Author: Gugu Lourie

The case against the man who allegedly circulated an email claiming high ranking officials and politicians wanted to assassinate President Jacob Zuma, has been postponed to allow him to get a bed at Weskoppies. By Karabo Ngoepe, NewsAgency Ernest Nkosi, 26, is said to be the person behind the email which claimed that Zuma’s life was in danger. He allegedly sent the emails to the police minister’s spokesperson, the Gauteng government’s spokesperson, the Crime Intelligence Divisional Commissioner, as well as car dealership BMW South Africa. The case was postponed to March 28 in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court. At the time of…

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Internet ride-sharing company Uber says it welcomes a new transport bill that plans a crackdown on drivers who don’t have meter taxi licences. By Gareth van Zyl, NewsAgency The Sunday Times reported over the weekend that Cabinet has approved the National Land Transport Amendment Bill which regards Uber operators as metered taxi operators. Subsequently, Uber drivers are expected to have metered licences as part of the law. Cabinet also reportedly rejected Uber’s request to include a category called ‘transport network operator’ which entails operators using technology to solicit customers. Despite this rejection, Uber has welcomed the bill. “Uber respects the key…

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The New Development Bank is formally “open for business” and the recruitment process for its Africa Regional Centre in Johannesburg has started, National Treasury announced this weekend. Treasury said in a statement the bank is in the process of establishing the Africa Regional Centre in Johannesburg, as announced by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan in his 2016 Budget Speech. Treasury said South Africans are encouraged to apply to work for the bank. The start of formal operations of the so-called Brics Bank follows an agreement signed on February 27 2016 by the People’s Republic of China and the New Development…

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Zazoo, a business unit of Net 1 UEPS Technologies, has appointed Tamara d’Onofrio as its country head for South Africa. By Staff Writer Zazoo is an aggregation of innovative technology companies and a leading provider of payment solutions and transaction processing services. Zazoo’s patented technologies have enabled mobile payment solutions for the likes of Uber South Africa, World Remit, Microsoft, Funifi in the UK, BitX and Oxigen Wallet in India. “As we continue to expand Zazoo’s offerings into new markets, it is important for us to maintain dedicated focus in each territory and as such I am delighted to announce the…

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The digital divide is a phenomenon that has plagued developing nations for a number of decades, and addressing this inequality in technological ability and advancement is essential to the economic growth and stability of these countries. By Eckart Zollner, head of business development at The Jasco Group Today, connectivity is central to digital technology and addressing the challenges within this market that are hindering the growth and adoption of connectivity is key. A well-developed market from the perspective of participation in the global Internet economy is essential in bridging the digital divide, and this in turn requires effective carrier communities…

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Apple’s defiance of the FBI’s request to unlock the work phone of one of the San Bernadino shooters has become an all out PR and legal battle being waged on all fronts. By David Glance Although the case is ostensibly about unlocking a single phone, even the FBI has admitted that this is all about setting a precedent that would allow law enforcement unfettered access to anyone’s phone. For a start, the phone in question is unlikely to contain anything useful for law enforcement in this case. The phone was a work phone and Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik had…

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Cape Town audiologist Gail Jacklin, who lost over R200 000 in a SIM-swap scam earlier this year, says she is emotionally drained and has lost trust in FNB and MTN. By Gareth van Zyl, NewsAgency Earlier this week, private consulting forensic scientist Dr David Klatzow told Fin24 about how MTN failed to prevent an unauthorised SIM-swap of Jacklin’s phone, which resulted in fraudsters stealing from her FNB accounts. READ: Thousands of rands lost in ‘FNB, MTN scam’ Klatzow said that Jacklin’s phone went on the “blink” at the end of December which was followed by her personal and business accounts being…

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Bitcoin cryptocurrency use in South Africa is set to increase as e-commerce takes off, says a local operator. By Duncan Alfreds, NewsAgency The cryptocurrency has faced controversy for its association with cyber criminals and fluctuating values. However, according to local Bitcoin wallet and exchange service BitX, the currency provides an ideal platform for e-commerce transactions. “As more people use and accept Bitcoin, it creates positive feedback loops for usage and trust, which helps grow the industry. At some point we believe it will hit a critical mass that will cause growth to become exponential,” said Werner van Rooyen, head of business…

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South Africa’s Telkom is offering a 5GB of data for R99/month as part of its Deal of The Month specials. By Gugu Lourie Telkom said on its website the deal is available to the first 1,000 customers who sign up. This R99 deal of the month will let lucky customers connect wirelessly using a Huawei E5577 LTE Mi-Fi router. The Centurion-based telco said as part of the Deal of The Month it will offer customers a Samsung J1 Ace or Huawei MediaPad by paying an additional R100/month. It added that if you need both the Huawei E5577 LTE Mi-Fi router and Samsung J1 Ace or Huawei…

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A new payment system aimed at taking the risk out of online trading has launched in South Africa. Pay2 is an escrow service that promises security with an online trade that protects both buyer and seller. By Duncan Alfreds, NewsAgency “The service is aimed at everyone who wants to trade online that is risk adverse. From the sale of a small item to something we just completed on behalf of a major soft drink company, which exported R3m of drinks to Europe,” Robert Weimar, senior executive at Pay2, told Fin24 on Wednesday. “Both parties never met, but as a result of the facility…

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