Author: Staff Writer

MTN today implemented the data usage rate service which enables both prepaid and contract customers to monitor their usage history and the effective consumption rate of the last five bundles purchased in the last 30 days. This service can be accessed free of charge by dialling the zero-rated USSD *135# or by using the MTN App. MTN customers will also be presented with an option to access the most affordable bundles based on their unique usage profile as well as information on other products and services to enable them to get the best value for money. USSD steps: Customers will…

Toyota South Africa Motors (TSAM) announced on Thursday it has to date produced 23 000 face shields and donated thousands of these face shields to the KwaZulu-Natal health sector, dealers, suppliers, as well to its staff. This is part of TSAM’s bid to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the country. The first external benefactor was Prince Mshiyeni Hospital in Umlazi, Durban, receiving 900 face shields in April, while a further 10 000 units will be delivered to other hospitals and clinics during the month of May. “We have long expressed that as an organisation, we are first and foremost a corporate…

The current global COVID-19 pandemic is creating major economic and financial distress for consumers across the globe. Many jobs in the South African economy are already being impacted or at risk due to drastic demand shifts. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on household incomes of South African consumers has stayed broadly stable over recent weeks, but the number of consumers who have lost their jobs has increased sharply since the beginning of April, according to newly released research from TransUnion. This online survey of 1,005 adults in South Africa was conducted on 4 – 11 May, 2020. “The pandemic…

The COVID-19 outbreak looks set to further deepen and accelerate a well-established trend towards ‘cocooning’ in South Africa as families stay home to keep safe and make better use of their finances – a trend that is likely to outlast the pandemic. This is according to new Consumer Pulse research from GfK South Africa into the behaviours of online consumers during the Level 5 lockdown. Some 85% of consumers who usually work full time reported a significant impact on their working habits. Nearly half (47%) of full-time employees were able to work remotely, but among this group, 74% claimed they…

MyWill is an online solution for creating a Will, available as a service on the MyLegal online law platform. MyWill allows anyone to quickly and affordably create a valid Will at a once-off fee of R199 for a Single Will – or pay R250 once-off for a Joint Will. With the recently reported spike in requests for wills, South Africans are waking up to the seriousness of protecting loved ones and their assets, should they pass away. The brainchild of attorney Matthew De Wet, MyWill reimagines the way we think about the legal process behind a Will. The often-complicated process…

A Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) survey has revealed that 8.1% of its respondents lost jobs or closed businesses as a consequence of the COVID-19 outbreak. The survey, titled Wave 2, studied the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment and income in South Africa. Stats SA released the findings on Wednesday. The survey was conducted between 29 April and 6 May. According to the report, almost nine in ten (89.5%) respondents who were employed before the national lockdown remained employed during the lockdown. “The survey also found a decrease in the proportion of respondents who usually derive their income…

Fans of Mzansi’s much-loved telenovelas Gomora, The River and Isibaya will have something scintillating to look forward to as these shows return to the small screen on 25 May. This magnificent news comes in the wake of the easing of lockdown regulations from the beginning of this month, allowing television productions to return to set, albeit with stringent measures in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Kutlwano Ditsele, the executive producer of the popular telenovela Gomora, expressed his excitement to be back in the hot seat. “The lockdown was a necessity, but we missed being on the set of Gomora. Any opportunity to…

Africa Data Centres, part of the Liquid Telecom Group, has completed the acquisition of a state-of-the-art Tier IV data centre in Johannesburg from Standard Bank, Africa’s largest bank. The acquisition, which has been unconditionally approved by the South African Competition Commission, will prove highly disruptive to the South African data centre and co-location market and consolidates Africa Data Centres’ position as the largest pan-African provider of interconnected, carrier and cloud-neutral data centres. The facility is widely recognised as the most prestigious and highly specified data centre anywhere in Africa, offering world-leading levels of security, resilience and capacity. It is also…

Aspirant data scientists in their final year of study still have until the end of June to apply for a bursary for the 2020 academic year that will see them enter the Shoprite Group’s Data Science Academy in January 2021. Based in Cape Town, the academy offers a year-long programme in which apprentices have the opportunity to extract knowledge and insights from complex data sets involving sales, inventory, consumer spending and much more. A key component of this programme is the mentoring each apprentice receives from an experienced data scientist. These mentors act as guides that help the apprentices navigate…

Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub announced last week that the company will spend R1 billion in the current financial year ensuring the network in South Africa is able to cope with widespread electricity blackouts. The company announced on Tuesday that much of this investment will be used to intensify security around the telco’s base station sites, install additional batteries and generators to ensure connectivity during load shedding. Vodacom said there has been a significant year-on-year increase in the number of battery thefts in its base stations, with the average increase at around 35%. For instance, on average 600 incidents per…