Author: Contributor

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…

By Staff Writer The Democratic Alliance will lay charges of money laundering and corruption against the South African component of global software giant, SAP, and Gupta-affiliated company CAD House. The South African office of the German software giant SAP is believed to have paid the Gupta front about R100 million “kickbacks” for state business. The AmaBhungane and Scorpio said on Tuesday in a report that evidence suggests SAP used the Gupta influence network to drive sales of a billion rand to Transnet and other state-owned companies. In August 2015, SAP signed a “sales commission agreement” with a small Gupta-controlled company that…

By Staff Writer The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) announced on Monday that it laid charges of treason against former Minister of Communications Faith Muthambi. Charges were laid at the Brixton police station in Johannesburg. “When the court finds Faith Muthambi guilty, this should mean a sentence of life imprisonment,” Dominique Msibi, OUTA’s Portfolio Director for Special Projects, said in a statement. In 2015, the Western Cape High Court found that Muthambi acted irrationally and unlawfully in her appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as Chief Operating Officer of the SABC because of the Public Protector’s findings against him of abuses of…

By Kroshlen Moodley, GM: Public Sector and Utilities at SAS On 22 May, the Western Cape was declared a disaster area as the ongoing drought saw dam levels drop below 10%. This prompted the local government to implement level 4 water restrictions amid warnings that the drought could continue well into 2018. Here’s what we know about the water crisis in the Western Cape: The province contributes 24% to SA’s GDP. Agriculture makes up 4% of that figure and provides 18% of employment opportunities in the province. No rain means farmers will not employ as many seasonal workers, which will…

By Darrel Orsmond, financial services industry head at SAP Africa Banks are finding it increasingly difficult to reach and ensure value to their customers in light of the challenge by existing and new fintech competitors who are muscling in on the ‘offer’ – the point at which a customer’s process of research and assimilation culminates in the customer acting. Before our mobile and Internet-driven world, customers would collect information, talk to friends, respond to advertising and, in the case of a loan, approach their bank manager for a facility. This reasonably well-defined process has changed dramatically over the past ten…