Author: Contributor
By Staff Writer Sygnia chief executive and South Africa’s richest woman Magda Wierzycka has ended the JSE-listed company’s relationship with KPMG over the Gupta links. According to Mail & Guardian report published Friday, Sygnia fired KPMG over its alleged role in state capture. The Guptas, a wealthy Indian family living in South Africa, are at the centre of state capture allegations. The Gupta Leaks revealed that KPMG South Africa failed to raise alarms when businesses controlled by the Gupta family diverted about R30 million of public money to pay for a family wedding. The Gupta Leaks also exposed KPMG for its…
By Staff Writer South Africa’s business mogul Andile Ngcaba, the chairman and the majority shareholder of the ICT (Information Communications and Technologies) specialist investor Convergence Partners, has sold his stake in Dimension Data and has left the IT services group, according to Techcentral. Techcentral said Convergence Partners has sold its stake in Dimension Data Middle East and Africa for an undisclosed sum. Ngcaba served as chairman of Dimension Data’s Middle East and Africa operations. The contractual investment term with Dimension Data ended in September 2016 and Convergence Partners negotiated a “consensual exit to the investment” with the IT company. In 2004,…
By Staff Writer The Bank of Baroda would close the accounts of the controversial Gupta family at the end of August, Business Day reported on Thursday. However, Business Day said that the Bank of Baroda initial closure was meant to take place at the end of March. The bank has been closing its transactional accounts, however, the difficulty has been to close the family’s large loan accounts. The newspaper added that the Guptas intend interdicting the bank from closing their accounts. This move follows the closure of the Gupta accounts in 2016 by four major banks in SA, with the Bank…
By Staff Writer South Africa’s mobile phone operator Cell C has appointed Nihmal Marrie as its chief digital officer to steer the digital transformation of the company and execute an aggressive strategic focus in the digitization of the business. He takes up his new position at Cell C on 1 August. Marrie joins Cell C from the Liberty Group, where he served as Divisional Director: Digital and Customer Value Proposition. In this position, he drove and managed dHub (Digital Hub), which was created to generate innovative digital solutions for the retail business within Liberty. Also within Liberty, Marrie has worked with big…
By Zhao Likun, GM Huawei Consumer Business Group (CBG) South Africa. The smartphone manufacturers that survive in the future will be the ones with technological strength, are adaptive to changes and responsive to user demands. Huawei has a visionary game plan for its smartphones to rise up to this challenge. In 2015, the company first came up with the concept of Intelligent Phones and has been developing meaningful innovations in technology and design since. The company’s collaboration with Leica has resulted in the dual-camera capacity of its flagship phones which is a now a benchmark for photography products. Huawei has…
By Staff Writer South Africa’s short-term insurer MiWay announced late on Tuesday in a statement that an Independent forensic audit proves that the Racist mail is fake. MiWay hired independent forensic auditors, Cyanre – The Digital Forensic Lab, to conduct an audit after a snap shot of an email sent from a MiWay employee, circulating on social media. The email called MiWay black clients “baboons”. The email stated: “Good day Nobu, This is a reminder of yesterdays managers meeting. The final decisions was to reject 90% of claims made by black people as from 1 August 2017. They are an…
By Staff Writer A German company, Software AG, is embroiled in the latest Gupta leaks for allegedly offering kickbacks to Gupta-controlled firms to secure for their help government tenders. Software AG entered into an apparent kickback agreement with a Gupta-controlled company in an attempt to secure a R180-million contract from Transnet Freight Rail, according to the latest reports from amaBhungane and Scorpio, emails and documents. Software AG agreed to pay Global Softech Solutions (GSS) up to 35% of the value of the contracts it secured with Transnet, the department of correctional services, Mangaung municipality, Sasol and MultiChoice, according to the…
by Ben Dickson Should it make a difference for your Internet Service Provider whether you’re browsing your timeline on Facebook, reading your emails in Gmail, or reading the latest post on TechTalks? According to net neutrality, it shouldn’t. Net neutrality is the principle that rules ISPs should treat all internet traffic equally and avoid playing favorites, throttling, blocking or providing paid prioritisation. What does that all mean? We’ll get there in a minute. In the past years, as the internet has transformed from being a luxury to a vital commodity, net neutrality, which is also referred to as “open internet” and…
By Staff Writer It seems as if Vodacom is ready to go back to Nigeria and try its luck after leaving Africa’s biggest market in 2004 and dropped plans to invest R1.3 billion. Nigeria is jewel cellular operators are prepared to fight over because, although the market is still in its infancy, its population of 120 million promises huge returns eventually. Vodacom, the Vodafone-owned mobile phone operator, has expressed interesting in buying Nigeria’s 9Mobile, according to Nigeria’s THISDAY report, published on Sunday. The newspaper stated that it authoritatively gathered that BUA Group, Virgin Mobile, and Vodacom amongst other investors, have…
By Staff Writer Teljoy, South Africa’s company that started as a TV-rental business 48 years ago, has been transformed into an online retail store, according to The Sunday Times report. Teljoy and its founder Theo Rutstein installed the very first TV set in South Africa in December 1974. Teljoy was the very first company in the country to supply TV sets commercially in South Africa. The company was founded in 1969 by Rutstein who launched a campaign that gave people the opportunity to book a television for rent when TV eventually came to South Africa. The group still offers rental…
By Staff Writer South Africa’s power utility Eskom has paid R4.2 billion in bonus to its staff members in 2017 compared to R2.1 billion in 2016, which translates to R88 000 per employee. “If the total amount allocated for bonuses is divided by all 47 658 of Eskom’s employees, each one would have received a bonus of at least R88 000,” City Press newspaper reported on Sunday. The newspaper added that even the employees in the purchasing department, which was responsible for the qualified audit, received the bonus. On Wednesday, Eskom published its 2017 financial results. The results showed that…
By Staff Writer The Gupta family are seeking ways to move tens of billions out of South Africa to the United Arab Emirates, as pressure mounts against the controversial family linked to state capture, The Sunday Times reported. The controversial family wants to benefit from a new treaty between South Africa and the Middle Eastern tax haven without being heavily penalized by local authorities, according to the report. The treaty, which was signed in December 2015, became effective in March this year. In the months leading up to the treaty becoming effective, the Sunday Times reported that the family approached several…
By Staff Writer The Boss of Africa’s Biggest Tech Firm Naspers, Bob van Dijk, Paid R28 million ($2.2 million) in 2017. The highest paid executive was the company’s chief investment officer The total remuneration included a (R14.2 million) $1.1 million in fixed pay and $973 000 in annual cash bonuses and performance-related payments. This was revealed in the media and tech company’s 2017 integrated report, which showed that the top three executives earned a total of R80.1 million ($6.2 million). Basil Sgourdos, Naspers’ financial officer was paid R17 million ($1.3 million), which includes a $443 000 in cash bonuses and performance-related…
By Staff Writer The South African government may sell its profitable Telkom stake to bail out the national carrier, South African Airways (SAA). Fin24 reported on Friday that Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has revealed the need to sell state assets in a bid to inject nearly R16 billion into SAA so it can repay loans. The website said in his letter to Speaker of the House of Parliament Baleka Mbete, Gigaba revealed that SAA has to pay lenders R15.963 billion in 2017. “The R2.207 billion bailout was a part of this total amount, which was given to SAA to settle its…
By Staff Writer Mobile phone operators – Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom Mobile – have until September 1 to reduce mobile data prices. The country’s competition watchdog, the Competition Commission will investigate data costs that are among the highest in the world, inhibiting the growth of the telecommunications industry, according to a report in Business Day. Ebrahim Patel, Economic Development Minister, has confirmed that a market inquiry into the state of competition in the data market and the inquiry’s terms of reference would be announced by 1 September 2017. The newspaper reported that the minister said the commission would investigate…
By Staff Writer In this hyper-connected world, security attacks like WannaCry and Nyetya are a fact of life, a new report concluded. South Africa is also negatively impacted by cyber crime. “Cyber crime is now the fourth most reported economic crime in South Africa, with our economy reportedly losing R1 billion each year due to online criminal activities. Being breached is the new normal,” says Cathy Smith, MD of Cisco Southern Africa. “We are also aware that security is a business priority, with many executives feeling overwhelmed by the defender environment and citing certification and talent as two of the…
By News Agency Staff The Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Thursday reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.75%. Briefing reporters following the MPC’s meeting, Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said the bank “will not hesitate to revise the move if the need arises”. “Underlying demand in the economy is extremely weak and the MPC is concerned about the deterioration in the growth outlook over the forecast period. This decline is broad-based. “It is unclear where the drivers of accelerated growth will come from in the absence of credible structural policy initiatives that will reduce uncertainty…
By Staff Writer South Africa’s short-term insurer MiWay has rejected the email screenshot that is circulating on social media calling black clients “baboons”. MiWay said in a statement on Thursday that it has investigated the origins of a snap shot of a supposed email sent from a MiWay employee, circulating on social media. MiWay can categorically confirm that the email is fake. “MiWay is a proudly South African company committed to diversity and transparency. We have been made aware of a racist email purported to have been written and sent by a member of staff. An urgent investigation was launched…
By Staff Writer After a racial email from an alleged MiWay Claims Administrator, Aarthi Roopnarain, started circulating on WhatsApp platform, Twitter users attacked insurance company MiWay. The email reads: “Good day Nobu, This is a reminder of yesterdays managers meeting. The final decisions was to reject 90% of claims made by black people as from 1 August 2017. They are an easy target, its also a great opportunity to save money and also punish these black baboons”. Now MiWay has found itself in hot water. #MiWay CEO has told EWN an email calling black clients ‘baboons’ that is making the…
By News Agency Staff Power utility Eskom is not facing financial distress and aims to release R105 billion in government guarantees, it said on Wednesday. “Our ambition is to release about R105 billion in government guarantees and that will ensure we focus on the sustainability of this organisation,” Eskom Interim Group Chief Executive Johnny Dladla told media at a briefing at the utility’s Sunninghill offices in Johannesburg. This was reiterated by the utility’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Anoj Singh and Interim board chairman Zethembe Khoza who said the utility is financially sound and stable. In addition, Singh said the utility…
By Heather Redding Today tech enthusiasts around the world appreciate the growing importance of 3D printing. This breakthrough technology has rapidly expanded beyond simple prototype creation and hobby design efforts to transform mainstream manufacturing processes. Currently, 3D printers assist with the production of numerous products, ranging from sophisticated medical devices to car parts and complex aviation components. Rapid advances in 3D manufacturing capabilities promise to augment cost-effective fabrication processes in a rapidly increasing number of industries in the near future. Yet despite the fast pace of innovation, this nascent field has also begun to attract some potential cybersecurity threats. Understanding unique security challenges…
By Staff Writer Stellenbosch-headquartered FinTech company Entersekt announced on Wednesday that it has appointed ICT industry veteran Pattison Mutambiranwa as new senior vice president for Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining Entersekt, he was sub-Saharan head of business development and telco partnerships at Econet Media. Based in Entersekt’s Sandton offices, Mutambiranwa will be responsible for growing the authentication and app security provider’s market share in the region. “Our focus in the immediate future is on scaling our business to meet the challenges of rapid global expansion. I look forward to working with Pattison and benefiting from his insight…
By Staff Writer A country’s capacity to connect its economy to the Internet and to make these services available and accessible to its citizens and businesses is key to its success in the digital age,” Reshaad Sha, Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Director of Dark Fibre Africa (DFA), said on Wednesday. He added that it goes without saying that a high-speed national Internet backbone that is built on fibre is critical to the development of a true knowledge economy. In study conducted by World Wide Worx with the support of DFA, the country’s leading provider of wholesale open-access fibre connectivity,…
By Staff Writer South African-based mobile phone operator Vodacom is close to securing its plan to buy 35% stake in Kenya’s Safaricom. On Tuesday, Vodacom minority shareholders overwhelmingly voted in support of the transaction. The acquisition of Safaricom provides Vodacom with a unique opportunity to diversify its financial profile in a single transaction. In May this year, Vodacom said the estimated R35 billion transaction would further enhance its position as a leading African mobile communications company. “The vote of confidence from Vodacom’s minority shareholders is an important milestone in our journey to become a leading digital company and empowering a…
By Staff Writer SEACOM is bringing its high-speed fibre Internet access services to business and home users in the southern areas of Johannesburg, starting with the rollout of 8 kilometres of fibre in Meyersdal, Alberton. The company said in a statement on Tuesday that the last-mile fibre network will pass several businesses, residential developments and shopping malls in the area. This falls in line with SEACOM’s plans to rapidly extend the reach of its fibre network to more parts of South Africa, including areas that are currently underserviced by last-mile fibre operators. The firm added that the rollout in the…