OpEd: Hallucinations Aren't the Big Insult in SA's Draft AI Policy
South Africa’s draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy is essentially a non‑policy, filled with vague language and six newly proposed regulatory bodies that duplicate existing agencies. The document also references an undefined Integrated AI‑Powered Monitoring Centre and contains hallucinated citations that expose a reliance on unreliable large‑language‑model outputs. By contrast, Zimbabwe’s AI strategy presents concrete KPIs, embeds the ubuntu philosophy, and offers a clear roadmap to avoid digital colonialism. The op‑ed argues that the real insult is the absence of substantive policy rather than the hallucinations themselves.
Cassava Plans AI Factory in Joburg, as Cape Town Goes Live
Cassava Technologies is set to launch its first AI factory in Cape Town within weeks, leveraging Nvidia’s AI platform, and is already planning a second 20 MW AI factory in Johannesburg. The facilities will deliver high‑performance computing, GPU‑as‑a‑service and AI‑as‑a‑service to...
Unified Identity Layer Key to Securing Agentic AI
Silverfort will headline the ITWeb Security Summit 2026 in Johannesburg, urging firms to replace fragmented point solutions with a unified identity security layer. The company highlights two pressures: outdated legacy infrastructure that was never fully secured, and the emergence of...
Why IT Strategies Fail
Strategy expert Anael Granoux warns that overly long, jargon‑filled IT strategies distract organizations. He advocates a concise, four‑page execution framework focused on clarity and alignment with business goals. Together with Wolfpack MD Craig Rosewarne, they will run a hands‑on workshop...
MTN Loses Labour Bid over ‘Unremorseful’ Ex-Employee
MTN's attempt to appeal a Labour Court decision was rejected. The court dismissed MTN's argument that an employee who shows no remorse cannot be reinstated, noting the precedent cited (De Beers) was not applicable. The appeal concerned a November 2025 ruling...
Holistic, Proactive New Approach to Financial Planning
Financial planning is shifting from a finance‑centric, static annual cycle to a proactive, enterprise‑wide process. Cloud‑based planning platforms, real‑time data integration and AI‑driven analytics now connect finance, operations and strategy. Continuous, integrated budgeting and forecasting enable firms to react instantly...
SA Women Entrepreneurs Selected for Amazon Incubator
Amazon South Africa and the female accelerator WomHub have launched the first Amazon Sustainable Sellers Incubator, selecting 35 women‑led manufacturing businesses across the country. The nine‑month program, beginning next month, combines circular‑economy training, digital‑skills development, and e‑commerce enablement on Amazon’s...
SA Young Scientists Head to Arizona
Three South African high‑school learners will represent the nation at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in Phoenix from May 9‑15. Their projects span urban sustainability, gravitational‑wave detection, and AI‑driven organ‑transplant research, reflecting cutting‑edge applications of machine learning. The...
MTN Transparency Report Shows R4.8bn Tax Contribution in SA
MTN Group reported a total tax contribution of R61.1 billion (≈$3.3 billion) across its 16 markets in 2025, up from R52.7 billion the year before. In South Africa alone, MTN SA paid R4.8 billion (≈$260 million) in taxes, covering corporate, indirect, payroll and dividend taxes....
AI Rewards Senior Developers, Side-Lines Juniors
South Africa’s developer community is feeling the financial ripple of AI, with 36% reporting higher earning potential after integrating AI tools into their workflows. The OfferZen "State of SA’s Developer Nation 2026" report shows 44% of developers actively upskilling in...
Parly Committee Flags ICT Weaknesses at Medical Scheme Body
South Africa’s Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health that its 20‑year‑old ICT platform is hampering service delivery and caused its complaint‑resolution rate to slip from 85% to 75%. The committee warned that outdated systems increase...
Crypto Non-Compliance Could Land South Africans in Jail
South Africa’s National Treasury is drafting new Capital Flow Management Regulations that would bring crypto‑assets under the country’s exchange‑control framework. Breaches could attract up to five years in prison, a R1 million fine (about $54,000) or both, and authorities could demand...
UJ Launches AR Heritage Experience at Melville Koppies
The University of Johannesburg, partnering with the Melville Koppies Management Committee, will unveil an augmented‑reality heritage experience on 1 May. Visitors can use smartphones to view a 3‑D reconstruction of a 500‑year‑old Batswana smelter over the archaeological remains, complemented by new...
SA Firms Turn to Quantum Computing Amid Uncertainty
South African companies are moving from theory to practice by experimenting with hybrid quantum‑classical computing, according to a new PwC analysis. The study highlights quantum amplitude estimation as a way to dramatically reduce Monte Carlo simulations needed for extreme‑risk modelling. With...
Budget Constraints Limit Stats SA Data
Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) says its limited budget and tiny staff prevent it from adopting scanner‑based point‑of‑sale data to produce real‑time inflation measures. The agency currently relies on a team of two to three part‑time analysts, while the UK’s...
SA Start-Up Pitches ‘Sovereign AI’ for Defence at US Summit
Safeza AVA‑X, a Cape Town AI start‑up, was chosen as one of eight global firms to pitch on the defence track at the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington, DC. The company will showcase its on‑premises, sovereign‑aligned video‑analytics platform, which runs...
Top ICT Tenders: Defence Dept to Upgrade Websites
South Africa’s Department of Defence (DOD) has issued a three‑year ICT tender to outsource the development, hosting and maintenance of eight defence‑related websites, including those for the Navy, Army and Air Force. None of the current sites use HTTPS, prompting...
AI Cannot Replace Human Imagination, Curiosity
At the ITWeb AI Summit 2026, Sandra Lehmann, chief actuary of Discovery Vitality, warned that artificial intelligence cannot replicate core human traits such as imagination, curiosity, and empathy. While AI excels at rapid multitasking and can act as a silent...
AI Demands a New Kind of Financial Services Business
At an IBM‑hosted roundtable in Stellenbosch, South African financial‑services leaders examined how artificial intelligence is reshaping their industry. IBM’s Enterprise 2030 report, based on 2,000 executive interviews, found that 79% of South African executives believe AI will add significant revenue by...
Spatial Announces the Release 2026 1.0.1: New Enhancements Across 3D InterOp, Data Prep, Meshing, and 3D Modeling SDKs
Spatial Corp., a Dassault Systèmes subsidiary, unveiled version 1.0.1 of its 2026 SDK suite, adding new capabilities across 3D InterOp, Data Prep, ACIS and CGM modelers, and its CSM/CVM meshing tools. The update expands CAD format support to JT 10.11, NX 2512 and Solid Edge 2026,...
Heidi Health Enters SA Market as Clinician-Led AI Grows
Heidi, an AI‑driven clinical care platform, has officially launched in South Africa after organically attracting more than 15,000 local clinicians. The service now powers roughly 1.5 million consultations each month, with weekly active usage climbing 500% year‑on‑year. By offering offline‑capable, multilingual...
ITWeb TV: Audiences Embrace Multi-Platform Entertainment
Thabile Ngwato, co‑founder of Newzroom Afrika and CEO of Rapid Innovation Group, explained on ITWeb TV why linear television remains dominant in South Africa despite rapid OTT growth. She highlighted that fragmented audience habits demand a multi‑platform approach, with broadcasters needing to...
Slow AI Adoption Fuels Dangerous ‘Shadow AI’ Inside Companies
Corporate leaders trying to slow AI adoption for governance reasons are inadvertently encouraging the rise of “shadow AI,” where employees use unsanctioned public tools. This unchecked usage creates data‑leak, compliance, and cyber‑risk exposure. Ngubeni, Standard Bank’s data office head, warned...
Malatsi Still Awaiting ICASA Feedback on EEIPs
South Africa’s communications minister Solly Malatsi said the Independent Communications Authority (ICASA) is still reviewing his policy directive that would allow equity‑equivalent investment programmes (EEIPs) to satisfy the 30% historically‑disadvantaged ownership rule for telecom licences. The directive, issued in December,...
Warehouse Software Delays Cost Clicks R175m
Clicks disclosed that delays in rolling out a new warehouse management system at its Cape Town distribution centre shaved roughly R175 million ($9.2 million) – about 0.9% – off retail turnover during the festive period. The shortfall was amplified by aggressive discounting...
SA Public Sector Urged to Build Trust in AI
South Africa's public sector must build trust in AI through stronger governance, clearer accountability, and focused skills development, as adoption remains limited. At the ITWeb AI Summit 2026, panelists discussed the newly released AI Policy Framework, which calls for transparency,...
Ethical AI a Business Imperative, Not a Choice, Summit Hears
At the ITWeb AI Summit 2026, experts warned that ethical AI is a business imperative for African firms. Tahir Latif of Securiti AI emphasized that retrofitting trust into deployed models is costly and that $5 billion penalties for global breaches make ethics‑by‑design...
Businesses Must Move Beyond AI Hype to Real Value
At the ITWeb AI Summit, TransUnion Africa CEO Lee Naik warned South African firms that AI hype must give way to measurable outcomes, trusted governance, and scalable delivery. He labeled many pilot projects “zombie pilots” that drain budgets without ROI....
The Rise of Africa’s AI Factories
The concept of an AI factory—an integrated ecosystem that mass‑produces data‑driven intelligence—is moving from theory to reality in Africa. In October 2025 Altron opened South Africa’s first operational AI factory at a Teraco NVIDIA‑ready data centre, and in March 2026 Cassava Technologies...
Cape Town City App Adds Emergency Response
Cape Town’s municipal mobile app now includes an emergency reporting module, allowing residents to log by‑law and criminal incidents directly from their phones. The feature, built by the city’s emergency policing incident control team, supports 17 predefined categories such as...
Calls for Tech Regulators to Keep Pace with Rapid Tech Changes
Industry leaders gathered in Sandton to debate South Africa’s evolving ICT regulatory landscape, highlighting the complexity of competition law, merger approvals and the draft National AI Policy. The panel examined recent high‑profile deals such as Vodacom’s 30% stake in Maziv...
City Power Hits Back on Solar Registration Process
City Power has rejected OUTA’s criticism that its small‑scale energy generation (SSEG) registration process adds unnecessary red tape, asserting the steps and fees remain unchanged. The utility outlines an eight‑stage procedure, emphasizing that only existing compliance requirements—such as a valid...
Google Backs SA Start-Ups Tackling African Challenges
Google’s Start‑ups Accelerator Africa announced its 10th cohort, selecting 15 startups—including South Africa’s Loop and Vambo AI—from nearly 2,600 applicants. Each will receive up to $350,000 in Google Cloud credits, mentorship, and access to a global investor network. The program, now...
Capitec Ramps up AI, Smart ID Rollout
Capitec Bank reported a 23% jump in headline earnings to R16.8 billion (about $885 million) for the year ended February 2025. The JSE‑listed lender now serves 26 million active clients, with personal banking up 7% and fully‑banked customers up 12%. It accelerated its...
Visibility-Led Security Key to Pre-Emptive Defence: Exclusive Networks
Exclusive Networks is sponsoring the ITWeb Security Summit 2026 in Johannesburg to engage Africa’s cyber‑security ecosystem. The event will feature an Infoblox workshop that demonstrates how deep visibility into everyday internet traffic can reveal compromised devices, command‑and‑control activity and data...
Draft Law Puts Crypto Under SA Exchange Control Regime
South Africa’s National Treasury has released Draft Capital Flow Management Regulations 2026, classifying crypto assets as capital and bringing them under the country’s exchange‑control regime. The draft bars individuals and firms without a licence from transacting above an as‑yet‑undetermined threshold...
The CIO's Case for South Africa's AI Governance Model
South Africa’s draft National AI Policy proposes a distributed governance model, assigning AI oversight to existing sector regulators rather than creating a single AI authority. The approach contrasts with OpenAI’s call for centralized industrial policy and the EU’s AI Act,...
Sentech Urges Investment in SA’s Digital Infrastructure
Sentech CEO Tebogo Leshope urged South Africa to accelerate investment in digital infrastructure, emphasizing data‑centre capacity as a catalyst for economic growth and AI adoption. The government’s Operation Vulindlela 2.0 programme now lists data‑centres alongside electricity, ports and transport as priority...
GoTyme Bank in Mall Expansion Drive After Pick N Pay Exit
South Africa’s digital‑only GoTyme Bank is shifting its customer acquisition strategy from Pick n Pay kiosks to a network of mall‑based "customer hubs" across major urban centres. The bank has already launched hubs in Gauteng’s Rosebank, Dobsonville, Centurion and Maponya...
ANALYSIS: Big Tech Sets AI to Catch AI
Advanced AI is reshaping cyber‑security as both a weapon and a shield. Hackers leveraged over 1,000 AI prompts to breach Mexico’s tax authority, exposing 195 million records and prompting one of the largest government data leaks. At the same time, Anthropic’s...
Deep Dive Into the New Kill Chain
Cyberrey will present at the ITWeb Security Summit JHB 2026, unveiling what it calls a "new kill chain" driven by AI‑powered shadow IT. The firm warns that every device, API or cloud workload now creates an exponential attack surface that outpaces...
Vercel Data Breach Exposes SA Developer Community
Vercel, the US‑based platform behind the popular Next.js framework, disclosed a security incident in which attackers accessed internal systems through a compromised third‑party AI tool, Context.ai. The breach allowed the intruder to obtain non‑sensitive environment variables from a limited set...
Common Challenges of Online Fraud
Harold van Graan of Solid8 Technologies outlines how online fraud has evolved beyond simple transaction theft to include checkout abuse, inventory hoarding, loyalty fraud, and promo abuse. Bots can empty high‑value stock in seconds, while account‑takeover schemes siphon points and...
Top ICT Tenders: RTMC Looks to Panel for IT Needs
The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has launched a three‑year invitation for vendors to join an IT services panel, with an optional two‑year extension. The panel will provide hardware, software, support and maintenance for RTMC’s 1,500 staff and the National...
Organisations Delusional About Ransomware Recovery Capability
Veeam’s Data Trust and Resilience Report 2026 reveals a stark gap between confidence and reality: while 90% of organisations say they can recover from a cyber incident, fewer than one‑third of ransomware victims fully restore their data and the average recovery...
SAPS Medical Aid Scheme Probes Potential Data Breach
Polmed, the medical aid scheme for South African Police Service members, is investigating a suspected data breach after a threat actor issued a ransom demand on March 25. The scheme has engaged independent cyber‑security and forensic specialists and reported the...
ITWeb TV: Google on Localisation Quest, Says SA Boss
Google South Africa director Kabelo Makwane outlined the company’s multi‑year push to deepen digital infrastructure on the continent. The launch of the first Africa‑based Google Cloud region follows a $1 billion investment in the Equiano subsea cable, which has boosted bandwidth...
AI Boom Collides with Skills Shortage in SA Workforce
South Africa faces a talent paradox as AI adoption accelerates while a deep skills shortage persists, according to Mercer’s 2026 Global Talent Trends report. The study, based on nearly 12,000 respondents, finds 52% cite talent scarcity and 50% point to...
Vuma’s Fibre Initiative Connects 1 000 SA Schools
South African fibre operator Vuma has linked 1,000 schools to broadband, giving roughly 860,000 learners and 40,000 teachers online access. The rollout, launched in 2020, is part of parent company Maziv’s broader push to expand digital infrastructure nationwide. Officials at...
Adumo Payment Tech Exposed, Hackers Offer Data for $7 000
Lesaka-owned Adumo, South Africa’s largest independent payments processor, suffered a cyber intrusion that exposed a 14‑GB technical database and source code, listed for $7,000 on a dark‑web marketplace. The breach involved 15,546 files but, according to the company, no consumer...