Volume 21 |Issue 4

21

st Anniversary Celebrating 21 Years of Excellence

Expand your Business Horizon

YEARS 2001 - 2021

Brainathon NeuroGym's 9th Annual

Change your brain. Change your income

John Assaraf founder and CEO of NeuroGym

Vol 21 Issue 4

Expand your Business Horizons

REGULARS 06

EDITOR'S NOTE

FEATURED 08

STRANDLOPER BOUTIQUE OCEAN HOTEL

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LEADERS COME FORWARD TO DESTIGMATIZE MENTAL HEALTH

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NEUROGYM'S 9TH ANNUAL BRAINATHON

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THE MALTRAVIX ART PROJECT - AN EXCITING NEW INITIATIVE

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PEUGEOT 2008 WINS SA CAR OF THE YEAR

EXCLUSIVE 22

ABX - YOUR MICHELIN STAR BUSINESS PARTNER

NEWS 40

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THE STRANDLOPER BOUTIQUE OCEAN HOTEL P/8

CYBEREASON EXPOSES IRANIAN STATESPONSORED CYBER ESPIONAGE CAMPAIGN GOOGLE CLOUD AND CYBEREASON JOIN FORCES TO DRIVE XDR INNOVATION

FEATURED ART THE MALTRAVIX ART PROJECT AN EXCITING NEW INITIATIVE P42

REVIEW

OPINION

THE BRAND NEW TOYOTA PRADO

DATA COMPLIANCE FOR HEALTHCARE

Carl Wepener shares his thoughts P/60

by Brigette Vermaak P/37

21

st Anniversary Celebrating 21 Years of Excellence

Expand your Business Horizon

YEARS 2001 - 2021

No article or part of an article may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher. The information provided and opinions expressed in this publication are provided in good faith but do not necessarily represent the opinions of the publisher or editor. All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in the publication. However, neither the publisher not the editor can be held legally liable in any way for damages of any kind whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from any facts or information provided or omitted in these pages, or from any statements made in or withheld by this publication

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Expand your Business Horizons

OPINION 24 SUCCESSION PLANNING IN SOUTH AFRICA 26 WORK INTEGRATED LEARNING (WIL) PROGRAMMES ARE KEY 28 BRPS SHOULD NOTE DIFFERING DUE DATES 31 ENSURE ALL SENSITIVE DATA IS TOTALLY DESTROYED 37

DATA COMPLIANCE FOR HEALTHCARE

SEIZE NEW OPPORTUNITIES AND ADAPT TO 38 CHALLENGES

REVIEWS 51 THE YARIS GR SUPER-HOT HATCH SNEAKS INTO THE MARKET 54 THE MERCEDES A35 AMG HATCH - A LETHAL ENTRÉE INTO THE AMG LANDSCAPE

Publisher: CEO Global Group Phone: +2782 883 4901 www.ceoglobalgroup.com Chief Executive Annelize Wepener annelize@ceoglobalgroup.com Chief Operating Officer George Wepener george@ceoglobalgroup.com Director Finance & Corporate Services Carl Wepener carl@ceoglobalgroup.com Head of Production/Creative Manager Lynn Richards - Rubix Cube Digital lynn@rubixcubedigital.co.za Corporate Support Yvonne Finch yvonne@yvonnefinch.com

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60 TOYOTA LANDCRUISER PRADO - A PROUD HERITAGE

No article or part of an article may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher. The information provided and opinions expressed in this publication are provided in good faith but do not necessarily represent the opinions of the publisher or editor. All reasonable efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in the publication. However, neither the publisher not the editor can be held legally liable in any way for damages of any kind whatsoever arising directly or indirectly from any facts or information provided or omitted in these pages, or from any statements made in or withheld by this publication WWW.CEOGLOBALGROUP.COM

Here today gone tomorrow

EDITORSNOTE

Home and health and personal care practitioners will be sought after due to the baby boomer’s population ages and will need personal aid care.

Well, history showed that many careers were very lucrative in the late 18 hundred and early 19 hundred’s. The motor vehicle is what I refer to. Carriage and buggy craftsmen laughed when they heard about this machine going to revolutionise the world and make them redundant. Well, they are redundant today. What about the airplane, the cordless phone the fax machine the typewriter! I can go on and on.

IT, data scientists and statisticians and other related IT careers will be required to develop programmes to control material processing using automated processes.

eton s'rotid

An interesting read passed my desk. It dealt with dying careers and then the second read was the twenty fastest growing jobs.

So, what will become obsolete in the future?

Real Estate Agents, Car Salesman, Bank teller, Cashiers, Librarians, Vehicle drivers, Lawyers referees, etc.

E

Why, do you say? Well, automation is the answer and the more you look and think it through the more you realise that it is true. All of it? Yes, not in Africa right now but the changes are already very evident in all spheres of life. The biggest decline is in production and administrative support positions.

Don’t be too depressed. We all can change and see all of this as a positive adventure.

Now let’s look at what will be lucrative for the future. The US Bureau of Statistics predicts that 11.9 million jobs will be created between 2020 and 2030. That is a 7.7% increase even with the dying careers been taken into consideration.

Energy like wind turbines and solar installers and service technicians will be the most lucrative positions in the world.

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Nine of the top 20 careers will be in healthcare. Computer and mathematical related careers incumbents will be sought after.

Automation is perceived as the real culprit for these changes. Automation has come to stay, thus we will have to embrace the changes and educating ourselves and our children will be essential to form part of these lucrative initiatives that will pay well and can provide economic welfare.

Even the agricultural landscape will be changed by this and as predicted by me and many other experts this is where Africa should focus and excel as we can be the breadbasket for the world and uplift our people and youth to become expert producers in this changing world.

FEATURED

a Jewel along the Cape’s West Coast

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FEATURED

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What a truly amazing weekend Paternoster along the West Coast.

in

We were privileged to stay at this award-winning piece of West Coast paradise – the Strandloper Ocean Boutique Hotel in Paternoster.

Never have I ever experienced my arrival at any hotel to be so welcoming! We were whisked away to the lounge to celebrate our arrival with a complimentary glass of sparkling wine or local craft beer. We were offered a welcome platter to enjoy with our drinks together with refreshing hand towels – setting the scene for an experience that you cannot but enjoy.

All whilst enjoying the breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean only meters away from where we were seated. It very quickly becomes evident that the Strandloper is focused on their guests' needs, their relaxation and so much more.

What makes the Strandloper so sought-after cannot be summarised in a single article. Our suite was unbelievable. Understated, barefoot luxury in beautiful harmony with the natural landscape that surrounds the hotel. We enjoyed views of both the ocean and the natural landscape surrounding the hotel from our suite – luxurious loungers on our deck allowing us to relax and drink in the natural beauty of this unique landscape. There are 14 rooms and suites to choose from. Our spacious seafront Ocean Suite had a lounge area, an en-suite bathroom with separate bath and shower and a private outdoor terrace on the beach with breathtaking ocean views.

Luxurious extra-length king size beds and pillows - as per your specific requirements - made for a most memorable night’s rest. Oh yes, let’s not forget! A romantic woodfire was lit in our suite every night to await our return from dinner and home made treats on our pillows wished us a good night’s rest.

Have you ever woken up in a hotel thinking, “where am I”? I have! At the Strandloper. What a sensory overload…waking up you feel, smell and see that you are in the peacefully calm and picturesque Paternoster. You are enveloped by tranquillity and the soothing sound of the Atlantic Ocean waving away stressful thoughts. Through the early morning mist that welcomes the dawn you cannot but give praise to this unique landscape that greets you.

Listen attentively and you will hear birds singing as they too welcome a new dawn. Here you can leave the world behind. Strandloper is a retreat; a place of calm that is completely private and secluded.

An absolutely mouthwatering breakfast is served daily from 08:00 to 11:00 in the magnificent Leeto restaurant. The hearty breakfast allows you to seize the day with all its glory and the promise to explore the oldest fisherman’s village in South Africa. We could not wait to set foot on the endless white washed beach; explore the little shops, galleries and other local treasures that is on offer in Paternoster. Long lazy walks on the beach made for a real treat. Just you and your thoughts surrounded by a beauty that is truly breathtaking.

The magnificent location of the Leeto Restaurant sets the tone for the culinary delight that we enjoyed here. You can expect fresh, seasonal ingredients, healthy and innovative dishes with a definite regional influence. At the helm of Leeto Restaurant is Executive Chef, Garth Almazan. Garth says, “We prepare daily exceptional full English breakfasts with fresh homemade breads to spoil you and later with a delicious lunch whilst you enjoy stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean and the surrounding fynbos reserve. Our dinners offer the perfect opportunity to conclude the day with delicious and outstanding local delights in a romantic setting”.

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FEATURED

Long lazy leisurely days can be spent at the heated, salt-water pool – the largest swimming pool in Paternoster at 20m in length. My partner enjoyed a pampering full body massage at the Elements Wellness Suite whilst I explored more of Paternoster by bicycle which you can make use of on a complimentary basis during the course of your stay.

Simone and Deon, owners of the Strandloper Ocean Boutique Hotel explain, “The spacious rooms have been meticulously thought through and feature handmade stone baths and vanities, outdoor showers and clean, organic shapes and textures. High ceilings create a feeling of freedom and the warm, earthy tones add to the relaxed, welcoming atmosphere. Inspired by the down-toearth nature of this traditional fishing village, the Strandloper Ocean Boutique Hotel has sourced locally made furniture and fittings and natural materials like stone, wood and organic linens.

Along with luxury linen, towels and handmade natural amenities, all rooms feature complimentary wireless internet access, Nespresso coffee machines, Bang & Olufson audio players, Netflix and handmade, proudly South African bath and body products with only natural ingredients as well as all other luxuries that one would expect from true 5-star living.”

Chef Garth - Leeto

The staff always plays such an important role in ensuring that you have a truly memorable and enjoyable experience. We were pampered and looked after from arrival to departure by Abraham, the General Manager, and his professional team with warm, genuine West Coast hospitality. With more than 70% of the team being Paternoster “locals” without any formal training in the hospitality industry, they have been thoroughly mentored by Simone and Deon to provide the excellent, unobtrusive service they do.

The Strandloper Ocean Boutique Hotel does not just showcase the magnificent area, it gives back to it too as part of their holistic philosophy of integrated practice. The Hotel partnered with the West Coast Kids, a local organization focused on empowering disadvantaged children.

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FEATURED

This is an active and ongoing involvement – through education and health projects for the betterment of an entire community – thus enabling the children of the West Coast to be proud ambassadors for the magnificent area they call home. In addition, they are also proud supporters of Lexi Gives Back – a local non-profit animal welfare organization.

Not only is Deon and Simone invested in the awardwinning Strandloper Ocean Boutique Hotel, but their passion and love for Paternoster is also reflected in being the proud property developers of the luxury Unique Cottages lifestyle estate - featuring contemporary design, high quality appliances included and a seamless indoor-outdoor living concept.

With extraordinary security and a coastal location 2 minutes from the beach, their Unique Cottages concept creates your home from the ground up by their experts , guiding you as the owner along every step of the way.

In my opinion, Unique Cottages is most definitely the most up-and-coming secure residential estate emphasizing authenticity and sustainability along the South African West Coast. Purchasing one of these cottages will not only reward you with a relaxing coastal lifestyle, but also an exceptional financial return.

At the Strandloper heaven meets earth on the shores of the Atlantic - it is not another place, it is another world.

Feeling like we have left the world behind for 2 days we are now back home - our hearts are yearning for the peace and tranquility experienced here. We will be back.

Website is www.strandloperocean.com Email: reservations@strandloperocean.com Phone: +27 (0) 21 794 5858/9 Phone: +27 (0) 60 547 6308 Phone: +27 (0) 83 654 3001 (After Hours)

Breathtakingly Natural Beauty

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FEATURED

Leaders come forward to destigmatize mental health

October is global mental health awareness month and this year the spotlight is turned towards the pandemic and how mental health issues have increased in both children and adults, with the enforced isolation exacerbating an already challenging situation.

According to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) survey conducted in 130 countries, COVID-19 has disrupted or halted critical mental health services in 93% of countries worldwide while the demand for mental health has increased. Considering that prior to the pandemic, the organization found that many countries were spending less than 2% of their national health budgets on mental health and struggling to meet their populations’ needs, the situation could become dire if ignored.

In South Africa, prior to the pandemic (2019), mental health was allocated 5% of the national health budget and only 50% of public hospitals offering mental health services had a psychiatrist and around 30% did not have a clinical psychologist.

A study conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council during the first hard lockdown reported that 33% of South Africans were depressed, while 45% were fearful, and 29% were experiencing loneliness during the first lockdown period.

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According to statistics recently released by the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), as many as one in six South Africans suffer from anxiety, depression, or substance-use problems.

Their findings also reveal that adolescent mental health and depression has become of particular concern over the past year due to increased screen time, isolation, extended school closures, limited social interaction with peers, and witnessing how the negative effects of the pandemic on their families.

To support and encourage those suffering with mental health issues and to turn a spotlight on the importance of acknowledging, talking about and destigmatizing mental health, several leading figures have begun to come forward to share their own experiences.

One such leader is Yael Geffen, the CEO of Lew Geffen Sotheby’s International Realty in South Africa, who suffers from bipolar II and has spoken candidly about her personal journey. She challenges others to do the same.

FEATURED

“It still blows my mind that we are comfortable to talk about cancer, diabetes and cardiac disease and the associated prescribed medication, and yet, despite the horrifying global statistics, we are still so afraid to talk about mental health which should be seen as no different.

As a thought leader in the space of Social Emotional Learning, Mandy has been interviewed on eNCA about anxiety in children and what she is witnessing amongst students, parents and teachers in the school environment, as well as her clients.

“It’s still very much a taboo subject with only a few celebrities and public figures coming forward with their own stories.”

“All of us experience anxiety. There is no such thing as an ‘anxious child’ and a ‘non-anxious child’ or an ‘anxious adult’ and a ‘non-anxious adult’.

Yael’s personal mental health journey began at age 22 when she was living in New York and began to feel severely depressed, anxious and even suicidal at times.

“I sought help immediately and, with medication, therapy and personal development, I have been able to create a beautiful life filled with a successful career, amazing relationships and family.

“Tragically I have lost loved ones who succumbed to their mental illness by taking their own lives and I can truly understand how they were feeling at the time. My message is that there IS a choice, there ARE resources and there IS help – you must just take that first step.

“We are very open about it in my workplace, and we are supportive of mental health days as this not only creates more loyalty but happier, healthier and more productive employees.

“Sure, my mental illness can be challenging at times, but it’s also what I consider my brilliant burden: one that allows me to be creative, highly functional and the best version of me - and I no longer carry shame about acknowledging it.

“In fact, I would like to inspire other leaders to come forward and share their stories. There is valid research that many entrepreneurs and business leaders suffer from mental illness and the studies actually show that it makes them better leaders.”

“If you have a body, a brain and a nervous system, you will experience anxiety because it’s a physiological sensation; it’s your body’s natural response to stress. We tell children that it’s their body’s natural alarm system that warns them when ‘something is not okay’.

“Although it’s impossible to never experience anxiety, it often comes from an inability to name the emotion that you’re feeling.”

Having worked in schools for 20 years, 11 of which have been as the headmistress of a junior prep school (ages 5-9), Mandy believes that mental health needs to be on top of the agenda of every Governing body, Board meeting and staff meeting.

“Teachers have never worked harder and are under extraordinary pressure to get through the curriculum for children to be ready for the next grade. This is simply not fair. In the same way as some businesses have needed a period of recovery, schools need a recovery period too.”

“The focus in our schools cannot be solely on the academic offering; our Social Emotional Learning (SEL) needs to be explicit and authentic. We need to shift our focus from the traditional 3 R’s – reading, writing and arithmetic to REGULATION, RELATIONSHIPS and BUILDING RESILIENCE.

Another advocate for mental health is Mandy Herold, who is the Head of the Junior Prep at The Ridge School, an International Conscious Discipline Certified Instructor and The Connection Coach.

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FEATURED

“Some of the behaviours we are seeing in the classroom are: low self-esteem, emotional outbursts, tearfulness, oppositional behaviour, much higher anxiety, lower frustration tolerance, paranoia (if anyone sneezes or coughs, you ‘have covid’) and an internal distractibility.

cake sale and dress up days, all while the teachers are still having to police social distancing and correct mask wearing.

“Our children’s mental and emotional health was a concern before Covid-19, and this has now been heightened. The collective trauma that we have experienced/are experiencing needs to be front and centre in the weeks, months, and years ahead.

“Ultimately, as a society, we have to start having braver conversations about how we normalise our daily struggles with mental health. It’s okay not to be okay!”

“Academics will only thrive when our children truly feel safe again. In the pyramid of learning, children must feel safe and connected before they can learn optimally. The ideal state for learning is high challenge, low stress, or relaxed alertness.

“At the same time, teachers are quietly suffering from burnout. Even the most experienced teachers are second-guessing themselves. They are putting on a brave face and showing up for their students but at what cost?

“With the current Level 1 reduced restrictions, schools are again playing catch up with sports fixtures, fund raisers, parent functions,

Mandy Herhold

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“Which means that as much as things feel like they’re ‘back to normal’ this is far from the case.

Yael Geffen and Mandy Herold, who are both passionate mental health advocates, have collaborated to open this discussion with a complimentary live webinar discussing their experiences and sharing information and the tools they use to cope with live with mental health challenges.

It will be held on the 27th of October 2021 from 7pm to 8pm and all are welcome to attend (anonymous registration available). If you/your family/your colleagues are interested in attending, please register at https://bit.ly/MyBeautifulMind If you or a loved one is suffering and needs urgent help, please contact SADAG on 0800 456 789.

Yael Geffen

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st Anniversary Celebrating 21 Years of Excellence

Expand your Business Horizon

YEARS 2001 - 2021

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23

OPINION

Succession planning in South Africa -

an opportunity, not a tick-boxing exercise

By Kim Hawke, partner at global partnership of growth strategists,Within People

As leaders, one of our biggest fears is no longer having a meaningful role to play in our organisations. For many business leaders, the fear of obsoletion can be crippling, especially when it comes to the vital process of succession planning.

However, if done correctly, succession planning can afford South African organisations an opportunity to tap into diversity, build resilience, and architect a sustainable future.

We see fear of giving up power as the biggest inhibitor of good succession planning. Leaders see succession planning as losing control of the business, or sending a message that they are no longer useful or even relevant, rather than focussing on the opportunity of the process which is creating a lasting legacy. Most of the action businesses have taken have been, at best, to designate succession planning as an HR initiative, and at worst, to succumb to virtue signalling in an effort to appear to care. Very few are talking about a systemic overhaul of how the company operates.

Leadership and culture must be codified Exploring succession planning challenges a little further, Hawke says another common mistake she sees is that, in many businesses, culture is not codified. She says leaders can’t create a succession plan if they are not inspired and aligned on what great leadership looks like, adding that companies must have a common understanding of what leadership for growth looks like.

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Everyone wants their life to mean something, and when you ask leaders to reflect on what they would be most proud of, growing people will always be part of that. Work we did with the successful payments and software platform, Yoco, saw this process in action. The leadership team needed to reset their role in the company. As much as they wanted to build a sustainable business with succession planning, the DNA of the business sat with the four founders and so until that was codified and made explicit and replicable, there was no way they could pass it on and scale the business.

Katlego Maphai, Yoco’s CEO has said of the process: “As an organisation scales, it’s essential to codify how you thrive — finding the unique behaviours that link to unique outcomes and that are difficult to replicate.Our values aren’t aspirational, and they aren’t borrowed from other great companies. They are a reflection of how we’ve done things when we were at our best.”

OPINION

Moving away from traditional frameworks

The opportunity of diversity

In another growth business we’ve worked with, the overriding parent-child leadership style was impeding growth.

While so many South African organisations see succession planning as a chore, the Within People team believes it is a real opportunity for local companies to architect a more diverse, equitable and We worked with them to co-create their purpose inclusive organisation – one which could be done and meaningfully and organically, rather than the often values - the foundations of their culture. By building mechanical and forced equity deals so often ownership and getting a team alignment of what a concluded. successful business looks like we could move them away from the traditional parent-child relationship We are at the infancy of understanding the real affecting so many local companies. Once everyone benefits of diversity, equity and inclusivity. Many is see in an adult space of responsibility and accountability it as difficult to build an organisation when people you have the ability to move forward with plans for come from very different backgrounds, but we growth and future leadership. should rather view it as a valuable opportunity.

With some good leadership work and the right Ultimately a business builds its future sustainability mindset, when it is not reliant on individuals. However, each succession planning can be so much more than a leader is motivated by different things. compliance tick-boxing exercise. We could be laying Our experience of leaders committed to building the foundations of a strong, resilient organisation organisations that will survive and thrive, is that they that is able to respond well to change - and in are motivated by different things. Some are inspired today’s environment that means companies are by building pioneering businesses that pave the way gaining far more than a new leader to take over for change, others might see empowered teams as when the current one retires. the new source of growth in a business. What these About Within People leaders have in common is a sense that what has got us here, will not serve us in the future. For example, Within People is a global partnership of growth traditional hierarchies mean power and decision strategists who are helping people and companies making is limited to a few people at the top. In a fast find their purpose to drive growth. The company changing environment this can be very inefficient, combines the best of brand development, not strategy, design thinking and leadership coaching to mention extremely stressful as we have seen to create a new blueprint for business. Established through the pandemic. in 2015, Within People Africa works with leaders who are committed to change to help them build The pressure for leaders to have all the answers is progressive, inclusive companies that are best prohibitive. Holding a mindset of curiosity, and really placed to meet the challenges of business in an listening to people across the organisation not only evolving economy. Its network of partners operate grows leaders of the future, but engages the whole throughout the country and continent and its organisation in problem solving, enhancing clients include blue chip multinationals, growth everyone’s sense of contribution which really companies, startups and global NGOs. energises a system. These are the leaders that will build the companies of the future.

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OPINION

Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programmes are key in reducing unemployment

Nangamso Mahunonyane

Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programmes to kick-start students’ careers are becoming increasingly valuable. When students leave school or university, they start out without work experience, and some are uncertain about which direction they want to take. A learnership or internship can provide both, and increase their employability.

Edward Snell & Co, the largest privately owned wine and spirits merchant in South Africa, offers learnerships, internships, graduate programmes and apprenticeships to students. Those recruited into the programmes gain invaluable knowledge and experience working on the company’s soughtafter liquor brands. The WIL programmes are run as part of the company’s responsibility as a South African employer to the youth of the country, and assist in bridging the unemployment gap.

HR and Transformation Manager, Nangamso Mahunonyane says, “Our WIL programmes began as a mentorship programme for students studying towards sales- and marketing-related diplomas.

The mentorship programme was initiated in 2004 by our then managing director, David Hooper.

Now, the programmes run across various disciplines within our business, including Sales and Marketing, Production, Warehouse and Distribution, Finance, Human Resources, Planning, Engineering, and in our Contact Centre.”

Young adults on the programmes are provided with opportunities either to gain experience after completing their formal qualification (graduates programme), or to gain experience to qualify for graduation (internship programme),

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or to simply get a foot in the employment door by learning about the world of work (learnership programme).

“The programmes also fall in line with our human resources strategies as they provide a great internal pipeline for our business – we often absorb exceptional talent into the business from these programmes,” says Mahunonyane. “Since the inception of the original mentorship programme in 2004, approximately 300 young people have benefited from the various programmes and, of those, 75 have been successfully appointed to full-time roles within the business.”

The programmes offer a comprehensive, practical placement within a specific department related to their field of study. It is a perfect opportunity for learners to apply the knowledge they have acquired in the classroom in the real world of work.

The programmes also allow them to build their confidence, develop the necessary skills for the workplace and, importantly, have some worthwhile work experience that they can include in their CVs. Ultimately, the programme enables them to develop the skills required for entry into full-time employment.

Once a programme is complete, learners may be offered positions within the company; however, this is not guaranteed. It depends on vacancies at the time, as well as the performance of the learner.

“We are obviously always delighted to absorb a learner or intern who has already proved themselves in the business in the course of the 12month programme,” says Mahunonyane.

OPINION

Staff members at Edward Snell & Co can also benefit from skills development programmes. A wide range of courses, coaching and mentorship opportunities is available in line with their career development and advancement. Mahunonyane adds, “In addition, we offer bursaries for tertiary education to our staff and their relatives, as well as to other learners who are in financial need.”

At the time, Kwa-Zulu Natal was governed from the Cape, the main transport between colonies being small coasting vessels which carried mainly cargoes of ivory and hides. Opportunities beckoned for Edward Snell, and it was not long before he moved east from the Cape, settling in the Natal province, and establishing Edward Snell & Co. in Durban in 1848.

Work Integrated Learning programmes such as those offered at Edward Snell & Co play a major role in reducing South Africa’s high unemployment numbers, as well as teaching students invaluable skills, exposing them to real work situations, and ultimately helping them become more employable.

Initially, trade consisted chiefly of imports and exports and the firm also acted as ship’s agent for most of the sailing vessels that passed through the port. Business grew rapidly and in 1859 Edward Snell encouraged his nephew Edward Hooper, who had recently left school in England, to travel to South Africa and trained him in the business. He and his son, also Edward Snell, managed the firm until the founder’s retirement in 1885.

Edward Hooper’s son, Vernon Hooper, had also joined the business in 1883, and after some time was admitted as junior partner. In 1906 Vernon Hooper bought out the interests of the Snell family and then later formed the business into a limited liability company. He appointed his sons Edward and Noel as co-directors, the latter being the father of current Chairman David Hooper and grandfather of Managing Director Iain Hooper.

More About Edward Snell & Co

More than 150 years ago a ship in distress bound for the Argentine coast was forced to dock in Cape Town, an event that led directly to the establishment of one of the oldest and longest surviving liquor businesses in South Africa.

On board that ship was a young Edward Snell who, after disembarking, joined the Cape Town shipping firm of Thompson Walter and Co.

Imports of wines, spirits and beer continued to grow for Edward Snell & Company, and office premises were set up in Durban’s Commercial Road, with large connecting warehouses facing on to Queen Street. In the 1950′s, Vernon Hooper sold the company to a consortium of wholesalers which traded under the name Associated Wine Products Ltd. In May 1980 an opportunity arose for the Hooper family to regain control of the company. The company has now been in existence for more than 160 years and is as determined as ever to stay true to the personalised hallmarks and hand shakes of a family-run business.

Source: http://www.esnell.co.za/company/#history

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OPINION

BRPs should note differing due dates

when income tax, VAT and payroll tax liabilities arise

By Joon Chong from Webber Wentzel

Case law and the Tax Administration Act provide clear authority that income tax liabilities arise when the ITA34 assessments are issued by SARS, and for VAT and payroll tax liabilities, on the date the relevant payments and returns are due.

A previous article discussed the ranking of tax debts and observed that income tax liabilities arise on assessments, unlike VAT and payroll tax liabilities, [1] which arise in the relevant period of supply or payroll period. This article provides the authority behind this view.

Income tax liabilities arise on assessments In both Caltex Oil (SA) Ltd v Secretary for Inland Revenue [2] and Commissioner for Inland Revenue v Golden Dumps (Pty) Ltd, [3] the Appellate Division held that: "[I]t is only at the end of the year of assessment that it is possible, and then it is imperative, to determine the amounts received or accrued on the one hand and the expenditure actually incurred on the other during the year of assessment…'.

This principle is also cited in other Supreme Court of Appeal judgements, such as the Anglovaal Mining Ltd v Commissioner, South African Revenue Services, [4] South African Revenue Service v South African Custodial Services (Pty) Ltd,[5] Commissioner, South African Revenue Service v Labat Africa Ltd, [6] and Commissioner, New Adventure Shelf 122 (Pty) Ltd v Commissioner, South African Revenue Services. [7]

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In other words, it is only at the end of the year of assessment that the gross income and deductions for that year can be determined and disclosed in the ITR14 returns. SARS will issue the ITA34 assessment based on the ITR14 return submitted.

The income tax liabilities arise on the date of the original assessment, which is the date when the ITA34 is issued by SARS. Section 91 of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 (TAA) creates a distinction between income tax assessments, and self-assessments which are the VAT 201 and EMP 201 returns. Section 91[]) provides for SARS to make an original assessment (i.e., the ITA34) based on the returns submitted by the taxpayer where the return (i.e., the ITR14) does not contain a determination of a tax liability.

VAT and payroll tax liabilities arise on the dates payments and returns are due Section 91[2] of the TAA provides that where a taxpayer is required to submit a return which incorporates a determination of the amount of a tax liability (i.e., the VAT 201 and EMP 201), the submission of the return is an original selfassessment of the tax liability. The VAT vendor and employer, not SARS, determine the tax liabilities when filing the VAT 201 and EMP 201 returns.

OPINION

The unanimous judgement of the Constitutional Court approved the difference in Metcash Trading Ltd v Commissioner, South African Revenue Service and Another [8] as follows: "… The first significant point to note is that VAT, quite unlike income tax, does not give rise to a liability only once an assessment has been made.

VAT is a multi-stage tax, it arises continuously.

Moreover, VAT vendors/taxpayers bear the ongoing obligation to keep the requisite records, to make periodic calculations of the balance of output totals over and above deductible input totals (and any other permissible deductibles) and to pay such balances over to the fiscus. It is therefore a multistage system with both continuous self-assessment and predetermined periodic reporting/paying.

[17] An even more important feature of VAT, particularly in contradistinction to income tax, is that vendors are in a sense involuntary tax-collectors. In principle VAT is payable on each and every sale; the VAT percentage, the details for its calculation and the timetable for periodic payment are statutorily predetermined, and it is left to the vendor to ensure that the correct periodic balance is calculated, appropriated, and paid over in respect of each tax period. …". (Our emphasis.)

This principle was further cited with approval in the Supreme Court of Appeal decision of Commissioner, South African Revenue Service v Pretoria East Motors (Pty) Ltd.[9] These authorities clearly confirm that VAT and payroll tax liabilities which arise from self-assessments do not arise as a result of filing, respectively, the VAT 201 and EMP 201 returns.

Late payments of VAT and payroll taxes after the due date result in penalties and interest.[13] VAT liabilities thus arise on the due date for payment, regardless whether the VAT returns have been submitted.

The same principle would apply for payroll tax liabilities. The EMP 201 returns must normally be filed, and the payroll tax amounts paid by the 7th of the month following the payroll month.[14] Late payments after the 7th will result in 10% penalties15 and interest.1[6] Payroll tax liabilities thus arise on the 7th of the month following the payroll month, regardless whether the EMP201 returns have been submitted.

File those returns...

The above principles from case law and the TAA highlight the difference between when income tax liabilities, and VAT and payroll tax liabilities arise. Late submissions of ITR14 income tax returns could result in income tax liabilities arising after the date of commencement of business rescue, even when the returns are for financial years before commencement. This is not the case for VAT and payroll tax liabilities. Business rescue practitioners should, as far as possible, ensure that all returns are up to date prior to the date of commencement of business rescue, especially income tax returns.

[1] In this article, "payroll tax liabilities" refer to employees' tax or "PAYE", unemployment insurance fund (UIF) contributions, and skills development levies (SDL), i.e. the amounts due in the EMP 201 returns.

[2] 1975 1 SA 665 at 674B-D. [3] 1993 (4) SA 110 (A) at 115I–116D and 117G–J. [4] 2010 (2) SA 299 (SCA) at 312H. [5] 2012 (1) SA 522 (SCA) at 312H. [6] 2013 (2) SA 33 (SCA) at 36F. [7] 2017 (5) SA 94 (SCA) at 101F. [8] 2001 (1) SA 1109 (CC) at 1121G. [9] 2014 (5) SA 231 (SCA) at 234F. [10] Section 27 of the VAT Act categories.

[11] Section 28 of the Value-Added Tax Act 89 of 1991 (VAT Act).

[12] Section 39(1) of the VAT Act. [13] Section 187(3)(a) of the TAA. [14] Paragraph 2(1) of the Fourth Schedule of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (IT Act).

[15] Paragraph 6(1) of the Fourth Schedule.

[16] Section 187(3)(a) of the TAA. ceo 2021 l Vol 4

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Submission & Nominations CEO Global 2021 Awards These awards are about YOU, your contribution, your influence and not about the organization you represent.

Complete online at www.ceoglobalgroup.com

Please complete ALL questions in the Entry Form to speed up your route to the finalists

All this documentation needs to be submitted in order for an entry to be complete

21

st Anniversary Celebrating 21 Years of Excellence

Expand your Business Horizon

YEARS 2001 - 2021

OPINION

Ensure all sensitive data is totally destroyed

by Xperien ITAD specialist Bridgette Vermaak

End-of-life IT assets present critical challenges to all businesses that handle sensitive data. Factory resets and hard drive formatting leave valuable data behind, so any method that fails to verify complete data destruction risks leaving data accessible.

There are important considerations to consider when decommissioning end-of-life electronics and data storage devices. To ensure no sensitive data is left behind, Xperien has introduced a decommissioning checklist for PCs, laptops, and other IT assets.

All electronics and hard drives will have to be retired eventually, even if the data gets transferred to another device. For this reason, it is critical that during the decommissioning process that all stored data is made permanently inaccessible.

When it comes to end-of-life data protection, confidentiality is the primary concern. This is particularly true when unauthorised data exposure could cause great financial loss, brand damage or other harm if made available to the wrong people.

Even if this once-valuable data is completely obsolete or unimportant to the company now, it can still be valuable for hackers and black market data brokers. Businesses cannot risk data leaks from data that can be found or reconstructed from discarded storage devices; it could lead to heavy fines, huge financial losses and reputational damage.

So how does one make sure all highly sensitive data is completely destroyed at end-of life?

Sanitisation Data sanitisation is the process of deliberately, permanently and irreversibly removing or destroying the data stored on a memory device to make it unrecoverable. This definition is in line with Gartner’s 2019 Hype Cycles. A device that has been sanitised has no usable residual data, and even with the assistance of advanced forensic tools, the data will never be recovered.

According to Gartner, there are three methods to achieve data sanitisation: physical destruction, cryptographic erasure and data erasure.

The pros and cons of cryptographic erasure are explained in Blancco's white paper titled 'The Crypto Erase Conundrum: What’s Your Organization’s Risk Tolerance?'. Although shredding drives and degaussing are often considered the preferred methods of final drive destruction, how does one know the best sanitisation method - and whether to choose between physical destruction or data erasure?

It is importantly to understand whether the data one needs to protect will still be considered high-risk or highly confidential for months or years to come. This is critical as data recovery techniques become more advanced and data recovery tools and skills become more commonplace. This may also influence the decision on whether one wants to meet, or exceed, bare minimum regulation requirements.

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OPINION

For sensitive data that will remain valuable for a long time, one needs to ensure that it is successfully removed from devices and device fragments for both now and in the future.Sanitisation

This allows a drive previously used, for example in the finance department, to be re-distributed to another department without the fear of staff salaries and bank account details being exposed internally.

Data sanitisation is the process of deliberately, permanently and irreversibly removing or destroying the data stored on a memory device to make it unrecoverable. This definition is in line with Gartner’s 2019 Hype Cycles. A device that has been sanitised has no usable residual data, and even with the assistance of advanced forensic tools, the data will never be recovered.

However, once a drive leaves the company, they no longer have any control over any potential data access. Any residual data may be exposed long after the company has disposed of these assets.

According to Gartner, there are three methods to achieve data sanitisation: physical destruction, cryptographic erasure and data erasure.

Data sanitisation procedures can provide adequate data protection for most needs for most companies, if executed properly from the beginning to the end of the process. So, for any company concerned about protecting data at end-of-life, they must realise that trouble occurs when data sanitisation is executed incorrectly.

The pros and cons of cryptographic erasure are explained in Blancco's white paper titled 'The Crypto Erase Conundrum: What’s Your Organization’s Risk Tolerance?'. Although shredding drives and degaussing are often considered the preferred methods of final drive destruction, how does one know the best sanitisation method - and whether to choose between physical destruction or data erasure?

Physical destruction and secure data erasure

It is importantly to understand whether the data one needs to protect will still be considered high-risk or highly confidential for months or years to come. This is critical as data recovery techniques become more advanced and data recovery tools and skills become more commonplace. This may also influence the decision on whether one wants to meet, or exceed, bare minimum regulation requirements.

Secure data erasure can be done in live environments or be applied to hundreds or even thousands of drives onsite. With a thorough chain of custody process in place, it can also be performed at an ITAD facility. After devices have been erased, one can safely destroy them without fearing human error, unintentional loss or deliberate hacking.

Physically destroying hard drives, laptops, PCs, mobile devices and other storage devices, offers objective acknowledgement and verification of data erasure’s security and effectiveness. However, data may still be recoverable. It is therefore recommended that one first performs secure and complete data erasure.

Other risks For sensitive data that will remain valuable for a long time, one needs to ensure that it is successfully removed from devices and device fragments for both now and in the future.

Even if the data on an old drive is sensitive and will be reused within the same company, it must be thoroughly sanitised in a way that protects the data while preserving the life of the drive.

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There are still other risks, even if the correct data disposal processes are followed precisely for each drive type. One needs rock-solid chain of custody measures in place in any physical destruction scenario or there’s a risk of loss or theft simply by giving a third-party data destruction service access to one's devices.

OPINION

Whether destruction is conducted on-site with mobile shredders or degaussers, or transported to an IT asset disposal (ITAD) facility, there is always risk involved since there are many points of vulnerability.

Carefully vet the service providers, from ensuring secure transit of drives, checking for adequate staff clearance, providing a clear audit trail of each device from receipt through sanitisation and to disposal. Also ensure that all equipment is in good working order and ensure all staff is well-trained in the correct drive destruction and verification processes.

Applying these practices when looking for a data destruction vendor will reduce the risk and minimise the chances of data being susceptible to breach.

Just as care should be taken when selecting a drive destruction provider, it’s important to choose your data erasure solution carefully. For example, Blancco data erasure software has been tested, certified, approved and recommended by more than 15 governing bodies around the world.

From humble beginnings 21 years ago as a used computer dealer, we strive to make our contribution by redefining the way corporations use IT hardware.

We provide our clients with secure ITAD services and have obtained ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 accreditations specifically for ITAD. Our value proposition is to protect our clients’ personal information and intellectual property that resides on their computers during technology changes and at end-of-service. We manage our client’s enterprise and desktop infrastructure in a sustainable manner - across the globe. Logistical solutions are tailored to cater for our clients’ geographical spread and to negate the everpresent risk of hard-drive theft from dispositioned computers.

Xperien provides cost-effective solutions to combat the challenges associated with data loss and to mitigate reputational risk. Our compliance meets the NIST 800-88, DoD 5220.22-M and CEGS criteria, particularly in terms of data-destruction processes, while adherence to the Protection of Personal Information Act of 2013 (POPIA) and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is core to our business.

Its data erasure software erases to more than 25 standards and provides tamper-proof reports to meet security and regulatory compliance requirements.

Download the Decommissioning Checklist for Enterprises: PCs, Laptops & Other IT Assets.

More about Xperien (www.xperien.com) Join the Circular Economy - Reducing the global e-waste problem and optimising the lifecycle of IT hardware.

Xperien (Pty) Ltd is a leading South African IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) company. We are a passionate team of professionals who care about our planet, its people and its resources.

Xperien ITAD specialist Bridgette Vermaak

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OPINION

Data compliance for healthcare

by Xperien ITAD specialist Bridgette Vermaak

Patient data is essential in healthcare, especially when managing an individual’s care. Safeguards governing the processing and storage of patient data are required and will be bolstered by the introduction of the Protection of Personal Information Act, No 4 of 2012 (PoPIA).

Healthcare facilities that manage IT asset disposition internally continue to struggle with data security and proper environmental recycling.

Efficient IT infrastructure life cycle management and secure IT asset disposition (ITAD) can help them maximise value at every stage of their technology investment.

Since this law came into effect on 1 July 2021, all private and public bodies processing personal information are now required to have implemented policies and procedures in order to be compliant.

Vermaak says effective environmental IT Asset Disposal (ITAD) is no longer a luxury, it has become a legal requirement. “It's crucial to find a professional ITAD provider that can offer data sanitisation and destruction services to protect the data.”

Xperien ITAD specialist Bridgette Vermaak says many of these healthcare facilities have heaps of old computer equipment lying in their storerooms. “This equipment has a large amount of patient data and reckless disposal of these electronics will put these institutions at risk.”

“To comply, they need to ensure that the data on all their retired electronics is erased or destroyed according to the PoPIA regulations. Deleting files is not sufficient. Data erasure and IT asset disposal has legislative requirements, compliance to PoPIA, the National Environmental Waste Management Act 2008 (NEMWA 2008), the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)," she explains.

According to legislation, all healthcare facilities including hospitals and clinics are required to manage the complete destruction of all data when IT assets reach end-of-life. PoPIA requires them to practice due diligence and ensure their storerooms go through the expected data erasure techniques essential to protect company data.

She says if decommissioning and data destruction is done correctly, their reputation is safe, the budget receives a much-needed boost and the leaders have peace of mind. “Value recovery is a crucial part of the process, these institutions need to receive fair market value for end-of-life and redundant IT equipment.”

Professional ITAD service providers normally offer to purchase these assets, this includes the collection, data erasure and reporting. More importantly, most of these institutions are also missing out on the opportunity to get money back for their used IT equipment.

"Our offer to healthcare facilities is the safe collection of redundant equipment, data erasure and reporting so that they can dispose of their IT equipment knowing that they have complied with relevant legislation and have received the best value for your redundant IT equipment," she concludes.

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OPINION

Seize new opportunities and adapt to challenges

by Bluegrass Digital CEO Nick Durrant

Although modern businesses are becoming more agile and benefiting from the countless online sales opportunities, very few of them are using customer insights to confidently seize new opportunities and adapt to challenges.

Businesses need to embrace a customer-driven culture and understand their customers by learning how they feel, think and act. They also need to understand that products must be designed to meet their customers' needs - they cannot force products onto their customers. This is according to Bluegrass Digital CEO Nick Durrant.

All their marketing must be targeted on what their customers want and at the same time, they need to provide a first-class customer experience (CX). In order to achieve this, businesses need an in-depth knowledge of the customer.

Although industry research will aid this process, the true insights can only come from the data the company collects over time, which should include customer interests, behavior and engagement at all stages of the customer lifecycle.

There are a myriad of tools and advanced data analytics to improve the customer experience. Tools like Optimizely (formerly Episerver) enable ecommerce businesses to compete and win in the digital-first economy using experimentation and evidence-based outcomes.

They increase agility to test and deliver impactful experiences and speed time to market; and improve outcomes through unique digital experiences for each customer, at scale.

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Empowering digital teams CX digital platforms have taken centre stage, they empower digital teams to be more intentional in their customer engagements as well as more agile in adapting to changing behaviours and markets.

More importantly, they deliver a unique system of differentiation to inspire product and experience innovation using real customer insights.

According to a study by PwC, one-third of customers who have a bad experience will break up with a brand.

A customer-centric culture revolves around the needs of current and potential customers. This is in contrast to a product-driven culture that develops products with little regard to whether customers want them. It's also very different from a profitdriven culture, one that views customers in terms of revenue and profit.

Furthermore, a data-driven culture supports customer-centricity by helping business leaders better understand what the customer needs and what drives their purchasing behaviour.

Data analytics Advancements in the digital world have made customer insights more easily accessible, transforming the way businesses operate. Data analytics have become precious and integral assets to marketers, these tools provide insights into customer behaviours and allow business leaders to make insightful and data-driven business decisions.

OPINION

Track and analyse To get to know the customer better, one needs to track and analyse every touch point in the customer experience. Data analytics allows one to understand the true motivations behind a customer’s actions. This may also help one find the pain points customers are experiencing.

Collect direct customer feedback whenever possible because customer service is key to all sales protocols. One should solicit feedback in order to build loyalty by meeting the customers’ needs.

Allan Gray creates a personalised CX With the help of Bluegrass Digital, Allan Gray has created a new, engaging and dynamic online platform that offers a rich user experience with easy access to information and resources, which drives increased user interaction and attracts new customers.

Their website creates a personalised customer experience for new clients, existing clients, financial advisors and institutional investors, supporting localised country-based content can be managed carefully and intuitively within Optimizely, a leading digital experience platform.

Optimizely now provides the platform to enable Coronation with their ambitious Omni-channel business strategy. It provides the tools to drive personalisation using built in AI and machine learning capabilities giving the potential to provide a personalised user experience for new and existing customers.

About Bluegrass Digital (www.bluegrassdigital.com) Bluegrass Digital is a leading provider of digital solutions for business. We simplify tech. We help you architect and build digital products and services, ensuring you transform and succeed in a digital world. With over 20 years of engineering experience and proven track record, Bluegrass Digital offers expert knowledge and its unique offering that is centred on service delivery excellence.

Contact: Nick Durrant (021) 671 1966 nick@bluegrassdigital.com

Coronation rebuilds its website to meet future requirements.

Similarly, Coronation, a world-class investment management company, has implemented a bestin-class digital experience platform (DXP) for its web and digital offering. The new website now provides a consistent brand experience delivering an intuitive navigation and user experience across the website.

Bluegrass Digital CEO Nick Durrant

Optimizely’s offering was the obvious platform of choice with its easy-to-use content management interface allowing editors to easily select templates, add content and manage site controls.

The powerful publishing workflow allows for distributed content management roles.

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NEWS

Cybereason Exposes Iranian StateSponsored Cyber Espionage Campaign Targeting Global Aerospace and Telecommunications Companies

by Cybereason CEO and co-founder Lior Div

The highly targeted attacks by new Iranian threat Key Findings in the Operation GhostShell Report actor MalKamak included newly discovered Include: malware that evaded security tools since 2018 and abuses Dropbox services for command and New Iranian Threat Actor MalKamak: A newly control discovered Iranian threat actor that has been operating since at least 2018 and remained Cybereason, the leader in operation-centric attack unknown thus far. The investigation draws protection, today published a new threat possible connections to other Iranian stateintelligence report that unmasks a highly-targeted sponsored threat actors including Chafer APT cyber espionage operation targeting global (APT39) and Agrius APT. aerospace and telecommunications companies.

Discovery of New ShellClient RAT: The The report identifies a newly discovered Iranian Cybereason Nocturnus team discovered a threat actor behind the attacks dubbed MalKamak sophisticated and previously undocumented that has been operating since at least 2018 and RAT (Remote Access Trojan) dubbed remained unknown until today. In addition, the ShellClient used for highly targeted cyber still-active campaign leverages a very sophisticated espionage operations. and previously undiscovered Remote Access Trojan (RAT) dubbed ShellClient that evades Targeting Aerospace and Telecom Companies: antivirus tools and other security apparatus and Based on the telemetry, this threat has been abuses the public cloud service Dropbox for predominantly observed in the Middle East command and control (C2). region but has also been observed targeting organisations in the U.S., Russia and Europe, The report, titled Operation GhostShell: Novel with a focus on the Aerospace and RAT Targets Global Aerospace and Telecoms Telecommunications industries.

Firms, details the stealthy attacks against companies in the Middle East, United States, Ongoing Development Since 2018: The Europe and Russia. The investigation reveals investigation revealed this threat was first possible connections to several Iranian stateoperationalised in 2018 and since then has sponsored threat actors including Chafer APT been under active development with each new (APT39) and Agrius APT. This report follows the version adding more features and stealth. This August publication of the DeadRinger Report by threat is still active as of September 2021.

Cybereason that similarly uncovered multiple Chinese APT campaigns targeting telecommunications providers.

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NEWS

Abusing Cloud Services for C2: The most recent ShellClient versions were observed to be abusing cloud-based storage services for Command and Control (C2), in this case the popular Dropbox service, to remain undetected by blending in with legitimate network traffic.

Designed for Stealth: The authors of ShellClient invested a lot of effort into making it stealthy to evade detection by antivirus and other security tools by leveraging multiple obfuscation techniques and recently implementing a Dropbox client for command and control (C2), making it very hard to detect.

Using the ShellClient RAT, the threat actor also deployed additional attack tools to perform various espionage activities on the targeted networks including additional reconnaissance, lateral movement in the environment, and the collection and exfiltration of sensitive data. Operation GhostShell is assessed to be run by a statesponsored threat actor, or Advanced Persistent Threat (APT).

About Cybereason Cybereason is the champion for today’s cyber defenders, providing operation-centric attack protection that unifies security from the endpoint, to the enterprise, to everywhere the battle moves.

The Cybereason Defense Platform combines the industry’s top-rated AI-powered detection and response (EDR and XDR), next-gen antivirus (NGAV), Anti-Ransomware Protection and Proactive Threat Hunting to deliver context-rich analysis of every stage of a MalOp™ (malicious operation).

Cybereason is a privately held, international company headquartered in Boston with customers in more than 50 countries.

Media Contacts: Bill Keeler Senior Director, Global Public Relations Cybereason bill.keeler@cybereason.com (929) 259-3261

“The Operation GhostShell report revealed a complex RAT capable of evading detection since as early as 2018, and the recent DeadRinger report also uncovered a similarly evasive threat from as early as 2017, which tells us a lot about how advanced attackers are continuously defeating security solutions,” said Cybereason CEO and cofounder Lior Div. “Layering on more tools to produce even more alerts that overwhelm defenders is not helping us stop sophisticated attacks, which is why Cybereason takes an operation-centric approach that detects based on very subtle chains of behavior where the adversary’s own actions work against them to reveal the attack at the earliest stages.”

Cybereason CEO and co-founder Lior Div

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FEATURED

The Maltravix Art Project an exciting new initiative The oldest known cave painting is a red hand stencil in Maltravieso cave, Cáceres, Spain. It has been dated using the uraniumthorium method and the painting has been determined to be older than 64,000 years. It was made by a Neanderthal.

The name: The word Maltravix ties in to both Rubix Cube Digital and Onyx Design (The founding partners) .

A community who can support and uplift not only each other, but themselves. A place of inspiration and growth.

On 1 November 2021 we will have our first exclusive virtual exhibition, with exclusive works from artists. Here the public will be able to buy an exclusive piece or commission that dream artwork!

Visit www.maltravixartproject.co.za Exclusive previews of works for sale

Our mission: The idea behind this project is to provide a platform for artists, to exhibit and sell their art. The ultimate goal is a permanent virtual gallery where works can be exhibited regardless of what is going on in the outside world.

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FEATURED

Introducing the Artists Paul Bernard I attended art classes in Johannesburg for a number of years experimenting with different mediums and started seeing the world in a new light. Then I spent the next few years painting on my own. In 2011 I started attending art classes again, this time with Ricky Burnett in Johannesburg, where I feel very much at home. Ricky’s style of teaching and his tremendous knowledge has had a huge influence on my own style and I now concentrate on oils. My works have been exhibited at Ricky Burnett art studio (private) and Alliance Francaise Johannesburg.

Anita Sophia Oliphant

The practice of drawing and painting is inspired by me observing people and my own awareness of every moment in nature. Other inspiration comes from having followed the development of art since prehistoric times, signs of art in caves and on rocks really grabs my imagination. Modern and contemporary art world wide also inspires me. The influence of the “best and worst” in life and art keeps my attention every day of my life. The universal language of any line or symbol connects us all..

Lyndi Lee My lockdown journey brought me to this point. The first friend, Cyclic Neutropenia. An uninvited friend that forced me to take self-isolation just a little more seriously than the next person.

My invited friend, my talent. Slowly but surely, the lockdown deeply isolated me and my voice to become more and more silent. I dusted of my old box of art supplies and began my journey on the canvas. My songs were now being sung through my hands. Colourful paintings arose from the dark. My isolation in all essence my new birth. My paintings telling a story.

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FEATURED

Andy Galloway Described as a “must have” and “the artist to watch”, Andy’s art is high in demand, has a global reach and is popular with collectors and critics.

Why I Paint? Perhaps the answer is simply that it is who I have always been. “I want my art to be accessible to everyone and that’s why I coined the affordable art concept,” says Andy.

I am inspired by the light streaming down, and the clouds above, have always fascinated this Cape Town-based artist.

Andri Heydenreich

I grew up on a farm in the Eastern Free State near Bethlehem.

Growing up with the life cycles of nature, cultivated the awareness of the special moments in life.

I am a part time artist and draw my inspiration from nature and people. Mostly I try to capture that special moments of awe, magic or vulnerability on paper or canvas.

It is a privilege to still learn and be inspired by my mentor and friend, Anita Oliphant.

Proudly brought to you by

w w w . m a l t r a v i x a r t p r o j e c t . c o . z a

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FEATURED

w w w . m a l t r a v i x a r t p r o j e c t . c o . z a

Paul Bernard

Andy Galloway Lyndi Lee

Anita Oliphant

Andri Heydenreich ceo 2021 l Vol 4

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Proudly celebrating

21

st Anniversary Celebrating 21 Years of Excellence

Expand your Business Horizon

YEARS 2001 - 2021

NEWS

Google Cloud and Cybereason Join Forces to Drive XDR Innovation

by Cybereason CEO and co-founder Lior Div

Cybereason, a leader in operation-centric cyber attack protection, and Google Cloud today announced a joint collaboration between the two companies to create and bring to market unprecedented Extended Detection and Response (XDR) -- across endpoints, networks, cloud and workspaces -- at record-setting speed.

“We founded Cybereason with a mission to reverse the attacker's advantage and return the high ground to the defender, and we are excited to have Google Cloud partner with us in furthering the success of this mission.”

Meanwhile Google Cloud’s cybersecurity analytics platform Chronicle ingests, normalises, and analyses petabytes of data from the complete IT environment on planetary-scale infrastructure.

That level of protection is why Cybereason was recognised on the CNBC 2021 Disruptor 50 list, and received top scores across every aspect of testing in the MITRE Engenuity ATT&CK Evaluations.

The combination of these capabilities delivers a cloud-native XDR solution, Cybereason XDR powered

by Chronicle, that automates prevention for common attacks, guides analysts through security operations and incident response, and enables threat hunting with precision at a pace never before achieved.

“Google Cloud is dedicated to delivering the industry’s most trusted cloud to accelerate customers’ digital transformation efforts with security products that meet them wherever they are. Cybereason continues to disrupt the market and deliver on their vision for a future-ready extended detection and response defense platform,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO, Google Cloud.

Cybereason has succeeded in protecting customers and experienced impressive growth over the last year, Cybereason delivers the most comprehensive being recognised as a leading innovator by respected protection available on the market today, analysing third-party organisations. more than 23 trillion security-related events per week -- five times the volume of any other solution in the Where many solutions failed, Cybereason protected market. Using its patented Malicious Operations customers from headline-making attacks like (MalOps™) engine, Cybereason reveals the full attack SolarWinds, the Microsoft Exchange Server attacks, story across every device, user identity, application and crippling ransomware attacks from DarkSide, REvil and cloud deployment. and other ransomware gangs.

“Google Cloud’s ability to hunt through petabytes of data at the speed of search, combined with Cybereason’s revolutionary correlation capabilities and behavior-based detections delivers unparalleled speed and accuracy in the prevention, detection, and response of advanced attacks,” said Cybereason CEO and co-founder Lior Div.

“We’re excited to partner with Cybereason to help customers quickly secure their hybrid and cloud environments with the combined capabilities of Google Cloud and Cybereason’s XDR services.”

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REVIEW

The Yaris GR super-hot hatch sneaks into the market

by Vishnu Singh

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REVIEW

Toyota Yaris Gazoo Racing 2021 Overview There is a certain authentic grit to a brand when the international president of Toyota, Akio Toyoda literally races around the world in road rallies on public roads and physically embodies the companies motto “Roads build people, and people build cars." It demonstrates an obsessive commitment to quality that is demonstrated by their gargantuan sales volumes.

The Yaris GR as a super-hot hatch sneaks into the market at a fragile and uncertain time within our economy. It’s quirky, aggressive and intimate as a vehicle. It definitely has the Stallone/Rocky air of being the underdog in this class but it has the golden gloves, boots and training of the titanic brand behind it. This implies its not going to disappoint.

The existential aspect of Toyota adding the GR range to its fleet implies a hunger to enter and snatch a share of the performance market from other brands. Homologation has always benefitted the consumer and the T & C’s of the World Rally Organisation insists that for a car to compete, it must have a reasonably close model in the real world. In the past the numbers required were miniscule, recently it has shifted to 25000. This puts tons of pressure on the engineering team to not only produce a road going “fast” car that’s appealing but also shove enough racing gimmicks into it to align it with regulations. Globally 25000 might not seem like a lot, but with many households cutting down on their residential fleet, whatever is presented must tick a few practical boxes as well. Granny is not going to enjoy being bent like a pretzel in the back seat. The sales strategy has been brilliant in that Toyota grabbed an existing platform and created a car that crosses into the WRC space with proven heritage and an international fan base.

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Exterior There is a fine gazoo line between practical public and hooligan race car. The Yaris looks and talks like a Yaris, to point but the edgy attitude, red accents and the rear half of the CH -R mean that although they did not remove the back seats (at least my cats can still fit), there are no rear doors and the roof will drive your latent claustrophobia to new heights. But let’s not lose focus…It’s a performance Hot Hatch so it will fulfil your desires of going fast.

It’s obviously longer, broader and lower, similar to ex-girlfriends after a hiatus of time and no dieting, but in this case its needed.

Interior In retrospective its interior is more demure and subtle than what I would have expected from something as dramatically inspiring as the GR. As the driver apart from those sparse track days , one would be deliberating oodles of time in the interior of the car and for its outward top gun attitude, it should have a little more maverick in its appearance. This is not a case of minimalistic décor, it needs to shout and yell at you about its potential and yet apart from a scarce badge here an exhaust button there, it’s more laissez faire interior versus the staggering performance and tightly accentuated curves of the exterior. It does crackle and surge in its acoustic department which creates a certain primal appeal and apart from more love handle support the interior is adequate. The rest of the package is tantalizing and provocative enough.

REVIEW

Performance

Summary

Its been a long tedious year of some amazing and some dismal cars. The GR Yaris is a blast of antagonistic wind that would ruffle the tail feathers of other brands and leave you grinning in manic appreciation of its sheer potential. It’s a good old-fashioned rooting, tooting 6 speed manual box that will appeal to those old school retro drivers that grew up with paddles and Tiptronic etc. It forces you to actually drive and with an elevated seated position allows you to perch, point and shoot it in the direction you want to navigate. It has torque split options and like a real WRC it can do 50/50, 60/40 and 30 /70 which can definitely be experienced in the right hands.

Just spend a lap or two with Giniel de Villiers who can aptly demonstrate the cars heritage, precision and ability but also allows you regurgitate the meals from the past few days with his antics.

It screeches and delivers with confident aplomb in whatever situation it is placed in. The Yaris GR has hatched at a time where there is a genuine lack of affordable performance cars and with all the rockets I have driven and ridden this year, this little gem had me smiling and wanting to drive it more. It has satiated the gap for those of us who used to drive Scoobies in the late 90’s and offered and opportunity to play, stage and perform without dolling out over R2 Million. The Yaris GR is another testament to an icon from a company that give or take a few bright stickers has really shown it can compete in the performance market and provide tons of entertainment for the budding enthusiast. Not to mention the modding potential…

It changes direction like a dune buggy and sticks like cat hair to cotton. Its stops, pirouettes and dances like a prima ballerina with all the grace of the love child of Colin McRae and Valentino Rossi.

With 195kW from a 3-cylinder engine and with Toyota reliability you know its going to run forever. It kind of makes other manufacturers performance numbers seem inadequate.

Price R606 600 Base R715 000 (Rally) Engine 1,6 Liter Single Turbo Power 198kW Torque 360Nm 0-100 5.5s (claimed) Top Speed 235 km/h

Toyota GR Yaris

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REVIEW

The Mercedes A35 AMG Hatch A lethal entrée into the AMG landscape

by Vishnu Singh

Overview

Exterior

One thing the weary consumer has been bombarded with is that cliches will never become extinct. The 8th iteration of the Golf Gti is probably the golden testament to that formulae.

Represented by dropped suspension, aggressive eye-brows, and little or no regard for other road users. The hot hatch driver will cut you off and then flip you the bird for being in the fast lane at the national speed limit.

The bright banana yellow colour of the test car with its shopping trolley rear wing, micro diffusers and all the perfectly coded black inserts present such a visually appealing car that even high SUV drivers nod at you and smile indulgently. It's artfully done or maybe the Indian in me just loves sparkly things with spoilers. There is scientific value to all this, for those track day fundi’s, you will enjoy your ride being tagged ad infinitum. There are fewer vocal paint options, but why would you settle for less?

Do we care? Well apart from the myopic old ladies in their espressos who survive death each day on our roads, the 11+ LSM does not, but the OEMs do. Even BMW has hatched a hot hatch contender in the form of the BMW 128ti, so obviously, this sector is alive and kicking. The A35 is a “pakka” AMG and that means for the moderate price tag you can also drive an Affalterbach’s offspring and take on the persona of a Gti driver, but we hope not. Mercedes is elegant and aspirational; hooligans should keep their emoticons in the closet or stick with VW.

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Interior It presents the usual glamourous overload of technology with happy unicorn nirvana colours. The dash is engaging, and elementary to navigate once accustomed to it. This cockpit is like an anti-depressant, every person who views its splendour at night is instantly entranced by its energetic and mesmerising quality.

The one gripe that I have is the EBD or emergency brake assist is always on, so if you suddenly get the urge to become a hot hatch cliché, make sure that and the lane keeping assist is off.

Performance The internals are still part of the A250 line with quicker bits assisting our human frailty with shift times and other helpful anecdotes. Its AWD technology is spritely with firm assistance when needed Its 225 Kw makes it snarly in traffic. It’s reminiscent of a bully who’s on a leash but can flip at any moment. I think it works. I want less, the A250 is a fast enough hatch for the almost achievers, but in this world, who wants “almost”. The steering is as firm as practically needed while the ride is equally predictable. Its clamps up like the A45 and gets to 100 under 5s, which is respectable in its weight class. You still get snap, crackle, growl upshifts although it could be louder, or maybe my hearing is aging or perhaps the cabins sound deadening is rather effective. An eager peddle combined with well-planned gear shifts means there is little to no delay between needing to overtake and overtaking.

Summary

REVIEW

It's snappy and happy, not meant for sedate, that’s what lower spec models are for. The package presented effortlessly copes with the power on offer, there is no gap in its efficiency.

The A35 is the transitionary car that will keep you well ensconced with the AMG gods but in this category, the A45 is the car to beat. The A35 is aimed at the Golf R, it does that well without the emotional baggage of being a Gti driver. You can develop a more respectful, environmentally friendly image without pi$$ing off the geriatrics.

Apart from that, the interior is like your first day at a carnival wonderfully engaging and thrilling while maintaining Mercedes class and stature throughout your experience.

Specifications Mercedes Benz A35 Hatch Price R900 000.00 + plus Engine 2 Liter Turbo Petrol Power 225kW Torque 400Nm 0-100 4,7s Top Speed 250 km/h For a serious motor car enthusiast that wants some fun and enjoy him or herself the Mercedes Benz A35 hatch is going to tick all the right boxes.

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FEATURED

The South African Car of the Year trophy, awarded since 1986, is the country’s most highly respected and sought-after motoring accolade. While the competition has evolved over the years (categories were introduced recently), one thing has remained true to the contest; it celebrates and rewards automotive excellence.

The 2021 SA Car of the Year (COTY) had its unique challenges. For the first time in the competition’s history, we did not host our scheduled two-day juror evaluation event. Thankfully, we had the foresight to create an ongoing online scoring system available to all South African Guild of Mobility Journalists’ (SAGMJ) members in 2019 based on scoring criteria that closely mirrored COTY’s voting criteria. The scoring system was initially created to build up a database of vehicles tested, their strengths, weaknesses and to be able to compare them to category contenders.

Our expert COTY jurors had access to this scoring system and were encouraged to score vehicles as they experienced them on launches or as test-drive vehicles and to input scores and notes via the SAGMJ scoring system. The use of this ongoing scoring system had been introduced to COTY jurors and trainee jurors as part of the COTY process before 2021.

The selection of our COTY jurors and the training of potential jurors had remained as stringent as ever.

Based on specific requirements, potential jurors and trainee jurors are presented to SAGMJ members who choose their peers through the online voting system. Trainees are required to complete a 2-year apprenticeship under the guidance of a juror mentor. On average, the turnover on our jurors is about 17% annually, and our trainee programme ensures that we have a constant pool of newly trained jurors to step into the jury team.

The COTY Committee also paid close attention to worldwide competition trends and took advice from experts in the field. The result is that COTY created more categories and will also be making provision for the new mobility enhanced vehicles we will see more of in the future. We are very proud of two of the new categories, the Motor Enthusiast’s Choice and our Jurors Excellence Award.

In the last two years, the public has become more involved in our COTY scoring/voting process. This voting counted towards the juror scores and effectively held the weight of a single juror. Having discovered that this made minimal impact, we wanted to encourage the public to be more involved and, as such, we felt that the public rightly deserved their own award - the Motor Enthusiast’s Choice Award.

The COTY scoring process is so much more than just juror scoring. Once our expert panel concluded scoring, the automated scoring factors that cover sales performance, segment share and value for money, are applied. The automated scoring information was provided by Lightstone Auto, which provides data-driven insight, online market intelligence and new vehicle sales data to the South African automotive industry. Our Jurors Excellence Award uses raw scoring to reveal which vehicle received the highest scores before automated factors were included

To ensure that we are continuously developing our systems and stay relevant; there was a concerted effort by the SAGMJ to meet with OEMs and ensure that we were cognisant of their input on various matters relating to COTY.

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FEATURED

Additional honours the SAGMJ instituted at their Annual General Meeting held on 26 June 2021 were the Most Admired OEM, which was presented to Stellantis, and the Lifetime PR Achiever’s Award, which was presented to Lindsay Pieterse from BMW. Although these two awards are not officially part of the COTY competition, they are just as prestigious.

Our 2021 South African Car of the Year category winners are: Budget Category: Toyota Starlet Compact Category: Hyundai Venue Compact Family Category: Peugeot 2008 SUV Family Category: Audi A4 Premium Category: BMW 4 Series Adventure Category: Toyota Land Cruiser Prado

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Double Cab Category: Toyota Hilux Double Cab Performance Category: Porsche 911 Turbo S New Energy Category: Porsche Taycan Motor Enthusiast’s Choice: Mercedes-Benz E-Class Jurors Excellence Award: Peugeot 2008 SUV

The first-place overall winner of the 2021 South African Car of the Year competition is the Peugeot 2008.

The Toyota Hilux Double Cab was placed second, while the BMW 4 Series came third.

Given the lockdown, the 2021 South African Car of the Year winner was announced during a virtual awards ceremony that was streamed live on 27 September 2021.

REVIEW

Toyota Landcruiser Prado A proud heritage

by Carl Wepener

After so many years of manufacturing, the Prado still has tremendous appeal to customers. With the new engine and technical upgrades, it is still one of the best vehicles for any terrain or even just city driving and cruising.

Although we have not done serious off-roading the Prado excelled on gravel roads and in the sand. The ride quality always remained pleasant in these circumstances.

What is new:

The Prado does feel a bit softly sprung on tar roads, but we never got bone-crunching experiences when hitting a bad patch.

Higher outputs of 150kW and 500Nm from the new 2.8-litre GD-6 turbo diesel engine Improved fuel consumption and engine efficiency New multimedia system with Apple CarPlay & Android Auto Increased towing capacity Drive Mode Select added to diesel models LC200 design update + wireless headsets fitted as standard The Land Cruiser Prado has established itself as one of the most accomplished off-roaders on the South African market. While many SUVs are bought for ‘curb appeal, the Prado leverages its Land Cruiser DNA to deliver when the going gets tough. During our 4-day trip on the West Coast, we have come to rely on the Prado’s robust construction and go-anywhere capability.

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When we needed power for overtaking or navigating through loose and soft sand near Paternoster the additional 30kW of power and 100Nm of torque derived from the latestgeneration 2.8-litre GD-6 turbo diesel engine came in handy as we never ran out of power.

On the open road when overtaking it was also very evident. What I further experienced was that the new six-speed automatic transmission (previously five-speed) was much more fluid and due to the different gear ratios reacted exactly when it was needed and without any jerks.

Prado's overlanding and towing credentials benefit from the higher-performance engine that now delivers a maximum of 150kW@3400rpm and 500Nm over a wider 1600-2800rpm band.

Some technical information for those readers that cannot go without.

The latest generation 2.8 GD-6 engine (as debuted in the updated Hilux) has received a raft of upgrades including a new ball-bearing turbocharger with a larger turbine and impeller, and improved engine rigidity and cooling.

Better fuel economy is realised through optimised pistons and piston rings, changes to the cylinder block and head, higher fuelinjection flow rate, and the adoption of highperformance materials for the exhaust manifold and cylinder head gasket.

A newly fitted balance shaft helps smooth out engine vibrations, improving NVH performance and contributing to an even higher degree of refinement.

The new six-speed transmission has revised torque converter lock-up mapping, to provide smooth yet firm gearshifts and a newly added paddle-shift function. A low-range transfer case makes off-roading a cinch, while user-selectable differential locks (centre and rear) keep the wheels ‘in sync’ when navigating slippery conditions.

The 4.0-litre petrol engine continues unaltered (also mated to a six-speed automatic transmission). Maximum power is 202 kW at 5,600rpm, with peak torque of 381Nm delivered at 4,400rpm.

Enhanced Efficiency & Towing Despite the substantially stronger outputs, fuel consumption improves to 7.9 litres/100km and CO2 emissions are down to 209 g/km. Fuel capacity is 150 litres with an 87-litre main tank and 63-litre sub tank. Maximum braked towing capacity is increased to 3,000kg on 2.8 models.

Our driving at constant speeds, crawling through sand, and traveling slowly through the nature reserve gave us 10.1 litres per 100kms for the 840 km driven

REVIEW

The New Infotainment system makes for a very informative range of multimedia functions. To be able to effectively use all the functions I believe that you must take at least an hour or two to really get acquainted and then set it up as per your personal preferences.

The multimedia system now incorporates a larger 9-inch touchscreen display, enhanced voice recognition and compatibility with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Customers can utilise mobilephone-services such as Google Maps, Waze, Spotify, SoundCloud, etc. to enhance their driving experience – while providing enhanced telephony and messaging interfaces ‘on-the-fly’. I have made use of the embedded satellite navigation system that complements the aforementioned smartphone functionality and found it very useful as we drove in areas where no signal was available.

As I am a firm believer that cell phones should be connected through the Bluetooth system, I find it very frustrating when you need a university degree to connect a phone. I was pleasantly surprised that Prado’s connectivity was simple and very effective. The quality of the sound system is excellent for both mobile phones and radio. We never lost a station.

Standard Specifications are excellent and just what is needed.

The Toyota Prado follows a three-grade strategy; TX, VX and VX-L. The TX variants come well equipped with automatic dual-zone climate control, 6-speaker touch audio system, electrically adjustable driver’s seat, illuminated entry, cruise control, park distance control, keyless entry, auto door lock, three power outlets, Bluetooth connectivity, USB, 3rd-row seating and reverse camera. Seat heating and ventilation are provided for front row occupants while 2nd row occupants also benefit from seat heating. The refrigerated centre console helps make light work of road trips or bushveld excursions.

VX models amplify the comfort and convenience specification with the addition of memory function for the driver’s seat, a 14-speaker premium audio system with woofer, multi-information display, power tilt-and-telescopic steering adjustment, rain-sensing wipers and power-fold-down functionality for the 3rd row seats. ceo 2021 l Vol 4

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REVIEW

The Land Cruiser Prado has established itself as one of the most accomplished off-roaders on the South African market. While many SUVs are bought for ‘curb appeal, the Prado leverages its Land Cruiser DNA to deliver when the going gets tough.

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REVIEW

The flagship VX-L versions as tested by us, feature Toyota Safety Sense (TSS), which encompasses Pre-Collision System (PCS), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Blind-Spot Monitoring (BSM), Lane Departure Alert (LDA) and Rear Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA). In addition, the Automatic High Beam (AHB) function provides enhanced visibility via the LED headlamps when activated. A power-operated tilt-and-slide moonroof completes the VX-L package.

Off-road technologies tested and proven.

As mentioned, I have not gone off road or experienced any level 5 off road conditions. My colleague and friend, Dirk Gallowitz did do some serious off roading on his farm and sang the Prado’s praises for its superior off-road capabilities. He was just as outspoken regarding the Prado’s towing capabilities with his heavy horse box trailers. I took his word for it but must say just experiencing the extra power and efficiency of the 6-speed gearbox makes me a believer. All Prado models feature Toyota’s Active Traction Control system (A-TRAC), which actively regulates wheel-slip, by directing torque to the wheel with the most traction. The system can apply braking pressure to wheels individually to maximise traction. Hill Assist Control (HAC) forms part of the standard ensemble.

The Multi-Terrain Select (MTS) system (VX and VXL only), operated by a centrally mounted rotary knob, allows the driver to select the correct mode depending on the ‘road’ ahead. The system has five pre-configured modes (mud & sand, loose rock, mogul, rock & dirt and rock), to tailor the vehicle’s traction control, transmission characteristics, power delivery and suspension settings to the terrain at hand. Downhill Assist Control (DAC) and Crawl Control are included on VX and VX-L models.

Chassis Configuration for the technically minded All Land Cruiser Prado’s make use of a rugged body on frame construction – proven to offer the best strength and wheel articulation – with a double-wishbone front design and multi-link rear layout. TX models use conventional steel springs and dampers while VX and VX-L versions boast Toyota’s Kinetic Dynamic Suspension System (KDSS).

KDSS employs a hydraulic system attached to the sway bars, to effectively link all four wheels thereby reducing body roll and improving wheel articulation. The KDSS system thereby offers the best of both worlds; excellent body-roll control for on-road driving, while having the ability to disengage the sway bars during off road driving for improved wheel articulation and mechanical grip.

In addition, the VX and VX-L models also make use of Toyota’s Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) to allow adjustability of the shock absorber damping level. This is linked to the Drive Mode Select function.

A total of eight exterior colours are on offer, ranging from Glacier White to the sophisticated Blackish Ageha (a dark metallic teal). For 2020, Raven Black (solid black) and Attitude Black (metallic black) have been added to the palette.

Model Line-Up & Pricing at time of writing Prado Prado Prado Prado Prado

2.8L 4.0L 2.8L 4.0L 2.8L

Diesel TX Petrol VX Diesel VX Petrol VX-L Diesel VX-L

– R 939,900 – R 1,029,000 – R 1,060,600 – R 1,072,600 – R 1,105,800

Although this sounds expensive, look at the competitors and the only advantage, if it can be called that is, maybe modern looks, some things, and frills.

As far as all road and off-road capabilities, the new Prado does not stand back and beats all of them on pricing.

Warranty & Maintenance All Prado models are sold with a 9-services/90 000 km service plan – with 10 000 km service intervals. (No limit has been set on years for the services plan according to Riaan Esterhuysen of Toyota). A 3-year/100 000 km warranty is provided. Customers can purchase an additional service plan and warranty extensions from their local Toyota dealer – and benefit from the largest dealer network in the country (over 220).

All in all, I believe Toyota still has a winner in the Land Cruiser Prado. https://motorpress.co.za/vehicles/902 ceo 2021 l Vol 4

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