Author: Gugu Lourie

ANC officials will meet urgently to discuss the Constitutional Court’s judgment that President Jacob Zuma violated the Constitution, the party’s general secretary Gwede Mantashe said on Thursday. By Mpho Raborife “We will meet urgently as officials, have a discussion and out of that meeting we will be charting the way forward,” he told reporters at the party’s Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg. Mantashe said the judgment would be sent through to the party’s structures before a decision was made on how to deal with it. Asked if the party still had confidence in Zuma, Mantashe said such a decision was…

MTN Business has introduced a range of converged business offers for small and medium businesses (SMEs). The offers seek to provide SMEs with affordable and easy to understand Information Communications Technology (ICT) services and solutions to enable them to lower their costs, improve productivity, produce higher quality products, increase customer satisfaction and focus on core areas. According to the World Wide Worx SME Survey, these types of services and solutions help drive the adoption of ICT by SMEs. Connection to the internet can be a make or break for SMEs as it has the potential of curtailing the day to…

President Jacob Zuma respects the Constitutional Court’s judgment, and will reflect on its implications before determining “appropriate action”, the government said on Thursday. By Ahmed Areff “The president appreciates and reaffirms the powers of the Constitutional Court as a final arbiter on matters of the Constitution in the Republic of South Africa,” it said in a statement. “The president will reflect on the judgment and its implications on the state and government, and will in consultation with other impacted institutions of state determine the appropriate action.” The court found in a unanimous judgment on Thursday morning that Zuma had acted inconsistently…

The Public Protector’s remedial action against President Jacob Zuma over the upgrades to his Nkandla home were binding, the Constitutional Court said on Thursday.  By Naledi Shange and Genevieve Quintal “The remedial action taken against the president has a binding effect,” said Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng. “The president failed to uphold, defend and respect the Constitution.” He said that if compliance with the public protector’s remedial action were optional, then very few would allow it to have any effect. “And if by design it never had a binding effect then [it would be] incomprehensible how the Public Protector could be effective,”…

When Anonymous declared “total war” on Donald Trump in early March, the hacktivist group set a countdown clock, calling on “everyone to target Trump websites” on April 1. But that may not have been its real objective. By Adam G. Klein Regardless of what, if anything, is planned for April 1, the actual attack may have already happened. That’s because the hack appears to be not of any website or technology but rather of Trump himself. By exploiting Trump’s quick-trigger tendencies to attack and destroy his rivals – including by threatening police action – Anonymous is seeking to tear down…

Africans are learning how to demand accountability from their governments. But they have a way to go before fully making the transition from voters to citizens. By Osabuohien P. Amienyi What’s the difference? Voters are “subjects”. They participate in elections hoping to get material benefits from government, but have little or no control over what they get. Citizens, meanwhile, fully understand their political rights and take judicious actions to hold elected representatives accountable. One way to deepen the attitudes and behaviours of African voters as citizens who demand their rights is to empower them with knowledge. This has been proved…

Yolanda Cuba has been appointed as CEO of Vodafone Ghana. South Africa’s biggest mobile phone operator Vodacom, which is owned by British cellphone giant Vodafone, is planning to announce Cuba’s successor in due course. By Gugu Lourie Cuba will succeed Haris Broumidis, who is moving into Vodafone Greece as the new CEO. The announcement was disclosed in an e-mail sent to Vodacom employees by group CEO Shameel Joosub. Cuba joined Vodacom Group in November 2014 and has successfully driven the execution of Vodacom’s strategy as well as focussed on new revenue streams. She is currently the chief officer: strategy and new business for Vodacom…

Legal documents indicate that South Africa did sign a nuclear deal with Russia, environmentalists who have taken the government to court, alleged on Wednesday. By Matthew le Cordeur In its legal proceedings against the Department of Energy (DoE), Earthlife Africa (ELA) and the Southern African Faith Communities’ Environment Institute (Safcei) said they received documentation indicating that a binding deal had been signed. They said “the Russian agreement was entered into unlawfully, but makes (an) internationally binding commitment to buy a fleet of nuclear reactors from Russia”. From the state law adviser’s explanatory memorandum that was prepared in November 2013 but…

A lack of policy-driven consequence is putting corporate South Africa at risk of being vulnerable to cyber attacks. Organisations often view security as a grudge purchase, resulting in them not adequately protecting their data assets. This, coupled with complex or multiple solutions often lead to security being compromised putting the company at risk. Companies, therefore, have to take the responsibility to invest in increased security as risks continue to grow in the wake of the Internet of Things (IoT) and pervasive connectivity. According to Eric McGee, managing executive of information security and managed network services at Business Connexion, one of…

Mobile marketing firm InTarget has unveiled a research application that survey participants access on their cellphones using USSD menu-driven technology.  What’s more, there is an instant gratification element as customers engaging with a particular survey can be rewarded with any product or service from free airtime to discount vouchers. USSD, or Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, is a real-time GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) technology that enables mobile users to interact with scripted menus by sending answers to posed questions. InTarget’s recently-released mobile research and survey USSD application can help businesses learn more about their clients using technology that resonates…