Hi JP,
I actually work with several hams and we use the APRS network. There will be another gateway near PMB on Wednesday and then another closer to Durban the week after. Then we will place stuff to bridge the gaps. I currently have several radios in transit. As you know that can take a while!
I see several folks have gone for the Kickstarter in RSA, but of course that will be operating in the 800 Mhz range and that's not permitted here. This probably needs some thinking about!
I guess I need to get the others here to join in!