TCS - The TechCentral Show

Planetworld, a distributor of audio gear from brands such as Sonos and Shure, has proven that there is still strong demand among South African consumers for specialist audio. The company, which was founded by four brothers, has built a strong niche in the audio market, led by Sonos, but also representing brands such as JVC, Kenwood, Cambridge Audio, Alpine, Pioneer, Onkyo and Savant. Planetworld co-founder, director and CEO Maurice van Heerden – one of the four Van Heerden brothers – joins Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) to chat about the history of the company, including: • The 2008 acquisition of Planet Electronics, which formed the basis on what became Planetworld. • The 2017 acquisition of Audiotronic, which brought the Sonos, Polk Audio, Onkyo and Dali brands to the stable. • What it’s like going into business with siblings – and why it worked so well for Planetworld. • Why Sonos has changed the world of audio, and why Planetworld believes there is still a huge market opportunity for the brand in South Africa. In the TCS interview, Van Heerden also chats about the state of the economy and the impact – or not – that this has had on high-end audio sales. Lastly, he unveils details about Planetworld’s new initiative, Rockstar Studios. Don’t miss a great discussion!

For years, Cell C was the only game in town for brands wanting to launch a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). That’s changing -- fast -- and now MTN has said it is positioning itself as the “go-to network backbone partner” in South Africa. MTN South Africa wholesale executive Quintus de Beer joins Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) to unpack in detail what this plan means for other network carriers and prospective MVNO players. De Beer said MTN wants to be the “network of choice” for the wholesale market by 2025, even as rivals Vodacom and Telkom gear up to launch MVNO enablement platforms of their own -- in line with the requirements set out in last year’s broadband spectrum auction. Already, both Telkom and Cell C both roam on MTN's infrastructure, with a number of MVNOs also launching on the operator’s network, including Pick n Pay’s PnP Mobile and Afrihost’s Air Mobile -- with more to be announced soon, according to De Beer. In this episode of TCS, De Beer chats about: * Why wholesale is so important to MTN * MTN’s relationship with Cell C and Telkom * The MVNOs on MTN’s network * What’s involved in supporting MVNOs * The market size for MVNOs * Why it took so long for MVNOs to take off in South Africa Don’t miss a fascinating discussion.

Muggie van Staden is CEO of one of South Africa's largest and oldest open-source software companies, Obsidian Systems. But ask him what he runs on his desktop, and he'll tell you it's a Mac. And he recently moved to it from ... Microsoft Windows. Van Staden says his desktop computing choices are based on the fact that he's not particularly technical, and prefers the relative ease of use of both Windows and macOS. Indeed, many of the non-technical staff at Obsidian run Windows PCs or Macs, while the company's developers tend to prefer either macOS or Linux. That Linux hasn't succeeded in displacing Microsoft and Apple on the desktop, against the fervent wishes of many open-source software fans, doesn't worry Van Staden, who points out in this interview on the TechCentral Show (TCS) that Linux and open-source software have won everywhere else - on servers, in the data centre and on phones (Android). In this episode of TCS, Van Staden chats about: * How Obsidian got its start; * The relevance of open-source software in the modern computing world; * Why Linux has never become popular on the desktop and whether it will ever be anything more than a niche on PCs; * Why Microsoft should no longer be seen as the enemy of the open-source community, and why the community should not distrust the company's motives in its embrace of Linux and other open-source software; and * The role of open-source software in enterprise computing in South Africa. Don't miss a great discussion!

South African Internet entrepreneur Calvin Collett is launching his latest venture, mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Melon Mobile, next week, hoping to lure customers looking for a simpler proposition for their telecommunications needs. Collett joined TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) on Thursday to unpack the new company’s plans. Melon Mobile, which will be launched officially next Thursday, piggybacks off MTN South Africa’s network and offers a full range of connectivity solutions, including voice, data and text messages. Customers can choose exactly how much data, voice or SMSes they want upfront using sliders, offering them the sort of granularity that’s not available from the big network operators. Collett, speaking on TCS, explained that Melon Mobile has worked to remove the inefficiencies associated with subscribing to mobile services. In the interview, Collett, who previously headed the MTN-owned Internet service provider Supersonic, talks about: • Why the MVNO market in South Africa is mushrooming; • Why Melon Mobile chose MTN as its network partner; • Melon Mobile’s prices, and the company’s pricing strategy; • The company’s target market and the market opportunity; and • What its next moves are after launch. Don’t miss the interview – and if you enjoy it, please subscribe to TechCentral’s tech shows on YouTube, Spotify and elsewhere (see details below).

Jan-Jan Bezuidenhout, CEO of MetroFibre Networx, believes fibre network operators (FNOs) in South Africa will soon find a way to deliver fibre broadband profitably into underserviced areas. Speaking on the TechCentral Show (TCS), Bezuidenhout – who replaced former Absa boss Steve Booysen as CEO of MetroFibre in mid-2022 – said he is confident a solution to the challenge of delivering fibre affordably into these areas will be forthcoming. MetroFibre and other FNOs are actively testing models for deploying fibre broadband into townships and even into informal settlements. In this episode of TCS, Bezuidenhout speaks about: * The state of the fibre broadband market in South Africa; * The history of MetroFibre, including its investment rounds; * Consolidation in the fibre infrastructure industry – and the role MetroFibre might play in that consolidation; and * MetroFibre’s recent aggressive price cuts and line speed increases – why the company did it, and what it hopes to achieve. Don’t miss the discussion!

Clive Butkow is one of South Africa’s leading experts on venture capital investment in technology start-ups. The founder and CEO of Kalon Venture Partners joins Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) to chat about why the VC investment business has changed radically, especially since the world, led by the US Federal Reserve, started hiking interest rates last year to tame inflation. Monetary tightening has meant the end of “easy money” and the need by start-ups to focus not on where their next funding round is coming from – it might not even happen in this environment, Butkow says – to managing cash flows and ensuring financial sustainability. He provides advice to entrepreneurs as to what they should be doing differently to survive the current economic headwinds. For those wanting to start their own ventures, but who haven’t yet done so, he provides insight into the key issues they should be considering before setting out. Also, what are the biggest mistakes start-ups make? Butkow unpacks the key ones in this discussion. Butkow, a former chief operating officer of Accenture South Africa, quit his day job 10 years ago to found Kalon Venture Partners, which has made several highly successful investments in South African tech start-ups over the years. Kalon’s new fund is now looking at investments elsewhere on the continent, too, seeking to take advantage of growth in the start-up ecosystems in countries such as Kenya and Nigeria. In this episode of TCS, Butkow talks about the South African Revenue Service’s Section 12J incentive scheme, which drove investments in a large number of start-ups but which has now come to an end. He reflects on the impact that Section 12J had, and what else Sars – and government – could be doing to stimulate start-ups and small businesses. Don’t miss a fascinating interview!

When Dutch colleagues and business partners Lars Veul and Derk Hoekert came to South Africa on assignment with e-commerce marketplace Groupon in 2012, they soon realised there was a problem: up to 30% of local online orders were not getting delivered. This was due to various reasons, including consumers not being at home at time of delivery, office premises being difficult for couriers to access and difficulties associated with couriers making deliveries in areas without proper addresses, including in townships. So, the entrepreneurially minded pair quit their jobs at Groupon and started Pargo in 2015 in an effort to solve the last-mile logistics headaches facing e-commerce businesses in South Africa. “We spent two years trying to figure out the real problems,” Veul says in this episode of the TechCentral Show (TCS). The result was a sharp focus on the click-and-collect model and establishing partnerships with thousands of retail stores, allowing consumers to send and receive orders — and return items — over the counter, with a human being providing assistance. Pargo, which doesn’t operate its own fleet of vehicles – preferring to partner instead with courier companies – now has plans to expand into new markets. In this TCS interview, Veul unpacks what comes next for Pargo. He also chats about whether the South African Post Office could ever reinvent itself as an e-commerce player, or whether the state-owned postal service is a lost cause. Don’t miss the discussion!

MTN South Africa hosted a media event in Soweto on Thursday to demonstrate to journalists the severe impact that criminal vandalism is having on its base stations. In this interview, conducted at the site of an MTN base station in Mofolo South in Soweto, the company's chief technology and information officer, Michele Gamberini, tells TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod about the attacks taking place on its high sites and how it's fighting back. MTN disclosed that it will spend at least R1.5-billion this year at it moves to secure its network against both severe load shedding and vandalism. Gamberini said MTN will use the R1.5-billion allocated to building resilience in its network - protecting its infrastructure from vandals and deploying thousands of additional batteries to ensure its sites remain operational during extended power outages. Gamberini said that in the past year there have been more than 400 unique attacks on its tower infrastructure in the Eastern Cape alone. Some sites have been hit as many as 15 times, he said. In this episode of the TechCentral Show, Gamberini unpacks the impact of the vandalism and power cuts on its ability to service its clients. He also talks about how the company is working with law enforcement in an effort to address the problem, which is affecting all industry players.

The PC industry has been through a boom-and-bust cycle in the past few years, with demand first spiking higher due to Covid and work-from-home measures, only to fall back as people returned to the office. Despite this, there’s plenty happening in the PC space, including interesting experimentation with new form factors, including dual-screen laptops. Lenovo, the world’s biggest PC maker, recently took the lid off its latest computing devices at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The company’s head of the Southern African region, Yugen Naidoo, joins the TechCentral Show (TCS) to talk about these new products, but also to unpack the state of the industry. In this episode of TCS, Naidoo chats about: • The impact of Covid on the industry, and why demand remains strong in the corporate segment, even as consumers take strain; • The importance of innovation, even in a mature market; • New form factors for PCs, and what’s coming next; • Lenovo’s smartphone offerings, and whether we could see the company’s Motorola phones reintroduced into the South African market; and • The launch of Lenovo’s ThinkPhone. Don’t miss the discussion.

Robert Brine, director of Cyber & Intelligence Solutions at Mastercard in Southern Africa, joins the TechCentral Show (TCS) to talk about security in the global payments industry. Brine tells TechCentral’s Duncan McLeod about the security challenges in the fintech and financial services space, and what consumers and businesses need to know to protect themselves. In this episode of TCS, Brine unpacks what exactly it is that companies like Mastercard do before detailing the work that Mastercard is doing to secure its platforms from attackers. He also chats about the impact on consumer behaviour of the Covid-19 pandemic, and what consumers could be doing to better secure themselves when shopping online. Brine touches on the history of payments technology from the early days of the credit card to modern tap-to-pay solutions. Lastly, he unpacks what Mastercard is doing in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space, and looks at whether a blockchain-based approach to global settlements makes sense.

TechCentral on Tuesday broke the news about Toco, a new payments platform and associated digital currency, toco, backed by the founder of Vumatel. Now Toco CEO Paul Rowett joins the TechCentral Show (TCS) to chat about the project, which aims to fight climate change by “fixing the current economic model so it places a value on the environment”. Read all the details about the launch of Toco and its digital currency on TechCentral, but in short, each unit of toco in circulation is represented by a carbon mitigation asset which is held and owned centrally by a Swiss-regulated entity called The Carbon Reserve. The Carbon Reserve is an independent non-profit foundation responsible for toco issuance, purchases and custody of the carbon assets. It is mandated to maintain the convertibility of tocos to carbon assets and to grow the toco supply and expand the voluntary carbon market. Founded by Rowett with Vumatel co-founders Niel Schoeman and Johan “Joe” Pretorius, Toco has also drawn early-stage investment from venture capitalist and former FNB CEO Michael Jordaan. In this episode of TCS, Rowett unpacks the ideas behind Toco, how he partnered with Schoeman and Pretorius to launch the venture, and why they chose Stellenbosch to pilot the project. The founders want to use the platform and currency to help save the planet. Rowett sets out in this TCS interview how exactly the company intends to do that. Don’t miss the discussion!

Naked Insurance, the South African digital insurance start-up, announced earlier on Wednesday that it has secured US$17-million (R306-million at the time of writing) in a series-B funding round. Alex Thomson, Naked’s CEO and a co-founder of the company, joins Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) to unpack the investment, which includes funding from the International Finance Corporation and German development finance house DEG. Described by Naked as “one of the largest-ever African insurtech funding rounds”, Thomson reveals in this episode of TCS what the company plans to use the money to do. He also discusses why the insurance industry was ripe for disruption and how Naked uses artificial intelligence tools to reduce dramatically the need for call centre agents and to drive up efficiencies in the applications and claims processes. Don’t miss the discussion!

Convergence Partners CEO Brandon Doyle joins Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) to unpack the recently announced closing, at $296-million (R5.3-billion), of the private equity company’s new Digital Infrastructure Fund. Convergence Partners, which is chaired by well-known South African technology investor and entrepreneur Andile Ngcaba, unpacks what the fund – which surpassed its initial targeted fundraising amount by 18% -- intends to use the money for. The new fund is Convergence Partners’ largest to date and brings total funds under management to about $600-million. In this episode of TCS, Doyle chats about Convergence Partners’ investment philosophy and unpacks some of the bigger investments made by the company since its founding in 2006. He also provides details about the sort of investments the company is hoping to make through its new fund and why. Lastly, Doyle talks about the state of venture capital and private equity funding in Africa, especially in an environment of high inflation and rapidly rising interest rates, and what that means for technology investment on the continent. Don’t miss a fascinating discussion!

Tim Humphreys-Davies, CEO of Alviva Holdings-owned technology distributor Pinnacle, believes the worst of the supply-chain challenges that afflicted the global and local tech industries in recent years is largely over. Speaking on the TechCentral Show (TCS), Humphreys-Davies explains that although there are still some challenges in the networking space, the chip shortages that affected the PC industry have been resolved. He unpacks how Pinnacle, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, weathered the storm, and how the current slump in PC sales is affecting the industry. In this episode of TCS, Humphreys-Davies also chats about: • The imminent delisting of Alviva Holdings and what that means for Pinnacle; • Consolidation in the distribution market, including Alviva’s recent acquisition of Tarsus Technology Group, and what it means for the local industry; • How Pinnacle and sister companies Axiz and Tarsus compete (and sometimes cooperate) with each other, and why it’s unlikely that the companies will be merged; and • The big technology trends of 2023, including the emergence of generative artificial intelligence. Don’t miss the discussion!

AfriForum, the vocal Afrikaner civil rights organisation, wants to deploy pebble-bed modular nuclear reactors (PBMRs) in South African communities to help solve the country’s crippling energy woes. But why PBMRs? And how will the project work exactly? It might seem strange for a non-governmental organisation like AfriForum to want to involve itself in electricity generation, but the move makes perfect sense, argues Johan Kruger, its head of community independence. This is especially so as the state is failing to provide basic services like electricity, necessitating the involvement of private capital. Kruger joined TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod on the TechCentral Show (TCS) – previously, TC|Daily – to discuss AfriForum’s plans. (Watch or listen to the interview below.) In the show, Kruger unpacks how AfriForum wants to help homeowners and businesses extricate themselves from the Eskom mess by deploying their own power generation systems, including rooftop solar. In the longer term, the organisation hopes to work with the private sector to reduce or entirely eliminate communities’ dependence on the state for electricity supply. Kruger explains that the government’s inability to provide not only electricity reliably, but also water and other basic services, means that many of these will be offered in future by the private sector or by communities themselves working with private entities. Rapport and City Press reported on 22 January that AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel was engaging with André Pienaar, a South African businessman and founder and CEO of C5 Capital – a venture capital firm that invests in companies focused on space, cybersecurity and nuclear energy – about deploying PBMRs in South Africa. C5 Capital is an investor in X-Energy, a US company whose staff includes senior South African nuclear scientists. X-energy is taking forward some of the pioneering work into PBMRs that was done on South African soil before government withdrew its funding for the project in 2010. In this episode of TCS, Kruger unpacks the South African origin of the PBMR technology and what an AfriForum-supported deployment of modular reactors into communities might look like. Don’t miss this fascinating interview!

In the final TC|Daily interview of 2022, Duncan McLeod is joined in the TechCentral studio by +OneX founder Rob Godlonton for a wide-ranging discussion on the company and the South African IT sector more broadly. Godlonton tells McLeod about his career history, including the 10 years between 2009 and 2019 he spent in senior management at EOH Holdings. Godlonton, who EOH CEO Stephen van Coller said at the time of his (Godlonton's) departure that he was in no way implicated in the malfeasance that took place at the company, shares his views on what went wrong. In the interview, Godlonton also talks about: * Why he returned to South Africa after a career abroad. * Where the idea for +OneX came from and how it became part of the JSE-listed Reunert. * +OneX's strategy, and where it's positioned in the market. * The company's acquisitions, and why it's still on the hunt for deals (even big ones). Don't miss the discussion! TC|Daily shows will return in mid-January. TechCentral wishes its readers a pleasant Christmas and New Year break and all the best for 2023.

Despite being one of South Africa’s oldest companies – it was founded in 1888 and listed on the JSE in 1948 – Reunert is a picture of health. The group, which owns assets in engineering, electronics, IT and defence, last month reported a 16% improvement in full-year revenue to 30 September 2022 and a 17% improvement in operating profit – not bad for a company operating in an economy that’s going nowhere slowly. Reunert CEO Alan Dickson joins TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod in the TC|Daily studio to chat about the group, its origins – it was founded by two immigrants, Theodore Reunert and Otto Lenz – and its storied history. Only two years older than the City of Johannesburg, Reunert was created to serve the needs of the early mining companies on the Reef. But it has transformed itself many times over in the past 134 years, and it is this innate cultural ability to adapt to change, Dickson says, that has given Reunert its longevity. The business, which had always had a purely industrial focus, later branched into new business areas, including office automation and telecommunications through brands such as Nashua, Nashua Mobile and, more recently, ECN and SkyWire. In addition to chatting about Reunert’s history, Dickson also unpacks the group’s strategy under his leadership; why the business is outperforming the rest of the economy; and why he’s bullish about renewable energy and “new-age” IT systems integration. Lastly, he talks about Reunert’s acquisition strategy, and why the group, which has always had an acquisitive streak, is on the hunt for deals. Don’t miss a great discussion! – © 2022 NewsCentral Media

How would you like a R3-million TV in your living room? Samsung Electronics is happy to oblige – and they’ll even help you install it. Next year, the Korean consumer electronics giant will launch its new range of ultra-high-premium micro-LED televisions in South Africa – and the top-end model, which measures a staggering 126 inches, will set you back a cool three bar. If that’s too much moolah, a 76-inch model is all yours for “just” R1.5-million. In this episode of TC|Daily, Samsung vice president for mobile in South Africa Justin Hume and his colleague, Mike van Lier, consumer electronics director, join Duncan McLeod in-studio to chat not only about TVs aimed at wealthiest of the wealthy, but also about the more mass market-friendly products that the Korean electronics giant is bringing to the local market soon. Hume kicks off the discussion with his views on the local smartphone market, what is driving consumer behaviour, why he thinks upgrade cycles are going to quicken, and why Samsung is all-in on folding phones. Are foldables really the future of smartphones? Will folding phones ever reach down into the mass market? What are the trends in the middle tier and the low end of the market? And is government right to want to switch off 2G and 3G networks in South Africa? Hume answers all these questions, and more. Van Lier then takes TC|Daily viewers and listeners through the company’s latest TVs – including those micro-LED monsters – and why he thinks 8K is going to be come the new standard in display technology in the home, displacing 4K by the end of this decade. Van Lier also talks about the imminent launch of Samsung’s OLED sets in South Africa, and how these differ from its QLED technology. Other topics of discussion include a discussion about the interconnected home and the work Samsung is doing to connect your appliances and your smartphone to create an intelligent ecosystem. Don’t miss the discussion.

Kayamandi, a township next to Stellenbosch, is the subject of two interesting experiments, which, if they succeed, could transform the way South Africans – and the world – connect to the Internet. The township is the site of two fibre deployments, one being led by Vumatel and the other by Isizwe. Both companies are experimenting with driving down the price of uncapped high-speed fibre to previously unheard-of levels – as low as R5/day in the case of Isizwe. In this episode of TC|Daily, Isizwe CEO Steve Briggs – a well-known figure in South Africa’s ICT industry, and most recently a senior executive at Seacom – chats to TechCentral’s Duncan McLeod about the company’s Kayamandi deployment. Briggs unpacks the lessons Isizwe has learnt so far, what uptake has been like in the township, how the technology works and what the business case is for delivering ultra-cheap uncapped Internet into traditionally underserviced areas. He also explains the mechanics of the service and how it works, including Isizwe’s relationship with PayGoZo and VulaCoin, as well as what happens next if the Kayamandi project is successful – and early indications are that it will be – and why it could even prove transformative for South Africa and other emerging markets. Don’t miss the discussion!

EOH Holdings is about to embark on a rights offer, seeking up to R600-million from its long-suffering shareholders as it moves to deal with the unsustainable debt on its balance sheet. At the same time, the share price – R3.10 at the time of publication – has fallen to levels last seen in early 2020, soon after the start of the Covid-19 hard lockdown sent equity markets crashing. Is it all bad news at EOH, or is the market overreacting? Stephen van Coller, EOH’s group CEO, joins TechCentral’s Duncan McLeod in the TC|Daily studio to unpack the debt problem EOH faces: how bad is it, how much is it spending to service this debt, and what happens if the rights issue is not a success? Van Coller, who joined EOH from MTN Group, says getting the capital structure right will put the IT services group on a sustainable footing for profitable growth. Could that mean a rerating of the share price, too? In this episode of TC|Daily, Van Coller unpacks: • The timelines for the rights issue, what shareholders are being asked to do. • Whether EOH will need to sell more businesses, and investor concern that if it does it’ll be cutting into muscle rather than fat. • Whether the entire EOH business could be put for sale. • The profit margins that EOH can reasonably expect in the longer term. The conversation then turns to the legacy corruption issues at EOH. Here Van Coller tackles several thorny issues, including: • The civil suits against former directors, including ex-CEO and co-founder Asher Bohbot, how these suits are progressing, and their chances of success. • Whether we are likely to see criminal prosecutions against former EOH executives anytime soon. • The recent settlement with the Special Investigating Unit over corrupt dealings at the department of water & sanitation, and whether there are any other legacy issues that could cost EOH money. • EOH’s relationship (or lack thereof) with Microsoft. Lastly, Van Coller talks about his time at EOH – and why he would not have taken the job if he’d known he’d be spending his time cleaning up a nest of corruption. He also tells TC|Daily what he may do next when he eventually moves on from the company. Don’t miss the interview!

Joao Zoio is a man on a mission. As CEO of Acumen Software, he is overseeing the development of My Smart City, a platform that integrates with municipalities to try to resolve service delivery issues quickly and efficiently. The platform, available on the Web or via smartphone apps, allows residents to log issues that need attention, from potholes to broken streetlights. It also allows people to connect with a range of on-demand "gig economy" services, including ad hoc home cleaning or gardening services, with more coming. My Smart City recently won the “best enterprise solution” category at the MTN Business App of the Year Awards. Zoio told TechCentral’s Duncan McLeod in this episode of TC|Daily where the idea for My Smart City came from, how the company is working with municipalities to integrate the platform to help resolve service delivery issues faster, and how it makes money -- municipalities don't pay a cent for access. Don’t miss the discussion.

The collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX has sent shockwaves through the crypto community worldwide. In this episode of TC|Daily, Jon Ovadia, CEO of South Africa crypto exchange OVEX, joins TechCentral’s Duncan McLeod from Dubai to talk about FTX’s bankruptcy and what it means for South African crypto players and for the ecosystem more broadly. FTX, which is a shareholder in OVEX, was forced to file for bankruptcy protection after founder Sam Bankman-Fried was unable to secure emergency funding to keep the business afloat after customers took fright and began withdrawing billions of dollars from the exchange. John Ray III, an insolvency expert who oversaw Enron’s liquidation, has been appointed to oversee the FTX bankruptcy. He has described its collapse as the worst case of corporate failure in the more than 40 years he’s been in the insolvency business, and has compared it to the failure of Enron, the Financial Times reported. In this episode of TC|Daily, Ovadia unpacks: • The impact of the FTX collapse on OVEX clients, if any. • OVEX’s decision to revoke FTX’s authority to market its offshore crypto derivatives products in South Africa and what that means. • What went wrong at FTX, why it caught the crypto industry by surprise, and whether fraud or other criminality was likely involved. • The damage to crypto as an investment class as a result – will this incident scare away investors from the crypto space for good? • Whether investors should leave their money in crypto exchanges – is it safe? • Whether better regulation would have prevented the FTX disaster – and are South African regulators doing enough to regulate the crypto space? Ovadia also provides an update on OVEX and its international expansion plans. Don’t miss the discussion!

Former Altron Group and MTN South Africa chief executive Mteto Nyati has strong views on South Africa, specifically regarding the country's potential with the right leadership in place. Nyati joins Duncan McLeod on TechCentral's TC|Daily technology show to chat about the announcement this week that he has acquired a 40% stake in technology and business consultancy BSG (Business Systems Group) and how the deal came about. Nyati, who will serve as BSG's executive chairman, explains why he felt BSG was a good fit for him, and why he believes it will afford him an opportunity to build on his legacy. The conversation touches on a wide range of topics, including why Nyati joined the Eskom board -- an unexpected appointment, he says -- and decided to join the Nedbank and Telkom boards, too. He also provides his views on the outlook for South Africa, and explains why he believes that the country has a bright future -- provided it gets the right leadership in the right places.

Russell Southwood probably knows more about the communications revolution in Africa than anyone. The founder and CEO of Balancing Act Africa, Southwood has covered the industry for decades. In a new book, he's now shared the story of how Africa went from having fewer telephone lines than Manhattan in 1986 to having telecommunications serve as a platform for sweeping changes in the way Africans communicate, connect, entertain themselves and engage in commerce. Southwood's "Africa 2.0 - Inside a Continent's Communications Revolution" tells the story of what sparked the telecommunications boom in Africa and the people and companies who led it from the front. Southwood joins Duncan McLeod in the TechCentral studio to talk to TC|Daily about the book. In the discussion, he relates some of his most memorable experiences of covering ICT in Africa. Other topics covered include: * The importance of prepaid in igniting the communications boom in Africa; * The genesis and rise of mobile money; * Why the sector only boomed when governments got out of the way; and * How corruption has impacted - and continues to affect - the sector. As investments in undersea cables, cloud data centres and fibre networks accelerates, Southwood gives his views what the next chapter might look like for ICT in Africa. Don't miss this great discussion!

Wetility co-founder and CEO Vincent Maposa is a busy man. The alternative energy start-up is helping South African homeowners go solar, overcoming (or at least reducing the impact of) load shedding in the process, using financing models that don’t result in prohibitive upfront capital costs. Wetility – pronounced we-tility – is one of several South African start-ups in this space, including GoSolar and Vivica Group-owned Stage Zero – that help homeowners go partially (or even fully) off-grid while using clever financing models to amortise the cost of the installation over time. In this episode of TC|Daily, Maposa tells TechCentral’s Duncan McLeod about Wetility’s approach to financing, and why the company offers homeowners a range of options, including the ability to pay in full, or to use a subscription model, where they are charged monthly for the energy they use from the sun. Maposa tells McLeod why he started the business, his background as a management consultant with Deloitte and with Cummins, and how Wetility came to be backed by pay-television group MultiChoice. The company, which in the next few weeks is expected to unveil a series-A funding round to help it scale rapidly, talks about why Wetility decided to focus on the residential rather than the business market, how its offerings differ from other players in the market, and what consumers should know about going solar.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find anyone in South Africa as passionate about public broadcasting as Michael Markovitz. A former journalist whose storied career has included serving as adviser to Mandla Langa, the former chairman of communications regulator Icasa, Markovitz has just completed five eventful years as a member of the SABC board. He joins Duncan McLeod in the TC|Daily studio to talk about his experiences at the public broadcaster and why, despite its “capture” under former President Jacob Zuma and the abuse it endured under its former chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng, he still believes there is a strong case to be made for public broadcasting in South Africa. The question, Markovitz says, is who will pay for public broadcasting in an environment where few South Africans are prepared to pay their television licence fees. What funding models are appropriate, and why? Should a household television levy be applied? Markovitz unpacks this thorny issue in this episode of TC|Daily. He also chats about: • His new role as head of the Gordon Institute of Business Science’s new Media Leadership Think-Tank, and what he hopes it will achieve; • The mess the recently departed board of the SABC inherited from the Motsoeneng era and what it took to clean it up; • Whether the SABC can avoid a repeat of that disaster, and policy changes might be needed to protect the corporation from abuse by the executive arm of government; • Why the delay in appointing a new SABC board is highly problematic; • The case for public broadcasting in South Africa and appropriate funding models; • Planned changes to broadcasting legislation; • South Africa’s digital migration disaster and what went wrong; and • The era of streaming and media fragmentation, and what this means for public broadcasting. Don’t miss this great discussion!

Television white-spaces (TVWS) spectrum – the gaps in the frequencies used by terrestrial TV broadcasters – has long been seen as a way of bringing affordable Internet to even remote areas. But what’s happened with the various TVWS initiatives in South Africa? Keith Pitout, a leading local expert on the subject and chief technology officer of Indigo Broadband, joins TechCentral’s Duncan McLeod in the TC|Daily studio to unpack the latest developments – and to explain why he believes TVWS has a bright future ahead of it, despite some early hiccups. In this episode of TC|Daily, Pitout covers: • What TVWS is and how it works; • Why it’s so affordable to deploy and who will benefit from its roll-out in South Africa; • The trial TVWS projects that took place in South Africa; • The CSIR’s involvement, and why it’s been key; • The regulations developed by communications regulator Icasa; • The commercial TVWS projects now being rolled out in South Africa; and • What comes next for TVWS, both from a business and technology perspective. Don’t miss a great discussion about an important technology for bridging the digital divide in South Africa.

The leadership teams at Vumatel and Vuma parent Maziv don't dream small. The company, South Africa's largest provider of fibre-to-the-home broadband infrastructure, has an audacious plan to deploy fibre not only to townships - a project that is already well under way - but also to informal settlements. It doesn't intend doing this via wireless for the "last mile". It wants to deploy a fixed-fibre connection into every house and into every dwelling, even if the household's total income is less than R5 000/month. It wants to drive down the price of uncapped broadband to less than R100/month, and in so doing make uncapped Internet access available to almost everybody in South Africa who wants it. Pie in the sky? No, says Dietlof Mare, CEO of Vumatel and Maziv, in this wide-ranging interview with TechCentral's TC|Daily. The team is working hard to perfect the model and is confident it will be able to do it - and profitably, too. In this episode, Mare talks about the success of the Vuma Reach prepaid fibre roll-out in Mitchells Plain in Cape Town, and how Vuma is replicating that model across the country, including in sprawling townships like Soweto, Vosloorus and Soshanguve in Gauteng. He also unpacks Vuma Key, Vumatel's plan - now in pilot phase - to bring uncapped fibre Internet to places like Alexandra in Johannesburg and Khayelitsha in Cape Town. Also in the interview, Mare talks about: * The creation of Maziv, the new holding company of Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa, and why it was formed; * The latest on the Vodacom acquisition of a significant minority stake in Maziv and what the operator brings to the table; * Consolidation in the fibre network operator market in South Africa, and why the big mobile operators are going to play a leading role in this; and * The importance of open access. Don't miss this fascinating interview.

Cliff de Wit, a former Microsoft South Africa director and now chief technology at Altron's Netstar, is passionate about many things: skills development, the internet of things, artificial intelligence ... even astrophotography. He joins TechCentral's Duncan McLeod in the TC|Daily studio for a wide-ranging -- and fascinating -- discussion on some of the latest technologies Netstar is exploring that take the company's offerings well beyond the traditional tracking and recovery of vehicles it's traditionally known for. Well known in developer circles -- he maintains a keen interest in software development as well as in education and skills development from his Microsoft days -- De Wit chats about how Netstar is taking the vast amount of information the company collects daily, and refining it into something forward-looking, useful and actionable. He also takes us into the world of astrophotography, and much more besides. Don't miss the discussion -- and do subscribe to TC|Daily if you haven't already done so (details below). The full-resolution Milky Way image taken by De Wit that he speaks about in the interview can be found here.

Meet the man behind Showmax. As chief operating officer of MultiChoice Connected Video, Barry Dubovsky is leading the charge to bring the 2022 Fifa World Cup to Showmax Pro in 4K. Dubovsky joins Duncan McLeod in the TC|Daily studio to chat about what has been involved in getting Showmax ready for the World Cup, and what the plans are for bringing other content to the platform in 4K once the global football event has concluded. An Australian national who has previously worked for telecommunications operator Telstra chats about how he ended up working in a senior role for an Africa-focused video entertainment company. He also unpacks what’s involved in running a streaming video service like Showmax. Also in this episode of TC|Daily, Dubovsky discusses: • The tighter integration of Showmax into MultiChoice • What drove the recent price cuts for Showmax Pro • Fragmentation of the video entertainment industry and what comes next • The long-term future of streaming vs satellite and cable Don’t miss the discussion!

The launch of 4K for the 2022 Fifa World Cup, the development of DStv Glass smart TVs, the launch of uncapped fibre services, and more – it’s been a busy period for South Africa’s incumbent pay-TV operator. MultiChoice South Africa CEO Nyiko Shiburi joins TechCentral’s Duncan McLeod in the TC|Daily studio to chat about all the announcements the broadcaster made at its recent DStv Showcase event, and what we can expect from the company in the months ahead. In the discussion, Shiburi talks about: • His background in MultiChoice Group, and how he worked his way up through technical and engineering roles into management, eventually becoming CEO of the key South African operation. • What's been involved in getting MultiChoice ready for the World Cup and 4K broadcasts, including studio upgrades. This includes a look at the modern compression technologies used to minimise bandwidth utilisation as much as possible while still ensuring a good-quality image. • What we can expect next from DStv in terms of 4K content, following the conclusion of the World Cup in December. • How important it is for MultiChoice to be seen as a technological leader. • DStv Glass, the relationship between MultiChoice and the UK’s Sky, and what we should expect from the product offering when it is launched next year. • The strategic thinking behind the “coopetition” with Netflix, Disney and Amazon, which are available as apps on DStv platforms, including the Explora Ultra personal video recorder. • Streaming vs traditional satellite and what’s involved in managing that transition from a technology and cost perspective. • Why MultiChoice became an Internet service provider. Don’t miss the discussion!

The “data-free” messaging app MoyaApp, which already has six million active monthly users in South Africa, is working hard to become as big as WhatsApp in the country. The app’s founder, Gour Lentell, joins Duncan McLeod on TechCentral's technology show, TC|Daily, to talk about how the development of the app is progressing. Lentell talks about the history of MoyaApp, how it’s able to offer “data-free” messaging to people who don’t have data or airtime, and why he believes this is a winning proposition in a country where Meta Platforms-owned WhatsApp has become entrenched. In this episode of TC|Daily, Lentell unpacks: • MoyaApp’s business model • Its growth projections • His background and how he came to create MoyaApp • Why MoyaApp is succeeding in South Africa when China’s WeChat failed • The evolution of instant messaging in South Africa, from Mxit to BBM to WhatsApp • Super apps and their role in the ecosystem – including a discussion on Elon Musk’s plans for Twitter • MoyaApp’s monetisation model • MoyaPay, fintech and a cashless economy Don’t miss this insightful discussion about a homegrown app taking on global giants.

Alviva Holdings’ latest financial results show a group firing on all cylinders – full-year dividend up 90%, revenue up 57% and headline earnings per share up 91%. But can the party last? Group CEO Pierre Spies and Craig Brusden, CEO of technology distributor Axiz (Alviva’s largest subsidiary), join Duncan McLeod in the TC|Daily studio to unpack just how the group managed to turn in such stellar results amid a weak local economy and a constrained global supply chain. Spies and Brunsden unpack: • The impact of Alviva’s acquisition of Tarsus Technology Group. • How Alviva’s three main distribution businesses, Axiz, Pinnacle and Tarsus, differ from each other – and why they are allowed to compete, within bounds. • How the distribution business in South Africa is changing and what that means for the business model. • The impact of the semiconductor supply crisis, which is now easing. • How Amazon.com’s launch of an online retail marketplace in South Africa next year will change the IT distribution game. • The talks to buy out Alviva and take it private – and why Spies believes there is no value in being listed. Don’t miss the discussion.

There has never been a more exciting time to be in the satellite communications industry, says Dawie de Wet, CEO of Pretoria-based Q-KON. In this episode of TC|Daily, De Wet, who is one of South Africa’s leading experts in satellite communications technology, tells TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod about the huge changes happening in the satellite space and what they mean for consumers and for industry. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get the latest episodes of TC|Daily In the interview, De Wet talks about: * The origins of Q-KON; * Why satellite is going through something of a renaissance, despite the proliferation of terrestrial and subsea fibre infrastructure; * GEO (geostationary orbit) vs MEO (medium-earth orbit) vs LEO (low-earth orbit) satellites – what are they, and what are the latest developments in each?; * How satellite technology has advanced in leaps and bounds in recent years; * Why it might not be the mobile operators that drive a consumer revolution in satellite adoption, but why a revolution is coming anyway; * Starlink, OneWeb, Lightspeed, O3b mPower, AST SpaceMobile and other projects – and is there overinvestment taking place?; * How Africa’s needs are different to the rest of the world’s; and * Q-KON’s role in all of this. This is a fascinating discussion about an often overlooked area of the technology industry – don’t miss it.

Spare a thought for Douglas Craigie Stevenson. The Cell C CEO is leading one of the most complex and difficult business turnarounds in South African corporate history. Craigie Stevenson tells TechCentral's Duncan McLeod in this episode of TC|Daily that it's been a stressful few years for the company's management team, but that the long-delayed but recently concluded recapitalisation of the mobile operator's balance sheet has finally put it on a much more sustainable footing. It could all have gone pear-shaped, but Cell C's stakeholders, including its bondholders and its shareholders, have stuck with the business, believing, he says, that, despite its troubles, there is real underlying value that was worth saving. Unlike the previous recap, which did little to solve Cell C's balance sheet woes, Craigie Stevenson explains in the interview that a new strategy and operating model - one in which the company doesn't try to compete with bigger rivals MTN and Vodacom in capital spending - means that it isn't going to repeat the mistakes of the past. That doesn't mean, though, that there isn't still hard work ahead for Craigie Stevenson, his leadership team and Cell C employees, but at least the operator is no longer facing the prospect of going bust. In this episode of TC|Daily, Craigie Stevenson discusses: * Cell C's balance sheet after the recap and what it will look like three years from now and why. * Why Cell C was worth saving. * How Cell C works with Blue Label, its largest shareholder. * How Cell C's strategy differs from its rivals, and what that means for consumers. * The progress in shutting down the company's radio access network and what's involved in the project. * Who Cell C wants as a customer, and why consumers should choose Cell C over its rivals. * The importance of mobile virtual network operators to its business. * The importance of having the right company culture. * Whether MTN's proposed acquisition of Telkom should be allowed to proceed. It's a fascinating discussion - don't miss it!

In many respects, South African IT services firm BCX is at a crossroads. The storied company, which is now owned by Telkom, may soon bring in a strategic equity partner. The industry is also facing significant changes, with the shift to cloud changing the business propositions of traditional systems integrators - BCX among them. CEO Jonas Bogoshi joins Duncan McLeod in the TC|Daily studio for a wide-ranging discussion on the changes sweeping the industry. He talks about everything from the state of the South African IT services sector to BCX's recently announced strategic partnership with Alibaba Cloud. In the interview, Bogoshi unpacks: * His career background, and his love of mathematics; * The state of South Africa’s IT industry; * How is BCX itself doing; * BCX’s cloud strategy; * The relevance of traditional systems integration businesses like BCX in the cloud era; * The Alibaba Cloud partnership and why it's a big deal for BCX; * Corruption in the IT industry - and how to deal with it; and * What government could be doing better, policy wise, to encourage growth in South Africa's technology industry. Don't miss the interview!

Rob Walker, owner and director of the Sasol Solar Challenge, joins TechCentral’s TC|Daily to chat about the biennial event that sees local and international teams “racing” entirely solar-powered vehicles across the length and breadth of South Africa. Founded in 2008 by now GridCars CEO Winstone Jordaan (himself a recent guest on TC|Daily), the 2022 edition of the Sasol Solar Challenge has just concluded. In this episode of TC|Daily, Walker, who bought the event from Jordaan in 2019, talks about the origins of the race and the highlights of the 2022 edition. Walker explains that the “race”, which covers more than 2 000km, is as much about inspiring the youth into the science and engineering fields, with talks at schools along the route, as it is about the teams showing off their design, manufacturing and strategy skills. The ultimate winner is the team that manages to clock the most kilometres travelled. The cars’ solar panels are at the “cutting edge of energy technology and stretch over the entire surface of the unique, knee-high cars”. “The driver sits in an aerodynamic cockpit. Every piece of electronics, carbon fibre, aluminium and steel is as customised as the parts on a Formula 1 racer,” the Sasol Solar Challenge website explains. “The event runs on public roads, sharing space with trucks and regular traffic, and passes through multiple small towns, to the fascination and excitement of local communities who come out in their thousands to witness science and technology in action.”

Walmart-owned retail group Massmart has ambitious plans to become one of the most significant players in e-commerce in South Africa. In this episode of TC|Daily, TechCentral’s new technology show, the retail group’s head of e-commerce, Sylvester John, joins Duncan McLeod in-studio to unpack its plans. John, who was a key figure behind the development of e-commerce platforms at Walmart, believes the online shopping market in South Africa is poised for lift-off – from less than 4% of total retail sales today, he expects the figure to jump to about 12% by the end of the decade. In the interview, John talks about: • How the Covid-19 pandemic changed the e-commerce game globally and in South Africa. • His predictions for the growth of e-commerce in South Africa. • How South Africa compares to other markets, including other developing countries, when it comes to e-commerce. • How Massmart is using its retail brands such as Makro, Builders and Game to go to market while building a supportive backend infrastructure. • Why the group is firmly focused on developing for mobile first. • The acquisitions of WumDrop and OneCart and what they bring to Massmart. • The relevance of Black Friday – and what Massmart has planned for the 2022 event. • The impending launch of Amazon.com retail operations in South Africa and why Massmart is ready for the competition. • The importance of B2B in e-commerce in South Africa. Don’t miss this fascinating discussion with a key player in e-commerce in South Africa. Did you enjoy this content? Please subscribe to our channel.

Former technology journalist and now author and entrepreneur Simon Dingle is the guest in this episode of TechCentral's TC|Daily. Dingle, who co-founded the rand-pegged stablecoin ZARP with Kenny Inggs, chats about some of the latest development in the world of cryptocurrencies. In this episode of TC|Daily, he unpacks: * The thinking behind ZARP * What it takes to run a stablecoin * Stablecoin regulation * Ethereum's big "Merge" - how important was it? * Is crypto bad for the planet? * What to watch for next in crypto * And more... Don't miss the discussion.

Alviva Holdings-owned GridCars has built South Africa’s largest network of charging stations for electric vehicles – more than 300 so far – yet the company is just getting started, says CEO Winstone Jordaan. Jordaan joined TC|Daily, TechCentral new technology show, for a discussion about the roll-out EV charging infrastructure in South Africa. In the show, Jordaan talks about the genesis of GridCars and why he thinks the EV revolution is about to get going in South Africa, despite the country’s electricity supply challenges. If you’re at all interested in EVs, or indeed the future of motoring in South Africa, don’t miss this fascinating interview.

Big changes are coming to the payments industry in South Africa early next year, including cheap and instantaneous payments directly to mobile numbers – no bank account number or branch code required. BankservAfrica has been working behind the scenes for years on a major system overhaul that, when it goes live, will dramatically shake up the financial services sector in South Africa, ushering in a new era of fintech-led innovation. Through a project called the Rapid Payments Programme (RPP) – which will be launched commercially under the name PayShap – South Africans will be able to transfer money instantly from their phones, even, once developed, from instant messaging apps like WhatsApp. The new platform will usher in a dramatic modernisation of the payments system, with cloud services, open application programming interfaces and a flexible microservices architecture forming the foundation for further development by industry players. Indeed, the launch PayShap early in 2023 promises to herald a new era of rapid digital payments in South Africa that BankservAfrica believes could begin to displace cash from the economy – astonishingly, despite the country’s sophisticated banking sector, almost nine in 10 transactions are still cash based. In this episode of TC|Daily, BankservAfrica CEO Jan Pilbauer joins TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod in-studio to talk about the RPP, the launch of PayShap, what it means for innovation in banking and fintech in South Africa, and how companies, including fintech start-ups and social media companies, can use it to develop cutting-edge solutions. BankservAfrica is a non-profit company established 50 years ago that serves as a financial clearing house for the financial sector. It is a vital cog in South Africa’s economy and is owned by the big banks – Absa, Nedbank, Standard Bank and FirstRand each hold about 23.1% of its equity, while the remaining 7.5% is held by an entity called Dandyshelf, whose shareholders include Capitec, Investec, Bidvest and Sasfin.

Andy Higgins is a pioneer in e-commerce in South Africa – just don’t call him a “veteran”, he says, because the industry is still just getting started and he plans to be a part of its development for years to come. In this interview on TechCentral’s new technology show, TC|Daily, Higgins joins Duncan McLeod in the studio to talk about his latest venture, called Bob Group, which is an amalgamation of two businesses he either founded or c-founded, Bidorbuy and uAfrica. Higgins, who started Bidorbuy in 1999 at the height of the dot-com bubble, has many interesting stories to tell – about venture capital excesses, global expansion and the inevitable pain that followed the dot-com collapse – and he shares some of these tales in this show. Now Higgins and his team are launching a new venture, which he hopes will make it easier for small and medium businesses to sell their products online in South Africa. It’s going to put Bob Group on a collision course with well-funded rivals like Takealot – and possibly Amazon from next year – but Higgins says he’s ready for it. Bob Group will offer a full suite of e-commerce services to South African businesses, including an online marketplace, inventory management, order fulfilment, a shipping tool, online payments and courier software as a service. It “offers everything e-commerce to all South African consumers and companies operating online, whether they are looking to sell, buy – or both”. “The merger means that merchants will now be offered a complete set of e-commerce services, including payments, logistics and a marketplace,” Higgins said earlier this week about the launch of Bob Group. In this episode of TC|Daily, he unpacks more details about Bob Group, and gives his views on what the (still not officially confirmed) launch of Amazon in South Africa early next year will mean for the local e-commerce landscape. Don’t miss this fascinating discussion.

Despite the challenges in convincing South African drivers to ditch fossil fuel-powered vehicles for electric alternatives, Mercedes-Benz South Africa co-CEO Mark Raine predicts that more than half of the company’s car sales locally by the end of 2026 will be fully electric. That’s just four years from now (plus a few months), yet Raine believes the South African luxury vehicle-buying market is ready for this massive shift. And he’s betting big on it, with Mercedes announcing four new EVs coming to local showrooms that it hopes will, umm, electrify fans of the badge. Speaking on TC|Daily, TechCentral’s new technology show, Raine unpacked in an interview with Duncan McLeod what must happen in the coming years for EVs to take off in the same way they are expected to in markets like Europe and North America. In the show, Raine chats about the state of the industry in South Africa following the Covid pandemic and last year’s riots in KwaZulu-Natal, as well as Mercedes’ investments locally, including in its flagship manufacturing plant in East London, which manufactures C-Class Mercedes-Benz vehicles for markets around the world. In the show, Raine talks about: • Why he believes the local market is ready to adopt EVs, despite concerns about load shedding, charging networks and range anxiety; • Whether government is doing enough to encourage the uptake of EVs (spoiler: it’s not); and • Whether we can expect Mercedes to build EVs in South Africa anytime soon. He then takes TC|Daily viewers through the EV models that Mercedes is introducing in South Africa this year: the EQA, the EQB, the EQC and the top-of-the-line EQS. If you haven't already subscribed to TechCentral's YouTube channel, please do so now. TC|Daily is also available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Pocket Casts.

In the inaugural episode of TechCentral’s new technology show, TC|Daily, Sean Sanders, CEO of Cape Town-based cryptocurrency platform Revix, chats to host Duncan McLeod about the imminent “Merge” affecting the ethereum blockchain and what it means. Sanders explains what the Merge is, how it will impact the blockchain and what it might mean for investors in the ether token. Could it even lead to the so-called “Flippening”, where ether overtakes bitcoin to become the most valuable crypto token by market cap? The wide-ranging conversation with Sanders also touches on the recent (current?) crypto winter and the impact this has had on South African investors in crypto (and on Revix specifically). Other topics discussed include: • Consumer vs institutional investment in crypto in South Africa; • Crypto’s correlation with US technology stocks – will it last?; • Could crypto still become a hedge against inflation?; • The Prudential Authority's recent “practice note” to South African banks regarding cryptocurrency exchanges – how significant is it?; • What’s happening when it comes to crypto regulation in South Africa?; and • Taxing crypto investments in South Africa – the current state of play with the South African Revenue Service.