{"id":851173,"date":"2026-02-17T08:02:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T06:02:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=851173"},"modified":"2026-02-17T08:02:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T06:02:23","slug":"uber-and-bolt-could-soon-be-illegal-and-free-wi-fi-on-the-cards-for-south-africans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/5-things\/851173\/uber-and-bolt-could-soon-be-illegal-and-free-wi-fi-on-the-cards-for-south-africans\/","title":{"rendered":"Uber and Bolt could soon be illegal, and free Wi-Fi on the cards for South Africans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The rand weakened on Monday as investors awaited employment data that could provide a clearer picture of the economy’s underlying health. It traded at 15.99 against the dollar, reflecting a 0.2% decline from its previous close.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Not much directional momentum to speak of in the USD or the USD-ZAR markets. Both traded in a relatively tight range last week and appear to be waiting for a catalyst to drive fresh direction,” said analysts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investors will turn to South Africa’s fourth-quarter 2025 employment data on Tuesday, with analysts hoping the unemployment rate will ease slightly from the 31.9% recorded in Q3. The figures “will offer investors a fresh perspective on the real state of the economy. It will inject a dose of context and reality, following the latest State of the Nation Address,” said analysts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Cyril Ramaphosa said in his address to parliament on Thursday that South Africa will deploy the army to fight organised crime and lay criminal charges against officials who fail to deliver water to communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Investor attention will then turn to January inflation data and December retail sales numbers on Wednesday. On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Top-40 index was last up 0.3%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Tuesday, 17 February, the rand is trading at R16.05 to the dollar, R21.83 to the pound, and R19.00 to the euro. Gold is currently valued at $4,886.46 per ounce, while oil prices have risen to $68.24 per barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5 important things happening in South Africa today<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Uber and Bolt could soon be illegal: <\/strong>E-hailing companies, including Uber and Bolt, risk breaching South Africa’s new regulations if they don’t finalise their registrations soon. The new laws, introduced in September 2025, mandate vehicle branding, more driver info for riders, a separate licensing category, and panic buttons in all vehicles. [News24<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Free Wi-Fi from Telkom<\/strong>: Telkom intends to install free Wi-Fi hotspots at South African community centres rather than comply with outdated licensing requirements for services like public payphones. The company has asked the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to update its licensing conditions. [MyBroadband<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Top private school shuts down:<\/strong> Two of South Africa\u2019s top private schools, King David Victory Park and Mayfair Convent School, have officially shut down, with both campuses expected to be sold. [Newsday<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Billionaire steps down from his own company:<\/strong> South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe has stepped down as executive chairman of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), but will remain on the miner\u2019s board. Motsepe has retired from his position as Executive Chairman and as an employee of the company that he founded with effect from Monday, 16 February 2026. [BusinessTech<\/a>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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FirstRand may owe R13 billion:<\/strong> Analysts estimate that FirstRand’s potential liability related to the UK investigation into vehicle finance commissions could increase to as much as R13 billion. This amount represents approximately one-third of the group’s earnings reported in its most recent financial year, significantly heightening the stakes for the lender’s future in the UK market. [BusinessDay<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here are five important things happening in South Africa on Tuesday, 17 February 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":814983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20398],"tags":[18993,853],"class_list":["post-851173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-5-things","tag-5-important-things-happening-in-south-africa-today","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851173"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851173\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":851185,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851173\/revisions\/851185"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/814983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}