruption that these social funds have unfortunately been subjected to, however, I still sleep a little better knowing our poor and homeless have been feed and have had a bed at night.

So while the world is striving to be COVID-19 Negative….. today I am feeling COVID-19 positive!

Keep well, stay safe and we WILL get through this together!

Sources:
Classic FM
The Federal
Explore
Wikipedia
Afro
T and F Online


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About Sherina Shawe

I am a strong believer in "What you put in , is what you will get out" and this drives me every day, whether it's at home with my gorgeous family or at work where I get to fuel my competitive spirit. I love who I am and who I'm becoming. I love where I am , but more importantly where I'm going.... #EternalOptimist #Aspire2Inspire

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