Could the gadgets that are widely promoted as a safer alternative to using a cell phone be just as risky as manually making or receiving a call or text message at the wheel? According to the National Safety Council (NSC) in the United States, they might be. Their argument? Using devices such as a Bluetooth earpiece or dashboard holder is every bit as big a distraction as handheld cell phone use.
Congestion in Cape Town and Johannesburg remains one of the biggest headaches for South Africans. Unfortunately, the problem only seems to be getting worse year on year. In 2016 traffic app developer TomTom declared Cape Town the most congested city in the country, informally taking the title from Johannesburg.
Store accounts have overtaken credit cards as the most frequently-used credit payment method, according to a recent report by debt counselling firm Debt Rescue. The study, which looked at the types of debt incurred by consumers under debt-review, the age-group debt exposure and the debt-type ratio, found that the number of customers who shopped on their store card increased by 5.6% from 15.2% to 20.8% during the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.
In 2017, Gumtree launched its first pre-owned vehicle awards, in order to recognise and award the best-selling second-hand cars in South Africa. While the used market has slowed down, it still outruns the new market. As of 2017, the demand for new cars had increased by 3% from 2016, while the demand for used cars decreased by 1.5%.
Tshwane Auto City, in Gauteng, is set to become Africa’s first auto city and the new car manufacturing capital of South Africa. The mixed use project, estimated to eventually be worth around R50 billion was recently launched into its first phase of development in Rosslyn, known as Rosslyn Hub, covering 100 hectares of land.
Your Household Insurance provider may in future not be the only company you need to inform when installing solar panels at your home. If the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) gets its way, you will be required to register with them before wiring up a backup generator or solar panel at home.
Following the 1% Value Added Tax (VAT) increase earlier this year, the National Treasury is looking to expand on the 19 basic food items that are exempt from tax. For this, the Treasury appointed an independent panel to reassess the country’s current list of products taxed at a rate of 0% and draw up proposals on how government can ease the impact of the VAT-increase on poor and low-income households.
Health Minister, Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi has proposed various changes to the Medical Aid industry. On Tuesday, 15 May, Motsoaledi presented his proposals to the relevant cabinet members for consideration. The proposals focus on changes to co-payments, tariffs, and access to immunisation and contraception.
On May 1st of this year Chinese President Xi Jinping oversaw the expansion of the ‘Social Credit’ system in his country, shortly after being named President for life by his own political party. These two developments are so significant that it becomes difficult to say which could have the more far reaching impact for China.
A host of factors have been contributing to the steady increase of traffic on Cape Town’s roads, so much so that it’s officially the most congested city in South Africa. The city’s infrastructure is being pushed to the very limits to try and deal with all the congestion, but unless something drastic happens, and quickly, it looks like the situation will only continue to worsen.
According to the 2017 Liberty Claim Statistics Report, which outlines claims paid to policyholders during 2017, there are two illnesses that pose the biggest risk to South Africans today. Not only do they pose a health risk to people, but they have also proven to be responsible for some of the biggest claims made in 2017.
When buying a new TV, smartphone or computer from a retailer, you might be offered an extended warranty, which is essentially a replacement or repair plan the store offers for a small fee. While this practice has come under heavy criticism from the National Credit Regulator (NCR), a recent High Court ruling allows stores to push extended warranties for consumer electronics and charge them club membership fees.
On 6 April 2018, The South African Revenue Service (SARS) announced that all cryptocurrencies in South Africa will be subject to the country’s normal tax regulations. This means that any taxpayer in possession of a cryptocurrency must declare it as part of their annual tax submission as either a gain or loss.
To support your claim for credit worthiness, the National Credit Act (NCA), previously required you to provide proof of your income when applying for credit such as Personal Loans. While the confirmation of gross income is still a key lending criterium that credit providers must follow, a recent ruling by the Western Cape High Court removed the requirement for proof of income documents on credit applications.
TransUnion is overhauling the eligibility criteria for credit and Personal Loans by introducing a new scoring model to assess the credit risk of consumers. The credit bureau believes the easing of the features that facilitate lending could help push up the number of consumers qualifying for a Personal Loan by an additional three-million.
On 27 March 2018, S&P Global Ratings raised South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 2%, from 1%. This optimistic forecast is in part due to increased confidence of local and foreign investors after the country’s leadership change, but also an increased demand for goods, a stronger Rand and lower than expected inflation.
According to Andile Mazwai, CEO of the National Stokvels Association of South Africa (NASASA), there are around 11 million people in the country who belong to one or more stokvels, with the industry estimated to be worth around R45 billion. While the system has remained hugely popular in recent years as a means of saving for various situations, its history dates all the way back to 1932, with burial stokvels.
Keeping up with maintenance is perhaps the single thing car owners can do to extend the operating lifetime of their vehicles. Failing to regularly service one’s vehicle not only creates a safety hazard on the road but may also result in mechanical breakdowns, which do not qualify for Car Insurance payouts.
In February 2018 the South African Revenue Service (SARS) released a statement that it had paid more than R205-billion in refunds across all tax types in the past 10 and a half months. SARS said the huge payout to individuals and companies from the beginning of the financial year on April 1, 2017 to February 9, 2018, represented a remarkable boost to the economy given the current economic climate.
Standard and Poor (S&P) believes that despite ongoing political noise and economic uncertainties in the country, the South African banking sector is showing signs of stability for the first time since 2013. In a recent report that tracks the performance of local finance groups, the rating firm assigned a positive outlook to domestic banks because of their continued robust financial performance.
On 21 February 2018, former Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba delivered his first and, subsequently, last budget speech to the nation. While the budget was tough in order to increase the country’s revenue and secure free higher education, South Africans will be feeling more financially strained in the coming months, although the most vulnerable households have been thought of and cared for. The key elements of the budget speech are outlined below.
According to economic experts, Cape Town’s current drought situation is expected to have far reaching effects on the municipal and national economy. With a knock-on effect on the travel, agriculture, and even Business Insurance sector due to damage or loss of assets, Moody’s Investor Services have indicated that the drought could lead to another credit downgrade for South Africa.
Have you been receiving text messages on your mobile phone claiming to come from your bank, asking you to provide your login details in order to claim a prize? You’re not alone. According to the Ombud for Banking Services, a growing number of consumers have escalated phishing-related disputes with their bank in the last year.
Toyota’s South African division recently (January 25th) recalled more than 700 000 vehicles because of potentially faulty airbags, the company said. The Japanese car manufacturer stated that the recall was necessary to replace front airbag inflators produced by parts firm Takata, as it was discovered that the airbags have a potential for moisture intrusion, which could cause them to burst.
The draft National Credit Amendment Bill, published on 24 November 2017 for public comment aims to reduce and/or extinguish debt for individuals under certain circumstances. It has now been viewed and commented on by the public and been subject to public hearings, with no further information released as to whether it will be adopted or not as it is still being debated by all relevant parties.
A significant change to the insurance market in South Africa is now a reality after the long-awaited Insurance Bill was signed into law by President Jacob Zuma. The Bill, which made its way through the agenda of the National Assembly in December 2017 and finally landed on the President’s desk in mid-January, will give lower-income citizens access to micro-insurance.
Uber has proved its dedication to being at the forefront of new technology, after it decided to buy 24 000 Volvo sport utility vehicles to create its very own fleet of autonomous cars. The XC90 SUV’s will be delivered to Uber from 2019 to 2021, where the app-based taxi company will then add its own software to the cars to make them autonomous.
The National Credit Regulator (NCR) in October 2017 ruled that the addition of on-the-road fees to vehicle finance agreements is not among the list of extra charges permissible by the National Credit Act. The NCR notice was the result of an investigation into VW Financial Services and BMW Finance, who were found guilty of slipping in additional costs into car buyers’ bills.
The governing party’s 54th elective conference took place in Johannesburg last month, where the party elected a new National Executive Committee (NEC). Apart from the newly elected top six officials of the party, the African National Congress (ANC) also elected 80 additional members to its new NEC. Here is a recap of the party’s top six officials.
With the festive season road fatality statistics expected to be announced soon, the topic of road safety will once again be in the national focus. Meanwhile, the Automobile Association (AA) released the results of its annual ‘Safer Roads in SA’ report, highlighting specific road safety issues. The report is based on surveys of South African motorists, revealing their attitudes toward key road safety challenges, and giving insight into what actions need to be taken to make our roads safer for everyone.
South African motorists felt a steep rise in the petrol price on 6 December 2017 of 71 cents per litre, due to an average increase in the international price of crude oil and the weakened exchange rate. This last increase brought the price of 95 octane petrol inland to R14.76 per litre, and to R14.27 per litre along the coast.
TransUnion's Vehicle Price Index (VPI) picked up a slight increase in the prices of second-hand cars in South Africa, although the used-car market still attracts significant interest from vehicle buyers due to affordable, reliable and reasonably young bargains and the likelihood of lower Car Insurance.
The international market research group Ipsos recently released their annual vehicle quality survey findings which were obtained from over 7 000 interviews with vehicle owners who bought new vehicles in 2016. This survey highlighted a number of positive points about the South African automotive industry, such as the fact that South African vehicle buyers have one of the widest selections of new vehicles to choose from and very high standards with respect to vehicle quality.
Research results of a joint venture between research house, Lightstone Explore, and vehicle tracking company, Tracker, has provided insights into the driving habits of thousands of motorists in South Africa, which reveals that Sasol service stations attract the greatest number of motorists per service station in the country, with Shell service stations taking second place, reports Engineering News.
On 28 November 2017, parliament passed the Labour Laws Amendment Bill that allows fathers the right to take 10 days paid paternity leave. The bill has been hailed as a landmark achievement as it allows for not only new fathers to access this type of leave, but also for the LGBTQI (lesbian‚ gay‚ bisexual‚ transsexual‚ queer and intersex) community to access this type of leave for the first time.
While the trending scams in South Africa today may be a bit different to the Trending Scams in South Africa a few years ago, they’re just as prevalent as ever. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is currently investigating 19 potential deposit-based scams, and within the last five years over 5 000 advance-fee schemes have been reported.
Sikhulile Moyo, Research Associate and Deputy Laboratory Director at the Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute at Harvard University, where he is responsible for laboratory support of clinical trials, recently released a report that the institute has designed a new tool that is able to track HIV infection rates cheaply and accurately.
On 6 October 2017, Minister of Transport, Joe Maswanganyi announced that motorists renewing their licences in 2018 will be paying substantially more. The increase is significant compared to previous years, with the Justice Project of South Africa (JPSA) calling on the minister to justify the hefty increase.
The sale of fake medical certificates has become a booming business in Cape Town, with 10 unregistered or illegal practises recently revealed to the public by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). The list consists of practitioners from the areas of Gugulethu, Kuils River, Makhaza and Khayelitsha.
Cheap new plastic heart valves used for the treatment of rheumatic heart disease (RHD) have been developed at the University of Cape Town, heralding a breakthrough procedure in the field of cardiology weeks before the 50th anniversary on December 3 of the world’s first heart transplant performed in Cape Town by Doctor Christiaan Barnard.
Drivelines Studios, a new urban development project which began in 2014 in the Maboneng area of Johannesburg, has officially opened. The project brings affordable housing to the city, with the use of recycled and transformed ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) containers built into a multi storey apartment block.
The celebration of Black Friday on 24 November, which spotlights the best deals, discounts and prices in retail, marks the official start of the festive shopping season. The staging of a day of promotional sales is a trend that has grown into the biggest shopping day of the year and continues through to Cyber Monday on the 27th November, when online stores give consumers another chance to bag a bargain.
On Tuesday, 12 September 2017, the Pietermaritzburg High Court found the results of the ANC’s KwaZulu-Natal elective conference in 2015 to be invalid. Judge Jerome Mnguni delivered the judgement that could result in 30 members of the provincial executive committee that were elected during the conference losing their positions.
On Wednesday, 30 August 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the United States approved a revolutionary new cancer treatment for childhood leukaemia. As the first gene therapy to be approved, it is being hailed as a historic approach to the treatment of cancer and possibly other diseases.
With ongoing violence between metered-taxi operators and Uber drivers, a 12-hour meeting between representatives of the meter taxi association, Uber, Taxify, Zebra cabs and the Minister of Transport, Joe Maswanganyi recently took place to discuss possible solutions to the lack of regulation in the industry.
Every year, research universities and hospitals announce new medical discoveries that make the world's most dreaded diseases seem less severe by offering new treatments and medications. Now, scientists have made another breakthrough that could pave the way for new treatments for HIV/AIDS and cancer.
A study conducted by the Lightstone Property Group for the 2015/2016 financial year revealed surprising results, with the study showing that the administrative capital of South Africa also happens to be the car crime capital. The Pretoria CBD recorded the highest number of car crimes, and not Johannesburg, as would have been expected.
Debit orders make it easier for consumers to stay on top of their monthly bills, whether it’s a retail account or a Personal Loan. But, the automated payment system also has a dark side: that dreaded SMS notification from the bank informing account holders that money has been collected from their salary by an unfamiliar creditor. What follows is an often inconvenient process to dispute and reverse the debit order.
While social grants were successfully paid on Tuesday, 4 April 2017, the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), has admitted that the crisis over the distribution of social grants should not have happened. While a new service provider will be appointed by December 2017 in order for grant payments to continue, let’s find out how the crisis happened in the first place.
Old Mutual’s Long-Term Perspective Report for 2017 highlights a frightening picture of the escalating living costs for South Africans in the next 10 to 25 years. Among other things, the report reveals how inflation will impact the cost of buying a car, getting private healthcare and sending your child to school in the near future.
General Motors (GM), manufacturers of the well-known Chevrolet and Opel vehicles, announced on 18 May 2017 that it would withdraw its business from South Africa. The US company has been based in Struandale, Port Elizabeth since 1926, briefly pulling out in the 1980s due to the apartheid regime but re-entering again after the fall of apartheid.
The Steve Biko Academic hospital in Pretoria recently received high-end medical equipment as a donation from the Chinese government. The medical equipment, which is estimated to be worth over R1.5 million, includes a high-end portable colour ultrasound system, SynoVent E5 Adult/Neonate ventilators, 24 vital signs patient monitors, and an A7 high-end anaesthesia workstation. The Steve Biko Academic Hospital is the first beneficiary of a cooperation agreement in healthcare between Africa and China that was made in 2015 during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Health Ministerial Meeting.
Over the years, Cape Town has managed to scrape in on a few international rankings, from the Most Beautiful City and Best Foreign City to Global Sustainable City and World's Best City. Now, it is also one of the cities where you're most likely to sit in gridlock during peak hours according to Navigation Company Tom Tom.
For many University of South Africa (UNISA) students the 2017 academic year got off to a shaky start as hundreds were left frustrated when they could not register for the 2017 academic year because UNISA staff and the National Health Education and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) members were on strike.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has come out opposing the South African National Roads Agency Limited’s (SANRAL’s) threat to press criminal charges against motorists who haven’t settled their e-tolls and to acquire default judgements against individuals or businesses that don’t pay attention to summonses for outstanding e-tolls.
Engaging in malicious social media behaviour could lead to more than just a ban on a social network when government's strategy to tighten the noose on cyber offenders comes into effect. With the revised Cybercrime and Cybersecurity Bill going into parliamentary review soon, South Africa’s social media users will need to think twice before sending or posting potentially destructive messages online as these will result in a penalty and/or hefty jail sentence.
On Monday, 13 February 2017 U.S. President Donald Trump spoke to Jacob Zuma over the phone in order to touch base after his inauguration. No details of the conversation were revealed to the public before the discussion, but it was hoped by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa that Trump would have a positive outlook on U.S. relations with South Africa and Africa as a whole.
As Europe celebrates the 20th anniversary of Euro New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) star ratings, the Automobile Association (AA) is calling for the implementation of a similar South African safety ratings system – albeit one that would require crash test results to be displayed on all new selling vehicles.
Last year new vehicle sales in South Africa dropped once again, marking a three year decline. Numerous reasons have been attributed to the decline in sales, the main reasons being the 14% price inflation on new cars, the weak Rand, and expectedly low consumer confidence. Sales fell from 54 230 in 2015 to 48 745 at the end of 2016.
South Africa’s poultry industry is facing a difficult time ahead as the European Union (EU) begins to dominate the market. With an oversupply of chicken legs, wings and thighs in the EU, these pieces are being sold to South Africa at extremely low costs. Local farmers are unable to compete with the low prices, resulting in jobs losses and farms closures.
High school pupils will soon be adding a new subject to their timetable that would have them learn how to drive a vehicle and get a good working knowledge of the rules of the road. This is the result of a partnership between the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) and the Department of Basic Education, aimed at giving students a head start on their driving abilities, Business Tech reports.
On Monday, 16 January 2017, National Consumer Commissioner Ebrahim Mohamed and CEO of Ford South Africa, Jeffrey Nemeth announced that Ford would be recalling all Ford Kuga 1.6 litre vehicles produced between December 2012 and February 2014 due to safety issues. Roughly 4 556 of these vehicles to date have been recalled, after 48 of the models experienced overheating issues, and burst into flames.
A controversial transformation of language policies in schools is just one of the new ventures government has in the pipeline for the basic education system this year. This comes after the Constitutional Court in 2016 ruled that school governing boards will no longer have the authority to influence policies, admissions, fees and dress codes.
Government last year unveiled plans for new road and traffic regulations in an attempt to improve road safety. The potential amendments, first outlined in the 2015 Government Gazette, proposed lower speed limits, that bakkies be forbidden from carrying children in the load bay, and that trucks be banned from sharing roads with peak-hour traffic.
Manufacturers of self-driving cars may need to take out their own Car Insurance to cover any financial liability to victims of auto accidents. This is one of the proposals made in a new piece of legislation by the British government, which will come into effect in 2017. The regulation aims to address the issue of how self-driving cars should be insured when they are introduced to the mainstream in the future.
George Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor, Lulamile Xesi died on 24 September 2016 after he was trapped inside his burning house in Thembalethu. The cause of the house fire is not yet known but an inquest docket has been opened. His friend, who was in the house with him, managed to escape unharmed.
The Road Accident Fund (RAF) is tightening its compensation procedures in a bid to curb fraudulent requests and reduce the organisation's mounting debt. The proposal of a new scheme called the Road Accident Benefit Scheme comes amid fake claims worth R126 million submitted to the entity between April and June 2016.
Recently sworn-in African National Congress (ANC) councillor, Nonhlanhla Mthembu, collapsed during the first Johannesburg council meeting on Monday, 22 August 2016. Emergency services were called to her aid and the council subsequently took a break and were informed of her passing soon afterwards. The cause of her death is still unknown.
The Beverage Association of South Africa (BevSA) advises that if sugar tax becomes a reality in South Africa, our economy will suffer financial losses close to R14 billion. This comes after the proposal of a 20% levy on sugar-sweetened drinks made by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan during his budget speech earlier this year.
Despite the negative outlook for crime reported by the South African Police Service in 2015, a new book titled A Citizen’s Guide to Crime Trends in South Africa by University of Cape Town scholars Anine Kriegler and Mark Shaw, claim that the physical safety of the majority of South Africans has, in fact, significantly improved over the last twenty years.
Households looking to power up the green way will have to install their own solar panels since Eskom won't add more renewable energy to the national electricity grid soon. According to Eskom's CEO, Brian Molefe, the country's energy provider decided to pull the plug on new contracts with independent power producers as they found that the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) of 2011 is economically impractical.
The Credit Ombud – an organisation started by the National Credit Regulator to solve disputes between consumers and credit providers – has tightened the reins on credit providers for apparent irresponsible lending practices in 2015. Their mediation has led to the cancellation of many consumers' principal debts or interest charges, the Ombud's latest report [PDF] shows.
The vaccination debate has been around for decades, but recently the anti-vaccination movement has gained momentum in South Africa. With celebrities adding their voices to the debate, it’s drawing arguments from all sides, even though there is currently no scientific evidence proving the harmful effects of vaccines. Although the Health Department strongly recommends vaccination, it is not compulsory, and an increasing number of people are choosing not to vaccinate their children.
Just days after a brutal attack against an Uber driver in Manenberg, Thursday, 14 July saw a violent clash between metered taxi drivers and the police in Cape Town’s city centre, in a protest that ended in at least 15 arrests and numerous threats against Uber drivers. It seems Western Cape metered taxi drivers are still largely unhappy about the advantages they feel Uber has over the industry, and are making their thoughts known.
Moody’s, the independent investors service that was reviewing the creditworthiness of our country, finally released their report of findings on 8 May 2016. While they didn’t bump down our credit grade, which is only two notches above junk status, they did conclude their review with a ‘negative outlook’. This means that they consider our country a relatively safe place to invest in, but they predict that this might change for the worse. Rating outlooks aim to predict the direction the rating will take in future. Usually they are stable, but rating outlooks can also be positive or negative. While the outlook is not an inevitable conclusion, South Africa’s status will be downgraded if economic growth and the currently unhealthy government bank balances don’t improve soon.
The fear of load shedding has been on every South African’s mind as winter fast approaches. With 2015’s major blackouts vividly remembered, South African’s have been unsure of whether this situation might repeat itself in 2016. Eskom has recently tried to put those fears to rest after announcing that if all current maintenance on the country’s power plants goes according to plan, the country will be free from load shedding throughout winter. After President Jacob Zuma’s visit to Eskom’s headquarters on Friday May 6, he reiterated that he is confident Eskom has done enough to prevent blackouts for the rest of the year. South Africans therefore, don’t have to worry about power outages, effects on productivity, power surges or damages to home contents just yet.
According to the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), more than 2 million people are refusing to pay their e-toll bills. This means that only 9% of Gauteng motorists driving on the province's freeways are keeping up with their e-toll payments. OUTA says that e-toll revenue mainly comes from logistics companies, car rental firms and the government fleet.
South Africans have been holding their breath recently awaiting the outcome of a review by Moody’s, an independent investors service that ranks the creditworthiness of businesses, and in this case, countries. This review was to determine whether South Africa was still considered investment-worthy or not. South Africans were relieved to find out this past weekend that Moody’s still considers our country to be two notches above the borderline for junk status. This means that, for the time being, inflation is stalled; the value of the Rand has stopped plummeting; and government, businesses, and even individuals don’t need to worry about rising interest rates on their loans just yet.
The price of crude oil has risen to its highest level in 2016 when it reached $43.40 for the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and $44.07 for Brent North Sea today. The most recent reasons being the raging fire in Alberta, Canada, home to substantial oil reserves, and the ongoing tension in Libya, which holds Africa’s largest oil reserves.
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