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Regulators within the EuropeanUnion have slapped a €1,06-billionfine against Intel for its anti-trustviolations and found that Intelhad acted in an anti-competitive manner intrying to squeeze competing company, AMD,out of the market.Nominations needed for board positionsThe Department of Science andTechnology is looking for nominationsto the board of the SouthAfrican National Space Agency asthe final step before the new agency startswork. The board will consist of between 10and 15 members who will be appointed forfour years and be responsible for governanceand control of the agency.Construction projectsworth R6-billion werepostponed or cancelledas a result ofelectricity constraints last yearaccording to figures released bythe Cement and Concrete Institute(C&CI).It blamed high interest rates,Eskom’s stringent projectapproval policy, weakerconsumer and businessconfidence and low propertyvalues for the sudden slumpin the construction industry.Despite these difficulties, theC&CI says that turnover for thecivil engineering sector remainedhealthy, primarily as a result ofhuge government infrastructurespending, coupled with vastcapital expenditure programmesfrom Eskom and Transnet.During the year, 14,7-milliontons of cement products weresold, a drop of 3,9 percent whencompared with sales in 2007.Sales to the nine South AfricanNominees must be South African residentsand must have relevant qualifications, skillsand experience with regard to the functioningof the space agency. The Department ofScience and Technology wants at least onemember with a legal qualification and anotherwith financial expertise.The government is also looking for nominationsfor new board members of the SouthWWatt’s Going On?Outlook for civilengineers remains positiveprovinces were down by 4,6 percentwith major reductions inthe Western Cape and Gauteng,mainly as a result of a slowdownin building activity in the residentialsector of the market.According to the C&CI, thecivil engineering industry willprobably experience single-digitgrowth in the coming year, particularlyif the local and provincialgovernments are able to effectivelymanage and implementtheir budget allocations.Intel bust for keeping AMD and others outAccording to the European Commission,Intel paid computer manufacturers to scrapor postpone plans to launch products usingAMD’s chips and had also paid illegalrebates to encourage manufacturers to fitIntel products. Moreover, retailers were paidto stock only those computer that use Intel’sprocessors.Intel argued that the findings were basedon weak evidence that should be reviewed bythe European Union court.The anti-trust fine, imposed after aninvestigation that lasted more than eightyears, is the biggest imposed on any companyoperating in the European Union and isconsiderably more that the €896-millionfine imposed on glass manufacturer, Saint-Gobain, for its price fixing.Intel has invested more than €5-billion inEurope over the years and currently employsabout 6 000 people at its manufacturing plantin Ireland – the fourth largest in the group.AMD has been protesting for years thatIntel was prohibiting if from entering certainmarkets because of its anti-competitive behaviourand welcomed the EU’s decision asit would now allow AMD to operate freely inthroughout Europe.Apart from the €1,06-billion fine — thatmust be paid within three months — Intelhas also been instructed to cease all its illegalpractices.The fine represents just 4,15 percent of thecompany’s turnover in 2008.African Nuclear Energy Corporation. Theyhave to be South African residents. The nuclearcorporation will fall under the newEnergy Ministry led byDipuo Peters. PresidentJacob Zuma hassplit the Departmentof Minerals and Energyinto two ministries.June 2009 7