Author: Staff Writer

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,…