Author: Chris Anu

The consumer price of wireless internet shows a 1% increase over a three-year period. South Africans are paying only slightly more for wireless internet services today than they did in 2022, with the Competition Commission’s first Cost of Living Report showing a modest 1% increase in wireless internet usage costs between 2022 and 2025.The report, published yesterday, underscores how internet access has shifted from being a luxury to an essential service, on par with electricity and water.According to the commission, the report aims to provide essential insights into the affordability of basic goods and services, allowing individuals and households to…

An exhibition exploring artificial intelligence and the future of images in Africa has been opened in Johannesburg. It is the debut exhibition of the newly launched Roger Ballen Centre of Photography in Forest Town, which is steadily turning into one of the city’s art hubs. Founded by internationally acclaimed photographer Roger Ballen, it is one of the few institutions on the continent that is dedicated entirely to photography. They use it to interrogate their fears, their shame, their psychic leftovers. What you see is what the machine sees in them Kicking off with PSYCHOPOMP!, a provocative and edgy exhibition curated…

City Power has halted electricity meter conversions until November. The City of Johannesburg (COJ) has paused its programme to swap existing electricity meters with smart meters following customer complaints over “discrepancies in some accounts” and other issues.City Power announced the pause more than a week after the suspension began, saying it will remain in effect until November “to allow for a thorough review of the conversion process and ensure future conversions are handled accurately and fairly”.According to the COJ’s website, the utility is converting all electricity meters to prepaid, enabling customers to manage their own consumption. National Treasury this week…

Generative AI tools are driving productivity across a wide variety of industries. The technology has found a lucrative niche in software development, where programmers report an up-to-30% improvement in output. Vibe coding, as AI programming has come to be known, has the highest impact when used by more senior developers, allowing them to prototype and test ideas rapidly. But there are risks to this so-called “vibe coding” that development teams must be aware of, especially when code moves from experimentation and testing into production. “AI-generated code is functional, but it often lacks optimisation, readability and long-term maintainability,” said Callan Abrahams,…

Takealot has launched the 4th edition of its annual Heritage Design Challenge. Online retailer Takealot has launched the fourth edition of its annual Heritage Design Challenge, inviting South Africans to submit original designs that reflect the country’s cultural diversity.The competition runs from 1 September to 24 September, with the winning design set to appear on 1 million Takealot boxes in December. The winner will also receive a R100 000 voucher from the retailer and a R10 000 voucher to donate to a charity of their choice. Participants are encouraged to use the iconic colours of the South African flag.The initiative…

South Africans will be treated to a rare celestial show on the evening of Sunday, 7 September, when the noon passes through Earth’s shadow in a total lunar eclipse. Astronomers say the event will be clearly visible across the country, with the moon taking on the characteristic deep red hue often referred to as a “Blood Moon”. The eclipse will be one of the longest of the decade, with totality lasting more than 80 minutes. In Johannesburg, the partial phase of the eclipse will begin at 7.27pm, with the moon entering total eclipse at 7.30pm. The spectacle will reach its…

In this episode of ITWeb TV, we sit down with Chris Dodd, CEO of iStore South Africa, to unpack how the retailer is driving affordability through its iPhone trade-in programme, bridging the digital divide with training and education, and innovating retail with omnichannel shopping and same-day delivery.iStore is ramping up its efforts to make Apple technology more accessible to South Africans, with its iPhone trade-in programme.Core Group is the official and exclusive Apple distributor in South Africa, and iStore is its primary retail outlet for the products. The company handles distribution and logistics, through to marketing and retail operations for…

Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter The South African Revenue Service is sticking to its guns over taxing social influencers and plans to conduct outreach programmes so that they know what is expected from them. No matter how influencers are remunerated – whether with products, services or travel – all of these are deemed as income according to the Income Tax Act, Sars said in a statement on Friday. Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter said the taxman is looking forward to working with this group to provide clarity and certainty and help them register for tax. Sars will handle each such situation on…

Blue Label has achieved majority ownership of Cell C. Blue Label has finally achieved its almost decade-long goal of securing a majority stake in Cell C, South Africa’s fourth biggest mobile operator, reaching 53.57% ownership.Final approval from the Competition Tribunal concludes several regulatory hurdles for Blue Label – which is rebranding as Blu Label Unlimited to sharpen focus on its operations beyond telecoms – to gain controlling interest.The company first proposed a R5.5 billion investment for a 45% stake to shareholders in 2016.Through its subsidiary, The Prepaid Company, Blue Label gradually increased its shareholding. Until yesterday, it held 49.5% of…

Tesla’s US$1-trillion, 10-year pay package to retain CEO Elon Musk is likely to be approved by shareholders at the company’s annual meeting in November even though the amount is staggering. That is because it was crafted with an eye on keeping Musk in place, addressing concerns about the company’s technical outlook and giving big company owners just enough reason to back the massive amount, investors and executive pay analysts said. Earlier on Friday, the car maker’s board approved what it called “a super-ambitious incentive package for a pioneering, ambitious and unique CEO” that sets out lofty earnings and valuation targets…