Author: Gugu Lourie

The COVID-19 pandemic is disrupting every industry. For the minibus taxi industry, at current level 4 restrictions, limits on operating hours have been relaxed enabling activity between 5am and 7pm, however constraints on passengers per trip and long-distance travel continue to apply. “Over the past few weeks, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the indispensable nature of the minibus taxi industry as the dominant form of public transport in South Africa,” David Hurwitz, the CEO of JSE-listed Transaction Capital, said on Wednesday. “This, together with the minibus taxi industry’s defensive character, will assist in its quick recovery and smooth transition to…

The South African motor industry, which was brought to a complete halt for almost two months due to regulations to curb the spread of COVID-19, can now start selling vehicles again. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition yesterday published a Government Gazette, which details precise directions regarding the sale of cars and emergency automobile repairs during alert Level 4 of the Covid-19 National State of Disaster. The direction, effective immediately, allow the motor industry to start selling vehicles once again. Significantly, car dealers are now allowed to sell both new and used cars while original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and…

SA Taxi Rewards, a minibus taxi rewards programme, is slowly being embraced by South African taxi drivers as it continues to evolve in ways aimed at further benefitting the industry. The rewards programme was launched in April 2018 by SA Taxi, an independent minibus taxi financier, in collaboration with Taxi Choice, the commercial arm of the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO). The SA Taxi Rewards programme was previously known as Black Elite. The programme was aimed at leveraging the minibus taxi industry’s purchasing power to negotiate better pricing to benefit minibus taxi operators, associations and ultimately the entire industry.…

SA Taxi, a vertically integrated minibus taxi platform, is using technology to slowly transform the behaviour of drivers and provide commuter safety in the minibus industry. SA Taxi, which is owned by JSE-listed Transaction Capital, is vertically integrated into the minibus taxi industry. The company is using its telematics and other data accumulated from its rewards programmes to proactively drive behavioural changes in the minibus taxi industry. Also read: SA Taxi Wants to Use Tech to Revolutionize Minibus Taxi Industry As an essential service, the industry operated under national guidelines during the lockdown with only the transportation of essential service…

Absa has become the first major South African bank to invest in the start-up stock exchange  A2X Markets. The stock exchange announced on Wednesday that the banking group has invested in the business. Details of the investment were not disclosed. A2X provides the South African marketplace with a choice of trading venue at a much-reduced cost. A2X achieves this through the use of the latest technology and applying modern and innovative business practices. Many of South Africa’s top companies are already listed on A2X including eight Top40 constituents, three Absa precious metal ETFs and two Investec ETNs. “The team at…

As a result of the novel coronavirus and the steps taken to curb its spread, many businesses face a significant loss of income.  In this context, the South African government is partnering with commercial banks to provide financial support to small and medium-sized firms to enable them to meet their operational needs over the next few months.  Absa, First National Bank, Investec, Mercantile Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank are ready to accept loan applications from eligible businesses which bank with them, the National Treasury announced on Tuesday. On 4 May 2020, the National Treasury, South African Reserve Bank and Banking…

Scammers are taking advantage of the jobless who are trying to apply for the COVID-19 Special Grant of R350 a month. Ahead of the payouts this week, the Social Development Ministry has issued a scam alert. The ministry has warned unemployed South Africans not to pay R30 towards their application for the unemployment grant. Desperate people have been warned against responding to messages that say: “We help You To Apply for Social Relief of Stress Grants.” The message prompts unemployed South Africans to pay R30 to fast-track their applications for the R350 grant. “The Department of Social Development is urging all…

A total of 356 067 COVID-19 tests has been conducted, of which 14 731 are new tests since yesterday’s report. Case Data “There are 637 new confirmed COVID-19 cases, with the total number of confirmed cases at 10 652,” said Dr Zweli Mkhize, Health Minister. Province New cases Total cases Percentage total Eastern Cape 138 1356 12,7 Free State 0 135 1,3 Gauteng 19 1971 18,5 KwaZulu-Natal 19 1372 12,7 Limpopo 0 54 0,6 Mpumalanga 2 63 0,6 North West 5 50 0,5 Northern Cape 1 30 0,3 Western Cape 453 5 621 52,8 Unknown 0 0 0,0 Total 637 10 652…

One of the most challenging and revolutionary things artificial intelligence (AI) can do is speak, write, listen, and understand human language. Natural language processing (NLP) is a form of AI that extracts meaning from human language to make decisions based on the information.  Derrick van Schalkwyk has set his mind on conquering NLP and is not doing badly so far. This South African-born civil engineering informatics master’s graduate from Stellenbosch University has helped start Kristalic, an applied NLP company based in San Francisco. He founded Kristalic in San Francisco with Filip Kozera and his university flatmate, Jos van der Westhuizen,…

This week millions of jobless South Africans will begin receiving relief grants of R350 each to help them cope with the lockdown.   The temporary-relief grant will perhaps give an accurate figure of the disputed unemployment rate in the country.  Government, unions and employment agencies have varying estimates of the size of the unemployed – anywhere between 5 and 15 million. They, however, all agree the problem is most acute among young people. Stats SA reported that South Africa’s unemployment rate increased by 0,1 of a percentage point to 29,1% in Q3 of 2019. The SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) has, in the…