On Monday, ITWeb reported that the South African Revenue Service's (SARS) new R140 million e-filing facility went "live" that morning, giving taxpayers the option to file their annual income tax returns online.
SARS communications GM Logan Wort explained that the system is an incremental development of its existing technology, rather than a completely new system, as was the case with the Department of Transport's electronic National Traffic Information System (eNatis).
Sadly, the following day, ITWeb reported that the system had been taken offline, due to the discovery of several "flaws". At that stage it was unknown what these flaws were, and the latest news is that the facility is expected to be up and running by the middle of next week.
So, the e-filing facility has gone eNatis - more or less the equivalent of an employee going postal.
This is embarrassing enough, but unfortunately SARS CIO Barry Hore did a fine job of putting his foot in it. Ahead of Monday's launch, Hore bragged to an ITWeb journalist that: "Monday will be the proof that this works".
Who's sorry now?
Finally, signs of life at Neotel
Just as I was starting to suspect that second national operator Neotel might be as lively as a doorknob, the company actually made an announcement this week.
In what is quite a bold move, Neotel said it signed a deal giving it rights to land the Seacom submarine fibre optic cable in SA, creating hope that it will compete with Telkom to provide international bandwidth.
The deal will give Neotel access to the international gateway, liberating local operators from being dependent on bandwidth access through Telkom's SAT-3 undersea cable.
How much of an impact this will have on SA's bandwidth costs remains to be seen, especially since Neotel previously stated it has no intention of competing with Telkom in pricing.
Cell C's epiphany
Cell C has moved to deny claims that it is on the verge of bankruptcy, backing this up with solid interim financials.
Martin Czernowalow, news editor, ITWeb
Cell C has moved to deny claims that it is on the verge of bankruptcy, backing this up with solid interim financials. Isn't it strange how a company that is adamant that all's well back at the ranch, is constantly having to reassure the market it is not about to go belly-up?
Meanwhile, it looks like CEO Jeffrey Hedberg has had a moment of enlightenment. The reason rumours persist that Cell C is failing, he explained during his epiphany, is likely because the company has not communicated its activities well to the market.
Wow. With such profound insight, watch Cell C soar to new heights.
Personally, though, I think this started going south for the mobile operator when it dropped that woman with the sexy voice from its TV and radio ads. Then again, I can't really remember when last I actually saw any type of Cell C ad.
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