South Africa - Reports no bugs by 1/4/2000; problems could arise in days, months

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South Africa - Reports no bugs by 1/4/2000 but problems could arise in days, months

1/4/2000, CORRESPONDENT REPORT, SOUTHERN AFRICA Y-2-K, NUMBER=2-257765, BYLINE=DELIA ROBERTSON, DATELINE=JOHANNESBURG

INTRO: The so-called millennium bug has apparently caused few problems in countries in southern Africa. But as V-O-A's Delia Robertson reports from our Southern Africa Bureau, experts say that it is possible some problems could still arise several months into the year.

TEXT: South Africa's rollover to the year 2000 came and went without a hint of trouble. And there were no reports of any millennium bug problems when the markets and business sector reopened after a Four-day weekend.

There was some concern South Africans would stockpile both cash and provisions in the waning days of December, but this did not materialize. And when banks open for business Tuesday, they reported no increase in activities on their automatic teller and electronic banking facilities during the New Year weekend break.

One sector that struggled to keep pace with demand for services as midnight struck on December 31st, 1999 was the mobile phone system. One service provider said in the first hour of the new century, it connected eight-and-one-half-million calls from its subscribers to numbers across the globe. South Africa has two cellular telephone networks.

The price of gold, which rose dramatically on the Johannesburg stock exchange on the last day of trading in 1999, fell in the wake of the uneventful transition to the year 2000.

All other key sectors, from the military to the postal service have reported a smooth transition.

There have been no reports of problems from any other countries in the Southern Africa region. In its latest status report, The Southern Africa Development Community said it received reports from all countries in the region except the Seychelles. But observers say that fault-free reports from Angola and Congo Kinshasa, both in a state of civil war, should be viewed with caution.

South Africa's Y-2-K Center says that it is possible that the full effect of the rollover to the year 2000 may not be known for days or even months. The center says South African businesses should remain vigilant and ensure that their contingency plans are ready.

(SIGNED)

NEB/DAR/GE/RAE

04-Jan-2000 10:49 AM EDT (04-Jan-2000 1549 UTC)NNNN

Source: Voice of America

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Federation of American Scientists website - Millenia Monitor

http://www.fas.org/2000/signs00/000104-y2k1.htm

-- Lee Maloney (leemaloney@hotmail.com), January 29, 2000


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