Author: Staff Writer
MTN on Monday announced a rewards programme for users of its mobile money service, MoMo, which is now reaching a million users in South Africa. The mobile payment service was launched to the public on 1 February and the millionth customer was registered on 19 June. Innovation is core to the MoMo offering – today marks the launch of a range of exciting new features to benefit users. These include rewards for those referring a friend, MoMo Pay for e-commerce, as well as cashback on airtime purchases. Seamless access to food vouchers will be available from the first week of…
MTN announced on Monday that its mobile money service, MoMo, has reached a significant milestone of registering one million customers across South Africa. The operator said this indicates a growing demand for fast and efficient ways to store, send and spend money. The mobile payment service was launched to the public on 1 February and the millionth customer was registered on 19 June. MTN saw an increase in MoMo registrations and usage since the nationwide lockdown began in late March, specifically in peer-to-peer remittances, with people sending money to family and friends. Demand for value-added functionalities like purchasing pre-paid electricity,…
Dr Katlego Lekalakala has not seen her mother or her other loved ones in over two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She, like many around the country, last saw her loved ones in the days leading up to the country’s COVID-19 lockdown back in March. While some may resent the lockdown, which came into place at midnight on 26 March 2020 for separating them from their loved ones, the doctor sees staying away is a precaution to protect her family. With the number of those contracting the virus on the rise, it is essential for South Africans to do…
Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has called on the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) leadership to reconsider their decision to incite lawlessness, and place their drivers and passengers on a collision course with law enforcement authorities. This comes after Santaco announced that it has taken a decision to revert to 100% loading capacity in its taxis. On Sunday, Santaco President Philip Taaibosch announced that taxis will operate at full capacity, while those travelling along long-distance routes will be allowed to continue travelling without a permit. Taaibosch said if any taxis were stopped by law enforcement and impounded, taxi operations across…
Tobacco giant British American Tobacco SA (BATSA) and nine other litigants are fuming at Western Cape judge president John Hlophe for postponing a hearing in their case against the cigarette ban. The cigarette ban case was originally agreed to be heard on Tuesday, but Hlophe postponed it by over a month, without giving reasons. The litigants have threatened to take the case to another court. The Sunday Times said it had seen e-mails between Lizette Potgieter, registrar of the chambers of the Western Cape judge president, and the applicant’s lawyers, in which all parties first agreed the matter should be heard…
The COVID-19 is claiming an average of 70 lives a day in South Africa and Gauteng currently has the worst infection rate in the country. Gauteng could also overtake the Western Cape in total cases. Wits University health economist Professor Alex van den Heever told the Sunday Times that Gauteng will reach the Western Cape’s daily death figures – which for the past fortnight have averaged 50 a day – “within 10 days.” Gauteng’s hotspots are the inner city and southern areas of Johannesburg, followed by Soweto, Protea Glen and Doornkop, according to the provincial command council. As of yesterday,…
Fidelity ADT recently partnered strategically with Vumacam to roll out a surveillance network of cameras across a number of southern suburbs, starting with the Glenvista and Mulbarton areas. About 27 poles in total with 27 License Plate recognition (LPR) cameras and 54 overview cameras will be erected. The camera project will completely ring-fence Bassonia, Glenvista, Mulbarton and Glenanda areas. According to Wahl Bartmann, CEO for Fidelity Services Group, the increase in crime has prompted many communities to take a more proactive stance regarding their local security requirements and they are now starting to work far more closely with the authorities…
Only 18 months after launching, TymeBank has been rated as one of the top three in digital banking in South Africa. Conducted by InSites Consulting, the SITEisfaction report is an annual measure of customer satisfaction with digital banking services in South Africa. Rating each institution with a score ranging from -100 (worst possible experience) to +100 (best possible experience), TymeBank achieved a total of 74 (just 7 points shy of first place). This accolade follows on the recent Forbes accolade, which recognised TymeBank as the 2nd best bank in SA by Forbes for its high levels of customer satisfaction and…
During a webinar on Huawei’s digital inclusion initiative TECH4ALL, Deputy Chairman Ken Hu announced Huawei’s vision for digital inclusion through education. He outlined a project to connect schools and skills development to improve equitable and quality education. This includes Huawei South Africa’s DigiSchool project in partnership with operator rain and educational non-profit organisation Click Foundation, which aims to connect 100 urban and rural primary schools over the next year using 5G technology. Improving Equitable and Quality in Education through Technology Digital technology plays an important role in education. However, 50% of the world’s population still does not have Internet access,…
Work has begun in earnest at the Toyota Parts’ Distribution Warehouse in Atlas Road, East Rand, where Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) is expanding the facility to double in size from 40 000m² to 80 000m². TSAM is investing a total of R365 million in the project and, when completed in 2021, the facility will be the largest automotive parts’ warehouse in the Southern Hemisphere. The investment is a reflection of TSAM’s commitment to both the South African economy as well as the local automotive sector. “This investment will also strengthen our position as a Toyota regional manufacturing hub with…
Deputy President David Mabuza says Eskom has committed to completing the construction of Medupi power station this year, while Kusile will be completed by 2023. The Deputy President announced this when he responded to oral questions in the National Assembly on Thursday. Mabuza said while the system remains under pressure, government is confident that Eskom has put in place the necessary measures to keep the lights on. He said the contribution of the New Build programme to energy availability is critical in the mix of initiatives to ensure energy security. “Eskom has to deal with cost overruns and defects affecting…
The Department of Basic Education says while the decision to reopen schools was not taken lightly, as it tries to save what is left of the academic year, it is not going to gamble with human lives. During the virtual ministerial briefing of the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on Thursday, Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga said they take their responsibility to manage public schooling very seriously, especially in the face of COVID-19. “We understand the immediate threat that the COVID-19 pandemic poses to our teachers, learners and broader society,” Motshekga said. She said the department aims to salvage the…
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) has confirmed the arrest of a former Merafong Local Municipality senior official for allegedly illegally depositing funds into the collapsed Venda Building Society (VBS) Mutual Bank. Mattheys Gerhardus Wienekus, 64, a former senior official in Merafong, appeared in the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Thursday after being subpoenaed to face charges of contravention of the Municipality Finance Management Act 56 of 2003 in the ongoing investigation linked to the bank. “The suspect, who was arrested this morning, was employed at Merafong Local Municipality as Manager: Budget and Treasury until his retirement,” said…
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has announced that the 2020 Filing Season will begin on 1 August 2020. In a statement issued on Thursday, SARS said on the day, a significant number of taxpayers can expect to receive an SMS indicating that SARS has prepared their tax returns on their behalf and that a draft assessment is available on eFiling or Mobiapp to consider. With this year’s filing season coinciding with the economy-damaging COVID-19 pandemic, SARS has conceded this will detrimentally affect collection rates. Amid the pandemic, SARS said it continues to play its critical revenue collection role to…
The relaxation of rules under level 3 of the lockdown regulations allowing for more economic activity comes amid a continuing job’s bloodbath. Several large South African corporates including SAA, Edcon, SABC and Cell C among others have recently announced plans for massive reductions in headcount. Karl Muller, operations manager at Tiger Brands Foundation, says the development follows disappointing financial performances all round. In his adjusted budget speech, the minister of finance also announced that the economy is expected to contract by as much as 7%. Muller says the number of people who will soon be out of work from large,…
Amazon Web Services (AWS) today announced the general availability of AWS Outposts in South Africa. AWS Outposts delivers fully managed and configurable compute and storage racks built with AWS-designed hardware that allow customers to run AWS compute, storage, database, and other services on-premises, while seamlessly connecting to AWS’s broad array of services in the cloud. AWS Outposts brings native AWS services, infrastructure, and operating models to virtually any datacenter, co-location space, or on-premises facility. With AWS Outposts, customers can use the same AWS APIs, control plane, tools, and hardware on-premises as in the AWS cloud to deliver a truly consistent hybrid experience.…
JSE listed company TeleMasters, a licenced communication service provider in the South African market, has announced the acquisition of a 25% stake in data centre specialists ConexLink. The acquisition by TeleMasters came into effect on 1 June 2020. ConexLink, a new carrier neutral and vendor neutral facility outside Pretoria, brings to Gauteng an carrier grade disaster recovery centre that ticks all the boxes for physical security and georedundancy, says TeleMasters CEO Jaco Voigt. Agreements have been concluded with a number of leading fibre providers who now have nodes in place at the facility to support enterprises that must comply with…
iSchoolAfrica announced on Friday a partnership with iStore which aims to bring iPads to 10 000 South African matriculants through the #MyFuture programme. iSchoolAfrica is an education trust which brings the world’s best technology to under-resourced schools in South Africa. “School closures have necessitated a move to e-learning. In theory, this could be an important step towards a more equitable education system. But the reality is very different. Most South African learners lack access to devices, data and quality educational resources,” says Michelle Lissoos, Director of iSchoolAfrica Education Trust. It is with this in mind that iSchoolAfrica in partnership with iStore,…
Uber Eats is now available in East London, Eastern Cape Eaters can enjoy ordering their favourite meals from their long time favourites Milky Lane, Rocomama’s and McDonald’s as well as local favourites Sanook, Angela’s Coffee Shop and Earth Forrest. For those who are not close by and would love to surprise their friends or family, Uber Eats has introduced a new feature that allows users to easily send food to loved ones and share the status of that delivery with a simple link. “We are so delighted to be launching in East London to provide small businesses with an extra…
Cape Town-based IMPower has developed a market-leading medium-sized solution comprising of solar and energy storage technologies for the commercial & industrial market, which includes business parks, factories, shopping malls, schools and many others, providing reliable, affordable power. Energy storage technologies are viewed as a potential game-changer for widespread adoption of renewable energy generation throughout Africa. They facilitate the management of renewable power intermittency, demand response services and the dispatchability of stable, clean and sustainable power into the local or national grid system. “Our energy solution combining solar and energy storage provides a maximum benefit solution for the market, ensuring security…
Gameloft has partnered with MTN to create a unique subscription platform for millions of South African users. The platform is available for a fixed daily subscription fee, with a large catalogue of premium mobile games such as Asphalt Nitro, NOVA Legacy, PAC-MAN and Sonic Runners Adventure. MTN Arcade allows users to immerse themselves in a complete mobile gaming universe with hundreds of games of all genres with exclusive features such as tournaments and esports events, in one single environment. For the past 20 years, Gameloft has been working together with over 330 global distribution partners to bring its games to…
Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa has approved plans for the resumption of football. “The plans of the Premier Soccer League have been approved, considering the mitigation strategies and plans in relation to the level 3 risk adjusted strategy in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture said on Wednesday. The plans have further been subject to analysis by health authorities and the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD), who have recommended that the measures put in place by the organisation meet and in some instances, exceed, the required protocol for a safe return to…
Mobile operators throughout South Africa are experiencing increased traffic as the coronavirus pandemic drives users online for information. According to online search data from Upstream’s Zero-D, during March and May this year, coronavirus accounted for 15% of all online searches nationwide. Interest in general health news also saw a dramatic increase, jumping from just 5.2% between December 2019 and February 2020, to 28.6% by May 2020, accounting for more than a quarter of all news content. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the top trending search query in South Africa was “How to get free data?” Since the outbreak, this has…
First National Bank (FNB) has been voted as the best digital bank in the 2020 SITEisfaction survey. The bank dominated overall customer satisfaction metrics on both the Best Mobile Banking and Best Internet Banking categories. Conducted for 9 consecutive years, the survey benchmarks internet banking, app and customer experience against that of competitors as well as against previous years’ performance. “Our consistent approach to digital banking has provided customers with an innovative, contextual and an agile banking experience. Our banking processes have evolved to one that can operate through challenging market conditions with changing consumer perceptions, sentiment and dynamics,” says…
Seven weeks after the initial announcement of the company’s plans to provide a temporary medical facility for COVID-19 patients, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) today handed over the first phase of this project to the Eastern Cape Department of Health. VWSA announced on 5 May that they would make their former Port Elizabeth plant, situated in Neave, available as an overflow facility to provide care for those diagnosed with COVID-19. With funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), VWSA has since completed the first phase of equipping this facility, which can now accommodate 1 485…