Author: Gugu Lourie

Digital insurance distributor Hepstar has secured $2 million (R30 million) in growth equity funding. The funding was led by UK-based technology investor Amadeus Capital Partners. The Amadeus’ investment into Hepstar is provided for by their Digital Prosperity Fund, which is backed by the MTN Group. By Gugu Lourie The growth capital will support Hepstar’s global expansion plan and accelerate its technology development. The Cape Town based firm, which was founded by Stephan Ekbergh in 2013 – to address the need for e-commerce companies in general, airlines and travel companies in particular, to maximize revenue from ancillaries – is targeting…

“You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide” is an argument that is used often in the debate about surveillance. The latest incarnation of that debate is currently taking place in the case of the US government versus Apple. The concern that technology experts have is not whether you have anything to hide, but whom you might want to hide your information from. By Suelette Dreyfus and Shanton Chang Last week a US court ordered Apple to create a special tool so the FBI could break a security feature on an iPhone 5c. The phone belonged to one of…

Energy Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson found herself on the wrong side of the political spectrum on Tuesday after she recommended the nuclear programme fall under the independent power producer (IPP) office. By Matthew le Cordeur, NewsAgency The IPP office is a partnership between the DoE, Treasury and the Development Bank of South Africa. An ANC cabinet member, Joemat-Pettersson also wants the auditor general to form part of the IPP office to ensure even greater transparency and accountability. The office, which ran the successful renewable energy programme, brought investment totalling R149bn, of which R54bn was direct foreign investment, Joemat-Pettersson told the Portfolio Committee…

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan should ban e-tolls, refrain from hiking VAT and avoid privatisation of Eskom and other state-owned entities, trade federation Cosatu said on Tuesday in a comprehensive statement tabling its budget speech expectations. South Africa cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the European Union, whose austerity approach worsened the region’s economic crisis, said Cosatu. Instead, government must emphasise infrastructure investment to kickstart the economy. “We must drive economic growth and stimulus through infrastructure development and job creation programmes,” said Cosatu, adding that this is the approach which turned China into the second-largest global economy with 7% gross…

State Security Minister David Mahlobo urged parents to keep an eye on what their children were doing on the internet and social media. By Jenni Evans, NewsAgency “Have an interest. What is your child doing?” Mahlobo said while answering questions on cybercrime in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Tuesday. He was responding to a question from EFF NCOP member Leigh-Ann Mathys on what the government was doing to protect children on social media. “You have a responsibility to know, even on this platform, what are your children up to,” said Mahlobo. He said older people needed to be “conscientised”…

The Post Office’s acquisition of a R161m ten-year lease in 2010 for an office building in Centurion, Gauteng was “tainted by procurement irregularities and corruption”. By Gareth van Zyl, NewsAgency This is according to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s findings on Tuesday afternoon after a years-long investigation into the South African Post Office (Sapo). The report on the findings, dubbed ‘Postponed Delivery’, comes after the Communication Workers Union (CWU) lodged complaints about Sapo with the public protector in 2011. At the time, the CWU asked the public protector to investigate issues such as Sapo’s alleged maladministration in a head office leasing…

MTN announced on Tuesday that it has has successfully concluded a transaction with Liquid Telecom to purchase almost 400 kilometres of both Long Distance and Metro fibres connecting Pretoria and Polokwane for an undisclosed sum. The purchase agreement marks a significant milestone in MTN’s self-provisioning strategy and the company’s quest to build its own transmission network, thus further augmenting the operator’s plans of providing its customers with high speed connectivity. The route forms part of the National Long Distance fibre network, a consortium-led initiative that saw a number of operators in partnership with the South African national Road Agency…

  A man has been arrested for allegedly circulating an email claiming high ranking officials and politicians wanted to assassinate President Jacob Zuma, the Hawks said on Tuesday. “The Hawks have arrested a man who is believed to be behind the email which claimed that the life of the President Jacob Zuma was in danger,” Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said. Mulaudzi said Ernest Nkosi, 26, allegedly sent the emails to the spokesperson of the minister of police, the spokesperson of the Gauteng government, the Crime Intelligence Divisional Commissioner, as well as car dealership BMW South Africa. “Nkosi wrote in his…

The South African public has been overcharged to the tune of 321% for the construction of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), according to civil rights body the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa). By Eugenie du Preez, NewAgency A research paper on benchmarks and comparisons of the GFIP to road construction pricing around the world, published by Outa on Monday, has brought it to the conclusion that the project was “severely and significantly overcharged for the construction costs”. According to Outa, its initial research indicated that the South African Roads Agency (Sanral) put a “highly inflated” price tag of R17.9bn – or…

A Twitter storm has erupted between EFF leader Julius Malema and FF Plus Chief Whip Corné Mulder over students clashes at the University of Pretoria and Free State. Mulder tweeted this morning: #EFF Fascists – Universities under siege from radicals and new fascists trying to impose their revolution on us. Unite and crush them — Corné_Mulder (@MulderCorn) February 22, 2016 A Twitter user responded immediattely: @MulderCorn Can you explain the word “crush” means? maybe you are declaring a civil war between White Afrikaaners and Blacks. #UPProtest — #Vusimuzi_Ntombela (@CallMeVoto) February 22, 2016 Then EFF leader, Malema, said: The Apartheid murders are threatening to repeat…