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Fuel price hike November: Increase fuel efficiency with MyGeotab

Fuel is one of the biggest expenses for many companies – it often makes it to the top of list of expenses that need tracking. Petrol or diesel is an integral part for fleet management, making up approximately 30% of the total fleet operating costs.

This article discusses the key strategies for increasing fuel efficiency while showcasing fuel tracking features offered through MyGeotab.

Being equipped with the right tools goes a long way in improving the overall performance. The following strategies can be considered for ensuring optimised fleet operations:

Bigger fuel wins? Compare trends

Look at the bigger picture. Ask the following:

  • What has been our last three months fuel and idling trend?
  • What’s our aggressive driving and kilometres driven trend?

Reducing idling, speeding and mileage will reduce fuel consumption. In this way, reviewing trend reports can help track progress. Cross-referencing different metrics provides useful insights and doesn’t separate your data into silos. Examining trendlines can be an indicator of whether programs are working, or not. Fuel usage that increases or remains flat indicates the ideal time to review and adjust the program.

Figure 1: A sample graph showing a trend line for fuel burned over a period of three months.
Kilometres driven

Considering whether drivers are taking the most efficient routes or whether the fleet is dispatching the most efficient people for the call, is a contributor to fuel consumption. Geotab’s solution is ideal for managing km’s travelled, primarily because you will get full visibility into km’s and routes taken. Reducing km’s driven on a daily basis could potentially lead to more customer visits per day, helping you maximise your productivity. Geotab helps you make money while on the road, not spend money.

How Geotab calculates fuel usage

Our calculation: engine reported fuel data, imported fuel data and the GPS-calculated distance travelled. MyGeotab calculates for you the fuel used during a trip for a vehicle by querying the Device Total Fuel Used Metric from the engine. The fuel economy is then reported as the fuel amount used over the distance travelled with the given fuel (L/100 km).

How Geotab captures fuel data? 

Depending on the protocol put in place, information is broadcast through the electronic control module (ECM) for some vehicles, while others require a request for data. In some cases, fuel must be calculated on our end, using other diagnostics like mass air flow.

Engine protocol refers to the language “spoken” by the vehicle’s engine computer module. Protocol is dependent on the vehicle’s make, model and/or year. Geotab supports the three main protocols used across industry (J1708, J1939, OBDII).

Where vehicles have difference protocols, we look at each on a case-by-case basis and use debug data to identify how to capture the fuel data and correctly report it. The accuracy in which we record fuel varies between 0.001L to 0.5L, depending on the protocol and how the engine broadcasts this information. For most vehicles, we can pull different types of diagnostics like trip, idle fuel used, fuel level, water in fuel and more.

Tracking fuel usage in MyGeotab

Fuel consumption is one of the top areas to target if a company is looking for ways to reduce costs. Money saved on fuel can be redirected to other business areas, such as human resources, operations, marketing, training or product development. The features available on MyGeotab fleet management software use processing power to create various dashboards, reporting on fuel usage and other areas of concern.

To learn more, take a look at these tools in MyGeotab. Helping fleets increase fuel efficiency and reduce overall fuel costs.

Fill-Ups report

The Fill-Ups report available can point you to unmatched fuel transactions that need further investigation. Telematics device fill-up data can report on imported fuel transactions. 

Fleets can use their telematics data to validate fuel transactions. A fill-up event is defined as anytime fuel is added to the vehicle. The report will show you a brief summary, including total fuel added and total cost, for the time period you select.

Figure 3: A sample fill-up report featuring fuel data over a particular time period.
How do we match fuel card data? 

At least one of the below referencing fields can be used to match fuel transactions:

  • VIN
  • Device serial number
  • License plate number
  • Device description
  • Device name
  • Comments

MyGeotab accommodates any fuel transaction data, as long as it is in .csv or .xls file format. Fuel card importing is not tied to any specific manufacturer. Fuel transactions can be imported into your MyGeotab database via the Fuel Transaction Import Add-In or by using the API. 

Figure 4: A sample graph depicting diagnostic fuel levels versus fuel added or used for a particular time period.

Geotab works continuously on fuel data output, to optimize accuracy and support for vehicles. Ongoing include support for European models, debug data to assist and develop calculations for non-petroleum vehicles and routine firmware updates containing fuel bug fixes and improved calculations.

Geotab Africa’s plug and play solution makes it easier for you to measure and manage your fuel usage. Identify any overconsumption and make an informed decision.

Seasonality and Small Business: How SA’s SMEs can plan for the festive season

Although South Africa’s economy has shown some signs of recovery, the true cost of the disruption and violence in July this year must still be calculated. It is against this backdrop that many small business owners are hoping to recover some lost ground during the upcoming festive season.

Many SMEs are torn between needing to end a difficult year on the best possible note by making sure marketing messages hit the mark or investing in capex that will put them ahead of the pack when 2022 starts.

The crux of the matter is whether or not they have access to the required cash reserves to avoid making choices that will set them back in the new year. It is a reality that most South African SMEs cannot set aside funds to make provision for times of need, or when additional expenditure is required.

One way in which to access cash in a cost-effective way is to consider a business funding option that offers a deferred payment option during the year’s busiest times.

“We’ve seen the positive impact that relief measures can have on businesses in need of additional support during the Covid-19 pandemic. Deferred loan payments, commonly referred to as “payment holidays’, are a way to give businesses support, flexibility and stability, says Tom Stuart, chief marketing officer of SME funder, Lulalend.

Deferred payment periods typically cover the suspension of both principal and interest payments for a predetermined time. Lulalend’s 2021/22 Repayment Holiday covers the run-up to- and the festive season from mid-October 2021 to mid-January 2022 and over these months, no interest, monthly admin, or other charges will accrue.

Taking a payment holiday, under South African law, will not affect a business’ credit score, as long as this “holiday” is logged on the provider’s system so that it doesn’t reflect as a non-payment.

“Lending responsibly is key to making a payment holiday work and SMEs who plan to take advantage of it should be in good standing which means being able to service current debt, have a solid credit record and be up-to-date with other loan or credit payments,” says Stuart.

Taking a payment holiday, under South African law, will not affect a business’ credit score, as long as this “holiday” is logged on the provider’s system so that it doesn’t reflect as a non-payment.

It is also critical for a small business owner or entrepreneur to showcase continued growth in their business and how they are planning for it in the future. A plan that involves streamlining operations, improving efficiency and cost effectiveness in the long-term; in addition to plans to increase revenue, will get a business the support it needs.

Mr Munangiwa Tshikovhi of MNT Consulting, reflects on their experience with Lulalend. “Lulalend’s repayment holiday gave us access to the finance we needed to start our project immediately. The deferred repayment period allowed us time to focus on our business and prepare to service the repayments with the income generated from the project. The entire initiative put us streets ahead of the competition as we headed into 2021.”

An accurate and up to date cashflow forecast means creating a rolling 12-month spreadsheet and a commitment to update it every month. In this way, businesses can anticipate cash flow shortages, and be able to plan for times when they’ll have to rely on funders to provide temporary financial support.

Save Our Beach Huts campaign launched to preserve, protect and promote Cape Town’s iconic Beach Huts

The Beach Huts of Cape Town have been around since the late 1800s. Over their lifetime they have changed significantly, eventually becoming the colourful huts we see today. But, they have always been a feature of our beaches.

These structures have risen to iconic status, outgrowing their practical usefulness. Their true value is being one of South Africa’s most instantly recognisable images and arguably South Africa’s most iconic man-made structures.

They occupy a significant portion of South Africa’s global brand image. The importance of this for attracting tourism to our country cannot be overstated enough. Tourism, a large source of foreign direct income, has an important role to play in alleviating poverty and creating opportunities for all South Africans.

Tourism is everybody’s business.

The Beach Huts have been falling into disrepair for some time. A harsh environment, complex municipal structures and more pressing socio-economic issues have resulted in the near-collapse of this iconic infrastructure. The Beach Huts are as important to South Africa, as the Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower is to New York and Paris.

The Save Our Beach Huts campaign, run by The Beach Hut Trust, is a public and private collaborative initiative. The objectives of The Trust are to Preserve, Protect and Promote the Beach Huts, Cape Town’s most iconic structures.

To us, they represent opportunity and hope for South Africa. To the world, they represent a reason to travel here.

We aim to create employment, restore an icon, promote tourism and generate a Beach Huts inspired industry that will sustain them indefinitely.

The opportunities are endless and we are calling on all businesses to see how they can help support the program to #SaveOurBeachHuts.

Credit: A. Gorman Photography

To know more, visit https://beachhuts.org.za/ and the Facebook page: https://web.facebook.com/saveourbeachhutsCT/

The future is in Limpopo

Limpopo Province has comparative advantages in mining, tourism, manufacturing, green energy and agriculture due to its abundant natural, heritage and cultural resources. In order to address the structural rigidity and the legacy of economic exclusion, the provincial government took a bold step to industrialise the economy based on the beneficiation of its mineral wealth, and increased value-added activities aligned to the key sectors of our economy.

The Province has established partnerships with the private sector in tourism, mining, agriculture and the wildlife industry as well as organised business. To strengthen this partnership, the province hosted a Tourism Lekgotla and a Mining Indaba during August and October 2021 and staged an international investment conference in September 2021. The aim of the conference was to market the province as an attractive investment destination and present the abundant opportunities to potential investors.

The Province has developed the Limpopo Development Plan for 2020-2025 with these strategic focus areas:

  • Industrialisation of the economy
  • SMME and co-operatives development and support
  • Revitalisation of township and village businesses
  • Transformation of the economy through procurement
  • Support and build capacity for manufacturing
  • Develop infrastructure for the economy
  • Create a better Limpopo within Africa and the world
  • Sustainable environment and natural resources.

Provincial growth points and industrial clusters have been identified in pursuit of increasing manufacturing. These clusters include Platinum and Chrome (PGM), Metallurgical, Tourism, Agribusiness and Meat, Horticulture and Forestry as well as Logistics.

Some of the flagship industrialisation projects are the Musina-Makhado Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) and Fetakgomo-Tubatse SEZ. A pipeline of investments in both SEZs has been established. In the MMSEZ the project pipeline is worth R150-billion with the potential of creating over 21 700 job opportunities. The key investment opportunities for the MMSEZ are in energy and metallurgy, agro-processing, logistics and general manufacturing.

The potential value-add for Fetakgomo-Tubatse is R25-billion with a potential to create over 8 000 job opportunities. The total estimated projects pipeline for investment is around R250-billion.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite all potential investors to take advantage of the beautiful scenery and untapped natural resources offered by the Limpopo Province.

Southernwood Buy-Back Centre officially launched

Call-2-Action, a partnership between the Border-Kei Chamber of Business (BKCOB), Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM), POLYCO and the Buffalo City Metropolitan Development Agency (BCMDA) officially launched the Southernwood Buy-Back Centre on Friday, 1 October 2021 at the St. George’s Park in Southernwood.

This is an initiative that was conceived in 2016, in an effort to curb the ongoing crisis of littering and illegal dumping in the Metro and essentially, clean up the city. The other half of the mandate was to motivate recycling, by offering cash incentives to those who recycle. The Southernwood Centre is the first operational of many future recycling stations in the Metro and was hailed by Executive Director of the BKCOB, Lizelle Maurice, as a step in the right direction towards becoming the cleanest city in the country.

The alfresco launch was attended by various Dignitaries, namely Deputy Minister of Labour and Employment, Ms Boitumelo Moloi, Executive Deputy Mayor of the Buffalo City Metro, Helen Neale-May, Portfolio Head of Waste Management Services, Councillor Nontsikelelo Peter and Ward Councillor of Ward 3, Pindile Miza.

Deputy Minister of Labour and Employment, Ms Boitumelo Moloi delivered a heartwarming speech, focused on how far such initiatives go in garnering the trust of the locals. Moloi acknowledged the littering crisis that the Buffalo City Metro has been facing and is confident that this Centre, being the first of many, will return the City to its former glory. She also commended the Metro for taking charge of a crisis, saying, “we cannot let a good crisis go to waste.”

Mr Drayton Brown, Project Manager at the BKCOB, having been at the foundation of this project, stressed the importance of collaboration, especially by the Public and Private sectors. This public-private partnership is the first of its kind in the country and the Chamber is proud to have spearheaded a project of this calibre. A key aspect of the project is continued funding. Mr Brown stressed that all parties should continue giving to this worthy cause, stating “BCMM needs to set aside a specific budget to contribute to Public Private Partnerships. Another aspect is the Extended Producer Responsibility of manufacturers – as an example, if we used funds from the Plastic Bag Levy from local manufacturers, we wouldn’t need any further funding from additional sources.” 

Amongst the attendants was Ms Patricia Pillay, CEO of POLYCO, also one of the main funders of the initiative who described this collaboration as the first of its kind in the country. “It is through such strategic partnerships that we get to accomplish great things. The right partnerships and focusing on what can be done in the now,” said Pillay.

The audience also heard from Abongile Tyopo of Mercedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA), another main funder of the Call-2-Action, who elaborated on the role of the MBSA plant in managing the waste in the Metro, as well as all their efforts to stay green. “Mercedes Benz cares about Buffalo City, Mercedes Benz cares about the planet,” said Tyopo.

Executive Deputy Mayor of the BCMM, Helen Neale-May started off mentioning a necessary fight against the vandalism of such structures in our city, as they not only push East London up a notch when it comes to attracting investors but they also provide a source of income for those who recycle. “We acknowledge that the state of cleanliness is not at the desired level yet but we can confirm that we are operating at capacity, to ensure that waste is removed on schedule,” she added. The Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality are key stakeholders of the Centre and have expressed great pride in leaving such a significant legacy in the Metro.

The basics of reviewing your Business Model

Your business model is your business’s plan to make a profit. It’s an outline on how your business plans to make money which allows you to identify your target market and their needs, the expenses you should anticipate as well as the products and services your business plans to sell. Business plans are important for both new and established organisations, as they help businesses attract investment and talent. Importantly, they help assess whether things are working the way you want them to.

To keep ahead of trends and changes, it’s important to review and update your model. Here are 4 ways to consider reviewing your business model. 

  1. Customer value proposition
  2. Profitability
  3. Resources
  4. Processes 
Customer value proposition

Do you still resonate with your customers and are you taking their feedback into consideration? Reviewing your value proposition is a great way to establish your relevance in meeting your customers’ current problems, or how you can make adjustments to your product to keep improving their situation.

Doing customer research to establish what your customers need can help you in this process. It can give you quantified feedback on the specific benefits of your products. You can find some useful tips for this on our blog post How to Drive Sales Through Customer Retention. It could also spark ideas that you may have overlooked initially. Remember to solve real and important problems for your customers, maintain your differentiation from competitors, and remind your customers why they should trust your brand. 

Profitability

It’s imperative to understand your profitability for the success of your business. The profit your business makes should be used to help secure growth opportunities. Analyse how your business brings in money and opportunities for growth. Start with a profit and loss statement. If you don’t already have one in place, you can start by individually listing how your business generates income and spends money. Also consider doing a pricing review to understand if you’re making enough margin to be profitable. Once you’ve consolidated the audit, you can try to eliminate work that costs you money, and focus on opportunities that generate income. To get a good idea on how to approach this, have a look at Freshbook’s step by step outline on how to check if your business is profitable. 

Resources

Take some time to consider if the resources currently available to you are appropriate for your business model and how it’s evolving. Do you have access to the right people, and are you meeting your financial goals? Whether the answer is yes or no, it’s always a good idea to review this aspect of your business. Consider your capacity and demand management, your resource utilization as well as your progress and time tracking. It’s important to establish your actual resource availability and to get a realistic view of your demands and capacity to deliver. Understand what roles and skill sets you need and streamline communication between your employees and the business, as well as with your stakeholders. If you’d like some ideas on how to get started, Planview – a portfolio and work management solutions organisation – has great advice on resource management best practices.

Processes

To run a business, processes are used everyday. In the quest for efficiency it’s important to review them and keep the ones that make sense and improve the ones that don’t. With rapid changes in technology and the evolving demands of your target market, dysfunctional processes can lead to breakdowns in communication, increased costs or unhappy customers to name a few challenges. Make this an important step to review to help streamline your tasks and business activities. To get started on this consider these steps recommended and outlined on Mindtools:

  • Step 1: Map the process
  • Step 2: Analyse the process
  • Step 3: Redesign the process
  • Step 4: Acquire resources
  • Step 5: Implement and communicate change
  • Step 6: Review the process    
Conclusion

Running a business is hard work, but regularly reviewing your Business Model can make planning for the future easier. Make it a priority to keep up with the ever evolving needs of your clients, talent and expectations of any investors so you can stay relevant. Try not to overlook the components that make you successful and how you can upgrade them.

Remember, if any of your adjustments need financing that you might not have at the time you can always get in touch with one of our Funding Specialists at Lulalend to find out how we can help you meet your business objectives.

3 Ways CRM software can grow your business

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) needs to be a high priority for any business owner. While the focus on product and service cannot be underestimated, CRM is seen as the lifeblood of what can grow your business. Your customers are an asset to your business, and retaining them should never take a back seat.

Every business owner should have a CRM program that provides customer data and analytics software to help identify customer habits and behaviour. With these insights, you will be able to personalise how you treat your customers and reward them accordingly for their loyalty.

The importance of CRM for your business

Using tactics for your business, you are able to develop a lasting relationship with your customers. CRM can generate an increase in profits for your business by increasing loyalty from your existing customers – who typically spend more than new customers and are cheaper to retain than it is acquiring new customers. The data that is collected from CRM activity can also be used to develop loyalty and promotional programs, as well as establish databases for business insights and intelligence. By taking out a business loan to invest in CRM tools that can grow your business and keep your customers happy.

Use customer insights to your advantage

The insights gained from CRM can identify patterns and trends in your customer behaviour in real-time that will allow you to quickly jump on opportunities that could catch the attention of your customers. With the data received, you can develop customer profiles based ondemographic, geographic or other information and then send targeted messages to customers from a specific segment. You will be able to gain a deeper understanding of your customers and tailor your services or product offerings to their needs – ultimately improving your customer satisfaction.

Creating a personalised experience

The great thing about CRM is that it can keep track of the essential dates, such as first purchase anniversary and the customer’s birthday, for you to create a personalised experience for the customer. When the event takes place, the customer can receive reminders or endearing messages to make them feel special. You may also reach out to customers with special offers or send them email notifications of events or discounts based on their preferences which you can capture.

A customised experience goes a long way in establishing customer loyalty. You can apply for business funding in Johannesburg, Durban or anywhere in South Africa to access much-needed funding to invest in CRM marketing tools. A cash boost, plus a steller personalised marketing campaign based on your CRM data, can generate customer loyalty and a lasting relationship.

Wine industry information days focus on sustainability

“We invite wine grape growers, viticulturists and other interested parties to join us as we discuss various aspects of sustainability, including the economy, climate change, best irrigation practices, effective spray application and the use of natural predators,” says Conrad Schutte, manager of Vinpro’s viticultural consultation service.

The information days are being presented physically for the first time, after being held in a webinar format since the onset of Covid-19. Only a limited number of seats are available and strict safety protocols will apply. The same programme will be followed for the most part, and some of the days will be presented in collaboration with the biological control specialists fieldBUGS.

At a macro-economic level, Christo Conradie from Vinpro will give an overview of the status of the South African wine industry, including the latest stock levels, industry trends in other renowned wine producing countries, the situation at farm level and the way forward.

How do wine grape growers from around the globe view climate change and how do they plan to adapt to it? Dr Etienne Neethling of Vintage Master and GRAPPE-ESA-INRA, France, will share the wine world’s approach towards climate change.

One way in which the wine industry can adapt to climate change is by following best irrigation practices and in doing so, better utiliseing the available water resources. Dr Philip Myburgh from ARC Nietvoorbij will provide guidelines on the use of soil and plant-based measurements for irrigation scheduling, including different irrigation methods, measurement methodology and the placement, installation and calibration of irrigation systems, as well as the interpretation and application of irrigation data. Francois Viljoen of the Gen-Z Vineyard Project will expand on this by means of case studies.

When it comes to crop protection, it is essential to know what factors influence the effective application of sprays. Marius Ras of Ras Consult will elucidate these factors and share effective management practices. Environmentally friendly vineyard practices include the use of natural predators as part of a vineyard management plan, which Brahm Jonker of fieldBUGS will elaborate on.

The dates of the regional information days are as follows:

7 September, 09:00 – Paarl/Swartland
7 September, 14:00 – Stellenbosch/Coastal Region
8 September, 09:00 – Robertson/Klein Karoo
8 September, 14:00 – Worcester/Breedekloof
14 September, 18:00 – Olifants River

Costs and registration

The attendance fee for the respective regional information days range from R150 to R250 per person. Register online at any of the regional links above, visit https://sales.vinpro.co.za/ or contact Lesley Paulse at 021 276 0429, lesley@vinpro.co.za.

Northern Cape hosts tailor-made days

Two regional information days will also be presented on 25 August in Keimoes (09:00) and Grootdrink (14:00), with its own programme tailor made to the region.

Stefan Jordaan from Raisins SA and Mosdop Dippenaar from Orange River Cellars will respectively give an overview of the effect of powdery and downy mildew on raisin and wine quality, after which Pieter le Roux from Villa will share tips for effective disease control. Jannie Bosman of Bosman Adama Nursery will emphasise the importance of virus-free plant material, and alternative weed control and spray programs specific to the Orange River region are also on the agenda.

For enquiries or registrations contact André Agenbag at 054 461 1006 or andre2@owk.co.za.

Vodacom RT15 contract with government extended for another five years as part of RT15-2021

Four years after the Mobile Communication Services contract was established and awarded to Vodacom Business in 2016, National Treasury has chosen to retain the services of Vodacom awarding the company with a new mobile communication services contract. This after government technology expenditure had been significantly reduced, using innovative digital solutions within several departments and municipalities through the first contract known as the RT15-16.

“We are excited to continue our partnership with government for another five-years to accelerate its digitalisation programme through the new RT15-2021 transversal contract. Through the previous contract, we successfully delivered significant financial benefits in costs savings, expedited and streamlined procurement of services and ushered unprecedented digitalisation of government departments, agencies, state owned entities and municipalities,” said Chief Executive Officer of Vodacom Business, William Mzimba

The RT15-16 served as a platform for Vodacom Business to support government and amplify their productivity while increasing efficiency. To achieve the expected results, Vodacom Business provided IT and business solutions and increased the number of mobile lines available to them.

Mzimba adds: “In particular, our partnership with government resulted in the improved delivery of education using digital technologies during COVID-19 lockdowns, enhanced citizen engagement and revenue assurance in municipalities through smart metering technologies and IoT (Internet of Things) solutions for smart asset management and fleet management.  Our solutions demonstrated that mobile applications are core to the acceleration of Government to Citizen (G2C) digital service delivery. We are delighted to once again have the opportunity to do more together with government.”

Enhancing communication between government and citizens

Digitisation does not only relate to things, but to processes and people. Digital services and platforms such as the Citizen Engagement Platform have proved to be powerful tools in the public sector’s quest to improve and manage service delivery. The platform is designed to automate, enrich and streamline interactions between citizens, government contact centres, field workers and senior officials.

To enable better communication between citizens and the South African Police Service (SAPS), Vodacom launched the MySAPS app. The app enables citizens to search for the nearest police station, submit a tip off and call the crime stop number. The introduction of the app highlights how technology can be used to support national police efforts and connect communities in a collective effort in the fight against crime. Since the launch of the app in 2019, the SAPS has received 6700 tip offs from community members.

In 2019 the Gauteng Department of Health was seeking a way to strengthen the patient-care experience within their facilities. Vodacom Business supported the department’s objective by creating the Mpilo app, a smart and interactive mobile communication platform which enabled users to report waiting times in facilities, safety issues, staff attitudes, and cleanliness of facilities.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the mobile app was further enhanced when the department introduced a new feature to help increase public education and awareness on COVID-19, but more importantly provide a self-screening feature option for patients.

Improved administration 

Within the Buffalo City Metro Municipality (BCMM), legacy infrastructure posed challenges for the municipality regarding water and electricity revenue collection. Manual processes of meter reading and incorrect tariffing were some of the many challenges for a municipality of that size. Vodacom Business’s Smart Electricity Metering solution vastly improved revenue collection within the area, supported bill verification from bulk suppliers such as Eskom and supplied and installed 63 000 meters over a period of three years.

Vodacom Business further helped primary healthcare clinics to eliminate medical stock shortages through medicine monitoring measures. By implementing a Stock Visibility Solution (SVS), the Department of Health (DoH) was able to monitor critical supply chains and compare centrally purchased volumes of medicine that are available on the shelves of dispensaries.

The DoH was also able to monitor stock levels of critical vaccines across the 4 100 clinics across the country. Real-time access to stock level information from medicine dispensaries allows low-stock clinics to be pro-actively replenished and out-of-stock facilities to receive priority attention, ensuring that citizens can access the healthcare they require without delays.

Implementing technology within education

The Gauteng Education Department was using a legacy school admissions system that was plagued with technical issues, resulting in slow admission processing. For the admissions system to operate efficiently and handle the volume of applications, Vodacom needed to upgrade the system and install functionalities that aligned to the legal prescripts.

Six weeks after the project began, Vodacom Business managed to redevelop the eAdmission system to include the latest technologies and provide the best user experience. The system was hosted on Microsoft Azure within the Vodacom Datacenter. Since then, the admissions system has received over 255 000 applications and processed over 1 000 applications per minute during peak times.

Within the Eastern Cape, Vodacom Business aimed to deliver ICT-enabled teaching and learning. Through the contract, the Eastern Cape Department of Education received laptops for all foundation phase teachers, tablets for all school principals and digital solutions which enabled the department to better manage the learning process throughout the province.

The solutions Vodacom Business provided included the School Management System, Vodacom Secure Device Manager and The Citizen Engagement application. Vodacom’s comprehensive and easy-to-use web-based School Management solution captures the daily data requirements that the education department needs for visibility at all their schools.

“Throughout the duration of the RT15 contract, we have demonstrated the value and effectiveness of smart technologies within several different government departments, SOEs and government agencies. We partnered successfully to address multiple challenges government had previously encountered. These digital solutions contributed to inclusive growth, enhanced education and good governance within South Africa, by not only improving efficiency, but also doing it in the most cost-effective way. We’re ready to go further together in the next five years”, adds Mzimba.

DA-run Midvaal gets things done for women

Media release by John Steenhuisen MP – Leader of the Democratic Alliance

As South Africa commemorates Women’s Day today, there is no better way to celebrate the brave and resilient women of the 1956 march, than to witness how DA-run governments are getting things done for women. South Africa’s women are breadwinners and heads of households, often providing the only form of income to extended families and communities. Providing women with economic empowerment and opportunity is the fastest way to empower our country as a whole, and lift our people out of poverty.

Today, DA Leader, John Steenhuisen visited two beneficiaries of the Sebenza Mbokodo Women’s Fund, a project spearheaded by the DA-led Midvaal Municipality and Executive Mayor Bongani Baloyi which, in partnership with Standard Bank and ABSA, provides interest-free loans to women entrepreneurs in the informal trading sector to launch their businesses, grow local economies, and create jobs and opportunities in their communities.

Our first stop was to Bokamoso Bo Bontle Trading & Projects, started by Lebohang Ramathe. Lebo is a talented and self-taught seamstress who received assistance from the Sebenza Mbokodo Women’s Fund two years ago. The financial assistance enabled her to purchase the necessary machinery to bulk produce school uniforms for neighbouring schools, and bespoke items for private clients.

Bokamoso Bo Bontle now employs several members of Lebo’s community, and has grown into a successful small business and a sustainable form of income for Lebo and her family.

We then visited Dima’s Chicken Livestock, started by Dimakatso Mokoena who received funding from the Sebenza Mbokodo Women’s Fund last year. Dimakatso used the money to launch her small trading business dealing in chicken, homemade atchaar, and eggs, having become a key supplier for her local community.

Under the leadership of Executive Mayor Bongani Baloyi, the DA-run Midvaal Municipality remains the best-run municipality in Gauteng. Meeting with the beneficiaries of the Sebenza Mbokodo Women’s Fund today is proof that even in local municipalities, the DA is getting things done. But more importantly on Women’s Day, these projects are proof that the DA is getting things done for women.

This Women’s Day I am very proud to lead a party that celebrates, empowers, and promotes the women in our society each and every day of the year through projects such as the Sebenza Mbokodo Women’s Fund. South African women will have an opportunity to vote in the upcoming local government elections, and they will have the opportunity to vote for a party that does not just pay lip service to women empowerment, but actually gets it done.

The Sebenza Mbokodo Women’s Fund can be replicated in local municipalities across the country if citizens vote in a capable government under the stewardship of the Democratic Alliance.

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