Author: Contributor

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…

By Staff Writer South Africa’s power utility is sitting on its last R20-billion but wants bonuses to be paid to axed CEO Brian Molefe, suspended acting chief executive Matshela Koko and others, Sunday Times reported. The newspaper reported that this means that, unless something is done urgently, the parastatal could find itself unable to pay November salaries. However, Eskom proposes that Molefe be paid a R2.1-million bonus for the eight months he served as CEO in the 2016-17 financial year, said the newspaper. Earlier this year, Eskom attempted to secure a R30-million pension payout for Molefe – who was CEO…

By Martin Walshaw,  F5 Networks Senior Systems Engineer Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are about to revolutionise society in ways we cannot yet imagine. Many will welcome the possibilities brought about by the technological shake-up, but there is also growing uncertainty about the long-term impact on jobs. The Future of Apps – an F5-commissioned report by the Foresight Factory – recently reported that 30% of South Africans between the ages of 16 and 25 believe their current job could be replaced by AI or robots within the next decade. While fear of the technological unknown is understandable,…

By Staff Writer South African payments company Yoco announced on Thursday that it now has 10 000 SMEs in South Africa using its point-of-sale payments platform to accept card payments. Yoco, which was launched at the end of 2015, said it was adding over 1 000 new SMEs to its base every month, “making it the largest independent mobile point-of-sale player in South Africa by number of merchants”. SMEs are big business in South Africa, contributing close to 50% to GDP and driving most of employment. However, due to their small size, fragmented nature, and general unpredictability, they remain overlooked…