The Please Call Me Millions: Who Paid? | ITWeb Tech Headlines 21 – 26 September 2026
These are the stories making headlines on ITWeb this week. An ITWeb investigation into the Please Call Me saga asks who paid for inventor Nkosana Makate's decade-long legal battle, with advocates potentially costing up to R145 000 a day, as Black Rock Mining's Errol Elsdon claims 40% of Makate's settlement with Vodacom.
Portfolio committee chairperson Khusela Sangoni-Diko counters the narrative that governance slows technological progress.
The Naspers South Africa CEO takes delivery of 8 870 Naspers N ordinary shares worth about R7.43 million.
Nico Marais took home almost $6 million in the 2026 financial year, compared to Fabricio Bloisi’s close to $2 million.
With record revenue, a profitable AI ecosystem and a Takealot milestone, Naspers says it is just getting started.
Third-Party Risk Tops CISO Fears | AI Debt Collector Banks R10m a Month | This Week in SA Tech
This week's tech roundup: South African CISOs flag third-party risk as their biggest cyber security concern, while AI-driven attacks climb. Nutun's new AI debt collector, Zoey, is recovering nearly R10 million a month across a R30 billion portfolio. The e-hailing sector emerges as a major job creator, the B-BBEE ICT Sector Council faces instability after a wave of resignations, and new research shows most South Africans are still on 4G despite the country's early 5G rollout.
This Week in Tech: Post Office Reboots, Naspers Soars, and AI Comes for Your Debt
This week's ITWeb roundup tracks a tech sector in flux. The SA Post Office edges out of business rescue, but its digital overhaul now hangs on a new board after government withheld R3.8 billion. The decades-old "Please Call Me" battle flares again. Naspers posts a $7.3 billion knockout year. Nutun's AI agent "Zoey" claws back R10 million a month in debt. And the UK moves to bar under-16s from social media.
The company completes its transformation into an AI-driven lifestyle ecosystem operator, and all units are now profitable.
The company appoints computer engineer Arnold Goldberg as an independent non-executive director.
The Naspers unit expects $7.3 billion revenue in FY26, with full ecosystem profitability driving the FY27 execution strategy.
Prosus sells a 4.5% stake in its German delivery platform to Uber, as it fulfils EU conditions tied to its Just Eat Takeaway acquisition.
Investors’ caution over hyperscalers’ AI spending weighs on Tencent, even as analysts point to its embedded ecosystem as a fundamental differentiator.
The Naspers-owned firm deploys autonomous agents across its ecosystem, as it aims to become an AI-first e-commerce company.
Karooooo CEO Zak Calisto scored the most in 2025, making R1.27 billion just by trading shares.
Analysts pick their top stocks for this year, and look at what 2026 may hold.