Huawei is committed to providing local businesses with the infrastructure, device and business support they need to utilise data effectively Huawei used its recent South Africa IT Day to demonstrate how businesses can harness the power of data to gain insights into customer behaviour, improve operational efficiency and decision-making, and increase productivity.  Held at Huawei’s Woodmead campus in Johannesburg, this year’s South Africa IT Day was held under the theme, “Unleash Data Power, Towards the Intelligent Era” over two days. More than 200 guests and decision-makers from a range of ..read more

Thursday. We’re into the home stretch, electorally speaking. The date 29 May is close enough to almost smell that unique combination of Jeyes Fluid, dust and cardboard — eau de polling station — synonymous with the voting process in our fair Republic. The heads on the ballot are confirmed — appeals involving uBaba kaStalingrad permitting — the codes of conduct are signed and we are all raring to go. It’s a bit of a pity Ace Magashule’s African Congress for Transformation did not succeed in convincing the court to allow it to submit its list of candidates for the national and provincial electio ..read more

Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema has defended his earlier comments on JJ Tabane on the Frank Dialogue show that the party would consider going into coalition with the ANC if EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu was given the position of finance minister. Speaking at an EFF event with the media in Johannesburg on Friday, Malema also said Eskom will hit stage six load-shedding a day after the 29 May elections. On Friday, he said no one could say Shivambu should not be a minister of finance because he has not stolen any money. “Floyd has not stolen any money and only illiterates can ..read more

The summit aroused the usual excitement invoked by Huawei’s advanced technology and innovation  Our society is entering the intelligent era. Digital and intelligent technologies, such as connectivity, cloud and AI have become not only fundamental to daily operations, but also key to capitalising on opportunities and ensuring sustained growth.  Huawei, the leading global provider of information and communications technology, remains dedicated to enabling industries by seamlessly integrating these technologies with industry scenarios, and collaborating with partners to foster mutually ..read more

This year, almost a third of African countries will hold general or presidential elections. Many of these will take place in Southern Africa, including South Africa next month, Botswana and Mozambique in October and Namibia in November.  The conduct and credibility of these elections will serve as a clear indicator of the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC’s) success or failure in delivering on one of its core mandates as an intergovernmental organisation — to oblige its member states to adhere to best democratic election practices. Although SADC has made some strides in promu ..read more

Sheldon Cramer uses three words to champion the environmental benefits of industrial hemp farming in South Africa: zero carbon footprint. “Hemp sucks up carbon dioxide (CO2),” the chairperson of the KwaZulu Hemp Association and the chief executive of KwaZulu Hemp Processors, enthused. “At some of our controlled grow operations for the medicinal stuff, we actually put CO2 into the grow environment to help the plant grow better. So, if you want to solve carbon emission problems, grow hemp like we grow sugarcane. It’s really that simple.”  Cramer, better known as Bobby Greenhash, told how at ..read more

The Inkatha Freedom Party is willing to go into coalition with the ANC and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) should the party and its partners in Multi Party Charter of South Africa fail to win next month’s general elections with an outright majority, deputy president Mzomo Buthelezi said. Buthelezi made the comment during an election debate hosted by the Mail & Guardian and the University of Fort Hare on Wednesday night, in response to a question about the IFP’s willinesses to form a government of national unity. Senior representatives of the ANC, Democratic Alliance, EFF, IFP and ActionSA ..read more

Investors have raised concerns that the parameters of the inquiry appear vague This content is restricted to registered users and subscribers. Get Your Free Account The Mail & Guardian is committed to providing all our readers with the best possible experience. Please register your free account now. Your registration is your first step to becoming an M&G community member. Register Registration enables: - M&G newsletters access - notifications - the best possible experience Already registered? Login here Want to subscribe and get even more benefits? Explore our subscription of ..read more

It feels as if we have been at a critical juncture with our “sunrise” cannabis sector for the past two decades. Confusion reigns amid legal uncertainty; pot shops are opening on every second corner and the president has been unable to find his pen since the end of February.  It is painful to watch the cannabis community divided on some strategic issues but it is #420 this week, on a Saturday nogal, and I can assure you that many, many South Africans will celebrate this, our International Dagga Day, with spliffs and bongs, dabs and great music and generous, like-minded company this weekend ..read more

One of the worst things about giving up smoking weed is dealing with the never-ending festival of bad driving that is Joburg traffic.  It is not the stress of the day at work that is so bad, it is the struggle to survive on roads filled with drivers who seem intent on committing suicide and sending you to casualty at the same time. Being able to light up a large spliff upon reaching the safety of home would wipe away the bubbling rage in my system and improve relations with the family.  This is a bit like taking medicine after you are sick and, in the bad old days, I often resorted t ..read more