Author: Staff Writer

You love Top Hits South Africa. Your partner is obsessed with  AmaPiano Grooves. So, deciding who gets to play DJ at home or in the car is a constant battle. Luckily, Spotify is making it even easier for two people to enjoy music together (or separately) with the launch of Spotify Premium Duo – our new, first-of-its-kind subscription plan. Beginning today, Duo will be rolling out in 55 markets globally, including South Africa. Premium Duo is for two people living at the same home address and costs R79.99  per month. Each individual gets their own Premium account under one plan…

The Huawei Watch GT 2e is the newest addition to the Huawei Watch GT 2 Series. This 46mm fitness watch is stylish, with a unibody design, an integrated 1.39-inch AMOLED high precision touch glass display and a choice of nearly 200 watch faces. The Huawei Watch GT 2e provides a tracking function for up to 100 sports. In addition to the original 15 sport modes, there are 85 customised sport tracking modes so that you can explore and be inspired to try new sports. For each exercise, the smartwatch will record data such as exercise time, calories, heart rate, workout…

Broadband Infraco has added a capability to monitor the West African Cable System (WACS) undersea cable’s performance as part of its newly acquired service offerings. The WACS cable connects South Africa to the United Kingdom, with landing stations in Portugal and 11 other countries along the West Coast of Africa, spanning the West Coast of Africa and terminating in the United Kingdom, enabling connectivity into the rest of Europe and America. This newly added service offering, which was available from May 2020, will afford Broadband Infraco the opportunity to oversee the operation, maintenance, configuration, testing and monitoring of the WACS…

Computicket, which launched virtual grocery vouchers to help people in need during the Covid-19 pandemic, has sold almost 200 000 vouchers valued at over R50 million since the start of the lockdown. It is also live streaming events and partnering with SA Rugby to raffle tickets for Food Forward SA and Gift of the Givers. The ticket seller, whose business came to a standstill when the lockdown was announced, moved quickly in early April 2020 to reinvent itself. In a matter of days Computicket launched virtual grocery vouchers – a secure, technology-based solution to provide food assistance quickly, efficiently and…

As part of its partnership with Lionesses of Africa, the one million+ strong all-female business network in Africa, Volkswagen has introduced ‘The Lionesses Den’ and is calling on female-owned businesses in South Africa to share a two-minute pitch. The top three pitches will win capital to invest in their businesses and in turn help drive the South African economy forward. This offers an opportunity for female entrepreneurs to access capital amid the COVID-19 challenges on the South African economy and small businesses in particular. According to a 2018 survey conducted by Facebook, in partnership with the World Bank and the…

Kabza De Small’s release of his 27-track album “I am the King of Amapiano: Sweet & Dust” is the first album in South African history to occupy the first 26 spots of the top 30 music charts. This latest album proves again that Kabza is the president of Amapiano. The album features the likes of South African voices such as Daliwonga, Mlindo The Vocalist and rappers Focalistic and Cassper Nyovest, as well as African superstars WizKid and Burna Boy. 🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/C1xmqI4INr— #ThePianoKing (@KabzaDeSmall_) June 26, 2020 🙏 https://t.co/6onp3500IG— #ThePianoKing (@KabzaDeSmall_) June 28, 2020 🙏 https://t.co/BX5iZkmcz3— #ThePianoKing (@KabzaDeSmall_) June 28, 2020 🙏🙏❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️…

South Africa’s COVID-19 cases are on a sharp and steady increase with 6 130 new cases reported on Monday, bringing the total number to 144 264. A further 73 COVID-19 related deaths were reported, bringing the total to 2 529. Of the 73 new deaths reported, 1 was from Mpumalanga, 5 from Limpopo, 2 from North West, 6 from Gauteng, 10 from the Eastern Cape, 6 from KwaZulu-Natal and 43 from the Western Cape. “The numbers are picking up and the surge is on the way. Particularly in Gauteng, the numbers are locking up faster than anticipated. “Western Cape started surging numbers…

South Africa’s Mama Money has joined forces with Western Union, the world leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. The partnership enables Mama Money customers to send money to their loved ones around the world via Western Union’s Global Network. “When the April lockdown hit, we saw a massive drop in remittances leaving South Africa due to the restrictions on movement to paying for money transfers and uncertainty. Remittance outflows for certain countries dropped by 90%,” Mathieu Coquillon, co-founder of Mama Money says. “However, we’ve seen a very swift recovery since May as economic activities began to resume.” Since…

What do you get when you bring the flair and expertise of three of the top French perfumers in the world? A festival of captivating and alluring scents and a delightful symphony for the senses. Avon is bringing this exhilarating treat of the senses to its customers in a trio of premium perfumes for her under the brand name Artistique Parfumiers, that have been developed by multiple award-winning French perfumers Emilie Coppermann, Maurice Roucel and Alexandra Carlin. These internationally-acclaimed perfumers have developed a line-up of high-end perfumes exclusive to Avon, namely Patchouli Indulgence, Magnolia en Fleurs and Iris Fétiche. Each…

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.…