Author: Gugu Lourie
South African casino operators such as Tsogo Sun and Sun International are quietly pushing the government to pass legislation allowing online casinos to operate alongside the already legalized and regulated online sports betting industry. They are hoping that the hard work put into the 2008 National Gambling Amendment Act to formally legalize online casino gambling will finally be completed. Kelvin Jones, senior editor of PlayCasino, explained: “For many years, South Africa’s online gambling industry has been operating in a grey zone. The hard blow which the industry took during the Covid-19 lockdown had retail casino operators looking anew at alternative…
Cell C on Tuesday suffered another blow when the Labour Court in Johannesburg ruled that its application to interdict members of the Information Communications and Technology Union (ICTU) from striking was not urgent. The nationwide strike by Cell C workers protesting imminent retrenchments started on Monday. ICTU had informed Cell C in advance that its members would be embarking on industrial action from Monday at all Cell C buildings and shops in protest against the retrenchment of more than 1,600 employees. The strike comes after the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), and African Democratic Change (ADEC) party unsuccessfully intervened in the matter.…
Mercedes-Benz has given its EQC electric vehicle the 4×4² treatment. The EQC 4×4² is an electric car of extremes. Mercedes-Benz wishes to test the limits with this vehicle, and show that e-mobility is not just urban, but also conceivable off-road. “Our aim is to combine modern luxury and sustainability with emotional appeal. The EQC 4×4² shows how enjoyable sustainable mobility can be. This is where electromobility high-tech and an intriguing customer experience are transferred to the mountains, thanks to MBUX and over-the-air updates,” says Markus Schäfer, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG responsible for…
Liquid Telecom believes there is a massive opportunity to fast-track Africa’s digital economy. The continent’s biggest fibre company wants to enable entrepreneurs to be at the centre of this new revolution. Nic Rudnick, the CEO of Liquid Telecom, said in an interview with TechFinancials on Monday, that the company – which is morphing into a technology company from being a telco – needs to review the way it is structured. Liquid Telecom has been growing rapidly over the last few years fuelled by the demand for infrastructure to support broadband Internet on the African continent. It has built Africa’s biggest high-speed…
The Information Communications and Technology Union (ICTU), which is representing Cell C workers says on Monday it will hand a memorandum detailing disputes it has with the cellphone company to Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. The ICTU’s move to hand the memorandum to the minister coincides with a strike by Cell C workers planned for Monday. In a tongue in cheek notice, the ICTU said: “On Monday 12 October 2020, we will be inviting ourselves to the offices of the ill-disciplined minister of communication .” Ndabeni-Abrahams, whose pay was recently docked for breaching anti-coronavirus rules, did not respond to a letter sent…
Vodacom can keep its operating license in Lesotho after the mobile phone company won a court challenge on Saturday against Lesotho Communications Authority (LCA) from revoking the company’s unified license. The Vodafone-owned company challenged LCA not to revoke the license and enforce the payment of the fine of M134 million. The company said on Saturday that the Lesotho High Court had ordered that the LCA must appear on 23 October to show cause why the interim order should not be made final. “We assure citizens of Lesotho that we remain fully focussed on delivering great value and a superior customer…
Embattled Cell C faces more trouble on Monday when its workers go on strike over imminent retrenchments. The Information Communications and Technology Union (ICTU) announced at the weekend that its members would down tools after the cellphone company insisted the retrenchment process involving thousands of workers could not be reversed. In a letter on Friday, the union said: “ICTU hereby notifies Cell C that its members will be embarking on industrial action from 12 October 2020 at 08:00 at all Cell C buildings and shops in protest against the retrenchments of more than 1,600 employees you are intending to undertake”.…
MTN announced on Friday afternoon the appointment of a new CEO for MTN Liberia Lonestar Cell. Rahul De, the current chief marketing officer of MTN Nigeria, will take the helm at the company. His appointment is effective on November 1, 2020. De replaces Uche Ofodile who departed Lonestar Cell MTN in July to become the CEO of MTN Benin. With 23 years of experience in the telco space, ranging across multiple geographies, Rahul has spent the last two decades in senior leadership roles driving growth and leading business transformation. “I would like to congratulate Rahul on his appointment,” said MTN…
Insiders have revealed that Vodacom South Africa has installed an indoor RF site (Antenna) at the headquarters of cash-strapped Cell C in Sandton. TechFinancials has been told by the insiders, who spoke on condition of anonymity, that both Vodacom and Cell C were busy testing this indoor RF site. The insiders say the installation of the antenna is part of a process to test the site and ensure a seamless move of Cell C’s prepaid subscribers to the Vodacom network. They say once the move is completed cellphones belonging to Cell C customers will reflect Vodacom as their network provider.…
The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has joined efforts to save thousands of jobs at Cell C. The Information Communications and Technology Union (ICTU) and African Democratic Change (ADEC) party have been in a public fight with Cell C over its plans to retrench 1,500 workers. Saftu deputy general secretary, Moleko J Phakedi, said in the letter to Cell C: “We herewith wish to propose an urgent meeting with you either on Friday 10th or Monday 12th October at 11:00 at your Woodmead office.” ICTU is an affiliate of Saftu, which is led by union firebrand Zwelinzima Vavi.…