Author: Staff Writer

Walter Isaacson makes interesting observations about innovation in his book The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution. “But the main lesson to draw from the birth of computers is that innovation is usually a group effort, involving collaboration between visionaries and engineers and that creativity comes from drawing on many sources,” writes Isaacson. He adds: “Only in storybooks do inventions come like a thunderbolt, or a lightbulb popping out of the head of a lone individual in a basement or garret or garage.” Why invoke Isaacson’s words? Simply because South Africa’s recent celebration of…

The single most powerful way to empower tens of millions of South Africans quickly is to drive down the cost of smart devices and get cheap, reliable broadband into their hands. The ability to participate in e-commerce, remote work, online education and digital financial services creates a world of opportunity currently closed to the poor and unemployed, writes Solly Malatsi. Malatsi, minister of communications & digital technologies, writing in the Sunday Times stated that it was his mission to change that by opening wide a path to a digital future for every South African, from the most remote rural area…

A Vereeniging-based metal castings producer, Yellow Star Manufacturing (YSM), allegedly paid R14 million a year in bribes to Emfuleni municipal employees to secure an illegal electricity connection and tamper with meter readings, according to explosive claims by its former CEO, Andries Mar Sunday Times reports that the illicit arrangement reportedly saved YSM, a supplier to major mining and steel firms, millions of rand monthly, slashing its power bill by half. The scheme was so audacious that a transformer was allegedly stolen from an Eskom depot in the Free State and installed on YSM’s premises. Sunday Times reported that this alleged…

As South Africa faces a persistently high unemployment rate, with 35% of women unemployed in the last quarter of 2024, global mobility leader inDrive is stepping up to drive meaningful change. With a mission to impact 1 billion people globally by challenging injustice, inDrive is committed to increasing female representation in South Africa’s e-hailing industry and creating economic opportunities for women. This International Women’s Month, inDrive is taking a bold step toward inclusivity by setting a target to onboard over 400 female drivers in Cape Town. This initiative aims to create more earning opportunities for women while addressing the growing…

South African young scientists are set to showcase their innovative research on the global stage, competing in the environmental science and computer science categories at this year’s International Festival of Engineering, Science and Technology in Tunisia (I-FEST²). Eskom Expo International Science Fair 2024 Gold medal recipients, Hamzah Ismail and Vibhav Ramdas, both Grade 12 learners at St Dominics Newcastle School in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, earned their opportunities to showcase their research projects at the I-FEST² from 21 to 27 March 2025 following a nomination by a panel of academics and professionals at the Eskom Expo. The learners will be accompanied on the trip by Eskom Expo’s Dr Kenneth Kaunda…

Many consumers are unaware of the differences between a conventional hybrid and a plug-in hybrid, commonly called a PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle). In short, PHEVs provide the best of a traditional combustion-engined vehicle and a fully electric car. Equipped with an electric motor and sizeable battery pack, they can travel reasonable distances on electric power alone and even be charged like an EV. However, when charging isn’t possible, they can rely on the combustion engine for longer-distance travel. That sounds great, but what are the actual benefits? PHEVs offer significantly lower fuel consumption and reduced emissions, benefiting your budget…

Eskom has announced the suspension of loadshedding effective today at 10:00, following the recovery of over 3,000MW of generation capacity and the replenishment of sufficient emergency reserves over the past 44 hours. In a statement, Eskom confirmed that coal operations at Kusile Power Station have reached optimal levels, with all units that were offline as of Friday now back in service. Additionally, progress on the recovery of Koeberg Unit 2 is well underway, with Eskom reassuring the public that the unit remains safe. The utility emphasized that planned maintenance outages, aimed at preparing for winter and meeting regulatory and environmental…

Eskom has announced that Stage 3 loadshedding will be implemented from today at 14:00 until Monday, 10 March 2025 at 05:00.  This decision comes after a loss of 2700MW in the past 14 hours. This includes Koeberg Unit 2, which was taken offline after being brought back on Wednesday, and two Kusile Units whose coal operations went sub-optimal following adverse weather in the area. Higher levels of planned maintenance outages, aimed at winter preparation and meeting regulatory and environmental licensing requirements are still underway. The constrained capacity resulted in the increased reliance on emergency reserves during this week, which makes…

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng has lodged a formal complaint with the Public Protector, demanding an urgent investigation into the Gauteng Department of Education’s (GDE) questionable payment of over R1.8 billion to the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance (MGSLG). The DA’s call for action follows revelations uncovered in a response from Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane, which detailed that the GDE paid a staggering R1,868,760,369.50 to MGSLG between 2019 and 2024. These funds were allegedly allocated for “cutting-edge” capacity-building programmes for school management and leadership, as well as teacher development initiatives. Shockingly, these payments continued even during…

South African startup Sensor Networks has secured a strategic partnership with Ariston, the world’s largest geyser manufacturer based in Italy. This collaboration will bring cutting-edge smart water heating solutions to South African households in 2025, marking a significant milestone for homegrown technology on the global stage. The partnership follows months of rigorous product development, refinement, and certification, culminating in the rollout of Ariston geysers integrated with Sensor Networks’ smart geyser devices across leading plumbing retailers in South Africa. This marks the first time that a locally developed smart-geyser technology has been adopted at such a scale by a global heating…