Voter apathy a threat to democracy

There are multiple threats to African democracy. An increasing number of African leaders continue to unilaterally change their constitutions and legal frameworks to hold on to power. The past decade has also seen a rise in the number of authoritarian governments, especially in West Africa where power transfers are marked by coups d’état and violent election-related protests. Most importantly however, democracy in Africa is being threatened by mounting voter apathy, low registration numbers and low voter turnouts – especially among young people.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and subsequent lockdowns, political mobilisation and freedom of movement were impacted, resulting in concern from electoral officials about the effectiveness of manual voting. Nearly 14 African countries including Botswana, Chad, and Ethiopia postponed their elections according to the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. However, many others such as South Africa revised their election strategies to include digital technologies to bolster election management and participation. This was done amid criticism from cyber-pessimists about the reliability of online technology to deliver clean voting outcomes. 

South Africa’s digital attempt

South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), for instance, invested millions to acquire 40,000 voter management devices (VMDs) to electronically verify voters while also tackling double voting and election fraud in the 2021 local government elections. In its official report about the elections, the IEC argued for replacing ageing portable ‘zip-zip’ machines used since 1998 with new smart devices. Multi-functional VMD technology scans barcodes of IDs, record voters’ addresses, store details of the national voters’ roll, and transmit data from polling stations in real-time to a central point.  

Supporters of digital technology say with over 40 million active Internet users, South Africa is perfect for testing VMD adoption in election management. The uniqueness of the municipal elections would also provide key lessons for other emerging democracies in Africa planning to walk a similar path. This follows the IEC’s urgent application to the Constitutional Court to determine whether the elections should be postponed or not.

What we learnt

Five key lessons emerged. Firstly, South Africa’s elections were declared free and fair by both the IEC and international observers suggesting that democratic practices are alive and well. This is an important lesson for African countries to respect their judicial processes even in times of uncertainty as observed during the pandemic.

Secondly, the use of VMDs helped to peacefully resolve the issue of restricted political mobilisation and freedom of movement and association. This suggests that the VMDs achieved their aim of upholding the credibility and integrity of the elections.

Thirdly, the new technology presented some serious challenges including the exclusion of an estimated 100,000 people from the voters’ roll due to malfunctioning devices and some elements of human error. There were also reports of poor Internet connections at some voting stations. Democracy is devalued and the credibility of an election can be questioned if citizens are excluded from participating. Nevertheless, the outcome of the election was peaceful despite this anomaly. 

Fourthly, South Africa’s 2021 elections highlighted the need for proper budgeting by African governments. According to the IEC Report (2022), budget cuts amounting to R382 million in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years led to the cancellation of planned voter registration ahead of the elections.

Lastly, VMDs did not resolve the issue of voter apathy, low voter registration numbers, and low voter turnouts. This points to a need for IEC officials and other African countries to find lasting solutions. Roodt (2021) argues that about 46% of all eligible voters turned out to vote in South Africa in 2021, the lowest figure since the fall of apartheid. A crisis looms for African governments if patterns of non-participation in elections persist.

Where to now?

It has been demonstrated that a shift away from legacy media to digital communication spaces would reduce voter apathy and increase electoral engagement. While South Africa maintains that it has not formally adopted a position on e-voting, IEC officials still recognise the benefits of using digital technology during elections. An expanded VMD programme will be rolled out in the upcoming 2024 national elections including other security measures to tackle disinformation and misinformation.

At the very least, it is recommended that African countries use both traditional and modern methods of participating in an election while they find more effective ways to digitalise. A positive relationship between citizens, election officials, and government is needed for the successful implementation of digital technology initiatives in Africa. Problems of worsening inequality in the developing world need more investment in time and the strengthening of digital policies to be completely resolved, if ever.

Dr Maxwell M. Maseko is a postdoc fellow at the Tayarisha Centre at the Wits School of Governance. His research primarily focuses on media and governance, particularly in areas of democracy, digitalisation in the public sector, protests, and citizen participation.

The Digital Afrikan is a journalism organisation with a mission to drive digital transformation in Africa. Visit our website or contact us on info@digitalafrikan.com. 

Academics, experts and researchers from across the continent will present opinions derived from their own research on how elections are impacted by digital technologies.

These op-eds will be augmented by continuous coverage of African elections with a keen focus on:

• Misinformation and disinformation
• Gender biases in electoral processes
• The digital divide and how it excludes large parts of the electorate from participating in elections
• Digital governance that undermines democracy especially during elections
• The power of digital citizenship in strengthening democracy during election years

The Digital Afrikan’s Youth Desk called Frame of Reference (F.O.R) has already kicked off a social media series on TikTok to engage young voters across the continent on how they can affect and influence democratic outcomes in their countries through elections.

Expert opinions

The election series starts with five op-eds from academics and experts on digitalisation and governance which will run over the course of the next 6 weeks. Each piece will be augmented by a podcast where the authors discuss their pieces in more detail to anecdotally unpack their assertions. They are:

African Democracy Superbowl

Business Insider Africa estimates that 20 African countries will go to the polls in 2024 to choose national and regional leaders in what some observers have termed a ‘Democracy Super Bowl.’ Supporters of good governance are keen to see how the recent technological boom experienced in 2021 has impacted democracy on the continent. Using a South African case study, Maxwell Maseko, a postdoc fellow at the Wits School of Governance, argues for adopting digital technologies to transform election management in Africa.

Do politicians weaken democracy through social media?

Blessmore Nhikiti, a researcher based at Wilhelms-Westfalische University of Münster, Germany, uses his paper titled ‘Social media, Party Narratives and Supporters’ Opinions – Zimbabwe´s post-2018 elections’ to interrogate how losing candidates use social media for to influence their supporters not to accept election results. 

Is Africa ready for electronic voting? 

Professor Colin Thakur, NRF-rated researcher and Research Chair in Digitalisation at Durban University of Technology, looks at the recent electoral change to include independent candidates and whether a switch to electronic voting is required to counteract the effects of an unusually long ballot paper.

Are African politicians playing their part in curbing disinformation and misinformation online?

Tom Mboya, a governance consultant based in Kenya considers whether digital platforms represent a resource or a threat to democracy in Africa. In an era of disinformation and misinformation, what can politicians do to reduce the spread of fake news online?

How a lack of ICT skills is hampering effective election management in Africa

Japheth Ondiek and Gedion Onyango present insights from their paper titled ‘Techno-policy implications of adopting electoral technology systems in Kenya.’ Counting technologies and electoral voting are becoming more reliable alternatives to pure traditional voting methods which are prone to manipulation. Yet the lack of ICT skills in electoral structures present a serious barrier to implementing digital solutions.

The Podcast

Hosted by Sinethemba Mtshali, editor of Frame of Reference and Maxwell Maseko, The Elections Series podcast will supplement the op-eds and stories published in the Mail & Guardian and can be streamed on YouTube and Spotify. Authors and experts will discuss the implications of their pieces on democracy in Africa adding colour and texture to the published articles.

The Digital Afrikan is a journalism organisation with a mission to drive digital transformation in Africa. Visit us or contact us on info@digitalafrikan.com. 

In Africa, where more than a third of the population lives in extreme poverty, and 36% are illiterate, opening a formal bank account has become a nightmare for the majority of the population. Many are unemployed and lack all the necessary requirements to open a bank account, including but not limited to a constant flow of income. 

Financial exclusion and the “missing middle”

A study by Research ICT Africa, conducted in 2017, indicates that only 24% of the population in Sub-Saharan African countries is financially included, with the rest of the population in these countries lacking credit facilities to smooth consumption or an account to save and guard against future risk. The issue is even pertinent among the “missing middle” who often work in the informal sector.

Despite this group of people making enough money to save and finance their daily lives, their lack of required documentation often leads to their exclusion from the formal banking systems. In South Africa, for instance, a country with good security systems such as the government-subsidised housing scheme, the majority are termed not to be poor enough to receive government subsidies but too poor to qualify for credit from formal banking systems. 

Digital software to the rescue

One platform which has the potential to expand access to financial services, promote financial inclusion, enhance risk management, promote savings, and facilitate access to credit is the mobile money platform. Mobile money software enables users to cash in, save, transfer, make local and international payments, payments for bills, and hotels and flights using a mobile account or app.  

There are numerous studies cited in digital news and research journals that indicate the importance of mobile money in Sub-Saharan African countries. For instance, a study by Mothobi and Grzybowski (2017) shows that it can be considered an alternative to physical infrastructure, which benefits those who live in remote areas and who may be unable to access financial services.

However, Grzybowski, Lindlacher and Mothobi (2023) argue that the mobile money trend facilitates transactions between the wealthier and the poor which consequently allows younger migrant workers residing in urban areas to take care of their older or poor relatives in the rural areas.

Will mobile money fix the problem?

The question is, can mobile money spur the inclusion of the financially excluded poor, or is it just an illusion? Evidence shows that depending on political will, institutions, and regulatory framework, mobile money can indeed change the situation on the ground and provide all the necessary requirements for an individual to be financially included.

When the right systems are put in place, mobile money can integrate the informal sector into the formal sector by providing the necessary platform to track transactions and credit scores for those who are excluded from the formal banking system.

On the other hand, when systems are not right, mobile money is likely to fail. For instance, despite South Africa being regarded as one of the most unequal societies in the world and the majority being excluded from the formal banking systems, mobile money has failed to take shape. This is contrary to East African countries where mobile money has been successful. According to data collected by Research ICT Africa, more than 70% of the population in Kenya is financially included. 

It appears that while mobile money is one answer to financial inclusion, it isn’t the panacea or silver bullet that many think it is. Some barriers are market related while others are structural. Where mobile network operators own their respective subscriber bases and split the market, there is little appetite to create a cross network mobile money platform. Similarly, technologies that facilitate inclusion remain the preserve of the same operators making agnostic solutions difficult to implement outside their proprietary core networks.

Dr. Onkokame Mothobi is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Wits School of Governance and contributes to Tayarisha, an initiative on digital governance, established (2021) at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Mothobi specialises in industrial economics with an emphasis on telecommunication demand, competition and regulatory policies.

Too often digital transformation in Africa is narrowly understood as increasing the use of digital products and services by governments, companies, consumers and nonprofit organisations. In Africa it needs to be broader than that. African societies need to tap into new technologies to also overcome socio-economic divides, improve the delivery of public services, enhance public engagement in policy processes and promote inclusive economic development.

Yet this cannot happen organically. According to the African Union Commission. (2020). Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa (2020-2030): “Governments have a responsibility to create an enabling environment with policies and regulations that promote digital transformation.” This inherently requires the same policy makers to develop dynamic capabilities within their governments to improve policy and the regulatory framework.

Governing a digital society

Emerging digital trends are challenging and reshaping traditional policy approaches. The dominance of big tech in data markets and the associated risks to data integrity, taxation and the participation of small and medium enterprises in data markets are growing public policy concerns.

All over the world, policy makers seem to continuously define the ‘rules of the digital game’. These decisions, however, will have long-lasting implications on the distribution power in the digital economy between governments, the private sector and citizens.

This requires a re-evaluation of how our societies are organised, the norms that should underpin policies and regulations and how to govern digital transformation in ways that yield development outcomes and protect the citizens of these societies.

Digital transformation in a time of crisis

In the current era of polycrisis, there is a pressing need to strengthen the governance architecture of digital change. We need to close divides between urban and rural areas as well as advanced industrial economies and developing nations. Digital inclusion is pivotal to transformation.

Digital governance in Africa must be seen as an indispensable component of anticipatory governance, particularly in a time of extreme social disruptions like the global financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine and most recently the conflict in the Middle East.

These challenges, which affect the world and particularly Africa, can be addressed by harnessing digital technologies to promote development, enhance supply chain resilience and achieve inclusive outcomes.

An interdisciplinary response

Digital governance requires interdisciplinary conversations that cut across government, private sector and civil society aimed at improving public actor responses to these challenges and prepare for uncertain futures. It is about creating shared values to develop and direct new digital tools at solving complex socio-economic challenges rather than introducing new layers of complexity and inequality.

To facilitate these conversations, The Wits School of Governance created The Tayarisha Research Group for Digital Governance. Meaning ‘preparing’ in kiSwahili, Tayarisha is an academic platform for research, training, policy dialogues and development related to digital transformation. The centre focuses on the interplay between digitalisation, development, public policy, ethics and civic engagement.

Tayarisha, The Digital Afrikan and The Mail & Guardian

Over the next few weeks, Tayarisha, The Digital Afrikan (a content portal on all things digital in Africa) and the Mail & Guardian will run a series of research and data driven articles to bring many of the issues mentioned here to the fore.

Our view is that building digital infrastructure, investing in human capital, accelerating the adoption of digital tools in the public sector and improving regulatory institutions will help to improve the broader ecosystem of tech entrepreneurship in new digital economies. Communities will be empowered to participate more effectively in public policy engagements.

To do this, we must ensure digital literacy among all digital Africans. From policy makers and innovators to investors and guardians of ethics and citizens’ digital rights. Together, we must develop capabilities to steer digital transformation to align with shared African societal values. We must prepare.

Mzukisi Qobo is Visiting Professor at the Wits School of Governance and co-founder of the Tayarisha Research Group on Digital Governance; Karuri-Sebina is Associate Professor and Coordinator of Tayarisha Research Group on Digital Governance at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand. https://www.wits.ac.za/tayarisha/ 

Professor Geci Karuri-Sebina is a scholar-practitioner working in the intersection between people, place and technological change. She is coordinating the establishment of the Tayarisha African Centre of Excellence in Digital Governance, and hosting the African Civic Tech Innovation Network at the Wits School of Governance. She is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cape Town’s African Centre for Cities, a Principal at the School of International Futures, and a global faculty member with Singularity University on the future of cities and governance.

In 2021, the African Digital Futures Project, an initiative and practice arm of the School of International Futures (SOIF), brought together a group of 22 next-generation change-makers and African futurists to explore digital governance in Africa.

The idea was simple. Use a series of stories or visions to spark conversations about the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and digital technology being developed and used by African communities with a focus on digital privacy, identity, inclusion, security and artificial intelligence.

In their working paper, Digital pervasiveness and divisiveness: The role of African governments in enabling healthy digital futures Iman Bashir and Fisayo Oyewale extract the most salient issues that came from this creative research process.

What is 4IR?

4IR as described by Senior Fellow – Global Economy and Development at the Africa Growth Initiative, Landry Signe, is the “fusion of the digital, biological, and physical worlds, as well as the growing utilisation of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, robotics, 3D printing, the Internet of Things (IoT) and advanced wireless technologies, among others.”

These new areas of production continuously disrupt existing systems and norms and force us to reconsider and reimagine how we produce, deliver and consume goods and services. The question is, can Africa take its place in this digital future?

A vision for a digital Africa by Africans

According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Africa has a significantly low rate of internet usage compared to other regions. There is also a noticeable gender gap in mobile phone ownership, as well as the lowest rates of internet and mobile broadband penetration when compared to other continents. These rates stand at approximately 28% and 34% respectively. As a result, many foreign developed digital innovations proliferate but fail to meet African needs. This disparity brings into sharp focus the need for homegrown digital innovations.

In 2020 Landry Signe and Njuguna Ndung’u suggested in their paper, The Fourth Industrial Revolution and digitization will transform Africa into a global powerhouse, that homegrown innovations become necessary to unlock the potential for transformation through digitalisation in Africa.

This is only possible, however, if there is a clear vision of a digital future in Africa. Which brings us back to the African Digital Futures project and the stories written by the 22 African futurists to envision Africa’s digital future in the year 2050.

The group was divided into three teams representing Kenya, Nigeria, and Pan-Africa who then produced 11 visions and stories. They attempted to describe what healthy digital societies would look like across various spheres to help different stakeholders like governments, technologists, legislators and individuals plan for a digital Africa.

The visions and stories

Our future world by Brian Wamukota and Roselyne Wanjiru

In a world where oneness and inclusivity are desired, data is the key to enlightening, connecting, and empowering people to realize their potential.

All animals are equal by Saraphina Ambale and Shem Omasire

Good Data Governance not only ensures accountability, transparency and efficiency, but it helps to build inclusion and bridge the divide in our world.

Tree of humanity awarded to African game changers once again by Jesse Forrester and Marizanne Knoesen

A celebration of Afro centric and human centred innovations by and for Africans.

Tribes of future past by Mutsa Samuel

A journey of self. It takes you to the future of African innovations and discoveries. It is a call to self-consciousness to build the Africa of our dreams.

Futurica by Rahma Ben Lazreg

A futuristic insight of what Africa can become if we take control of our digital space and good data governance becomes the centre of innovation.

Unplug Africa by Nancy Muigei and Oluwasen David

When we take a pause, unplug ourselves for a bit, rethink our choices, we may take control of our digital destinies.

Feminist future: What a wonderful world by Gideon Olanrewaju and Zainab Yunusa

This is a world where people’s competence and ability to deliver matters more than anything else. The single identity is humanity.

Journey to 2050 by Chiagozie Udeh and Fisayo Oyewale

When systems are people centric, everyone’s voice will matter in governance and policy implementation.

The Green Party of Kenya manifesto 2030 by Frank Ogolla and Iman Bashir

With the right information, citizens would nurture a sustainable environment responsibly, and bring a sense of community in other aspects of politics.

Toward vision 2050 by Fasoranti Damilola and Memunat Ibrahim

We can achieve more when we work united towards shared goals, irrespective of our identities. Unity in diversity is power.

Vision: the future of AI and tech by Charles Umeh and Stephanie Itimi

Only good data governance can ensure that our culture and norms are not eroded in the face of rapid advancement in artificial intelligence and robotics.

What the stories revealed

A summary of the insights from the project revealed a singular desire for African cohesion in a digital world. Although, each cohort prioritised different concerns within that overarching theme.

The Kenyans looked at technology and climate change, the Nigerians were concerned about technology in direct democracy while the Pan-African contingent were occupied by the role of technology in emotional and social experience. Collectively however, six areas of priority emerged:

1. Data is a collective resource for the public good.
2. Data should facilitate government accountability, transparency and direct democracy.
3. Technology should add to rather than extract from nature and the environment.
4. Technological progress should not oppose African languages, practices, cultures and traditions.
5. African innovation should bridge the digital divide and pave the way for data diversity and inclusion in Africa.
6. African voices need to shape the global digital conversation.

What does this mean for digital transformation in Africa?

Bashir and Oyewale, along with other members of the African Futures team were able to distil the insights into a few key areas that governments, technologists and legislators need to focus on.

Data needs to be governed

Data is collected and abused by governments and private players with impunity. Without proper regulation citizens’ have no way to own and protect their data.

Technology without education impedes progress

Citizens mistrust and resist progress when governments adopt new technologies without educating them on the opportunities, benefits and risks.

Legislators need to know more

Policy formulation is weak in Africa. Local governments rely heavily on global north templates and are often adopted without thought due to a lack of technical knowledge within governments.

Elevate the conversation

Part of securing a healthy digital future is the need to sensitise both the public and governments to the issues that affect them at a national level. The idea of data as a public good must be promoted at multiple levels.

You can’t stop progress

To the extent that global tech companies and political leaders diverge from African societal aspirations, digital dissidents will innovate to disrupt them. Governments need to engage or face losing their power.

The African digital journey

Bashir and Oyewale’s paper on the Africa Futures Project demonstrates that the journey has already begun towards a healthy digital future. However, there is still a way to go before any of the visions produced by the 22 futurists can be realised.

Iman Bashir is a researcher and facilitator at the School of International Futures (SOIF). With her interdisciplinary background in law and environmental science, she brings a unique perspective to her work, underlining the interconnectedness of social, economic, and environmental factors in envisioning the future.

Fisayo Oyewale is a 2022 SOIF alumna, an NGFP Fellow, and a contributor to the African Digital Futures project. She also serves on the advisory board for the Most Significant Futures Work Award given by the Association of Professional Futurists. Fisayo is a foresight researcher at the School of International Future on Artificial Intelligence for Development in Africa.

Starting with the box opening, one of my favourite parts, “you never know what you’re gonna get,” to quote Forrest Gump, I was not disappointed. The elegant packaging opened up to a very pretty silver phone,  a 66 watt fast charger (this was impressive, it took me less than an hour to get the thing fully charged), but not even the most basic headset. This is annoying to me because legally one has to have a headset to use the device while driving, but as most people ignore this anyway, even when they have a headset in their pocket, ce la vie.

As far as the phone itself, it comes with some very impressive features:

• Display: 6.7-inch 1.5K (2664×1200 pixels) AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate
• Processor: Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 Accelerated Edition
• Main camera: 200MP lens + 12MP ultra-wide lens + 2MP depth lens
• Selfie camera: 50MP
• Battery: 5000mAh with a 66w charger (this charges really quickly and despite playing with it all weekend the battery did not dip below 50% so that was really impressive.
• RAM: 12GB +7GB extended RAM
• Onboard storage: 512GB

If you don’t know what all of that means, don’t worry, you don’t need to know how a combustion engine works to drive.

The 200mp camera has a 10x digital zoom and at full zoom I was able get a crystal clear picture on my fingerprint ridges and the slight imperfections of the wood grain of my coffee table, needless to say this is impressive without the usual level of degradation I have come to expect from digital zoom. The camera has a range of the usual settings, portrait, night, aperture (which I am sure will be a favourite of Instagram food critics everywhere looking to broadcast their latest dining experiences) and of course video options with 4K capability.

I also found something called Multi-video, which lets you record from different camera lenses simultaneously. This feature more than anything else tells me this phone was created with the Gen Z social media influencer in mind, it is a video editing suite in your pocket, you can cut, trim and combine videos, you can even add a soundtrack, all this before posting your video for your myriad followers. I was able to create something in under a minute.

As far as basic functionality goes, I did find the lack of navigation icons frustrating, I found myself having to learn a whole lot of (what my wife calls) hot corners. Basically, the navigation relies on location based swipes. Want to close an app, swipe left. Want to access google assistant swipe from one of the bottom corners. Notifications? Swipe from top left corner. Control Centre? Swipe from top right corner. What about closing an open app, or quickly switching between apps? This took me the longest to figure out. Swipe from the bottom of the screen, but go the whole way to the top, and even then it doesn’t seem to work everytime, maybe I am just not getting this right. That said, I feel this is just standard teething problems with any new device and I am sure in time it would become second nature.

With a recommended retail price of R14 999 it comes with a price tag that certainly makes me pause, but I think with the quality of the camera, the battery life of a full charge and the functionality of the camera editing suite, this is a film studio on the go and any social media influencer looking to post content from anywhere will find the functionality invaluable in posting loads of content and, hopefully, growing their following as well. That is the most impressive feature of the Honor 90. I love the camera.

Have a look at some of the other content we’ve published on this new series’ of phones here and here.

The usual two hour load-shedding schedules turned into 14 hour outages, thanks to the unstable power supply in some areas on the East Rand. It gets worse in Springs, where I reside — an internal dispute about overtime pay at the energy department means that, if the power goes out after working hours, it isn’t coming back till the next morning. 

I have a toddler who is addicted to the TV and it is difficult to explain to him that there’s load-shedding without experiencing a small tantrum. 

Luckily, I had a 150 watt portable power station from ACDC Dynamics that kept my devices going through this tough spell. 

150W is not a lot of power but it will charge your phone and laptop, keep your wi-fi running and, if you have a TV smaller than 55 inches, it will run it with no problems. 

Of course, you only have two plug points, so you have to prioritise the devices you need to keep alive at the time.

Powered by a 45 000mAh lithium-ion battery, the power station will not even drop below 75% if you charge your phone through the night. In fact, an iPhone 14 uses about 20W to charge its battery, which means that you could get up to eight charges. 

However, bigger appliances, such as TVs, which generally use up to 90W depending on the size, might only give you just over an hour and a half while plugged into the portable power station. 

You might want to save the luxury of watching TV for a more suitable time, such as when load-shedding has ended, but to keep your work essentials running, it’s a great product. 

The best part about small inverters or power stations with built-in batteries is that you avoid the hassle of recharging an external battery. When the power comes back on, you just take the entire portable power station and plug it into a socket. 

This one from ACDC Dynamics also comes with a car charger which helps if the power is out for longer than expected. It can also be charged using a solar panel. 

This portable power station is very light and easy to carry around. It can be thrown into a backpack and it might even feel lighter than carrying a lunchbox. That may be a slight exaggeration but it’s so light that you can take it with you if you are out and about at the weekend. And, because this is South Africa, you are going to meet load-shedding wherever you are. 

Thanks to this small device, I managed to stay online during working hours, write this review and even squeeze in a song or two from Moana for my toddler. 

Overall, it is a small and subtle gadget that can be very convenient in our dark times. However, 150W means that it is just for your work essentials and it will not be able to run luxury appliances for the entirety of load-shedding, so you will have to use your discretion. 

Possibly, the only fault of this product is the price. The ACDC Dynamics portable power station can be found nationwide and its recommended retail price is R4 332. Competitors offer 150W portable power stations around the R2 000 mark.

Every manufacturer claims their product is best, but the proof — well, it lies in the pudding.

Mziwamaqithi Mzini and Zaheer Cassim of the Mail & Guardian multimedia team took the Bluetti EB70 out into the field to see if it could handle a four-hour shoot. During this time — in which the M&G interviewed EFF Commander-in-Chief Julius Malema  — it powered cameras, computers, chargers and lights, and it emerged with flying colours. 

Cassim was impressed by the fact that the inverter made no noise on the shoot, and said that the Bluetii EB70 handled the shoot with “zero issues”. Mzini dubbed it a “powerhouse”. The LED screen on the unit stood out, as it kept the crew informed about its power usage and whether it was being overworked (it wasn’t).

The heavy (nearly 10kg) but compact mobile unit is easy to carry around. It produces a whopping 1 000W of power, takes about four hours to charge from mains, and if you’re on the go, you can plug it into your car, in which case it will take about eight hours to charge up. The variety of plugs makes it handy for movie crews, but also ideal for South African offices, which experience load-shedding on a regular basis.

But this is not what I experienced while using the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED. This time around it was a lot about play, and not just work. Sure, I could easily do what I needed to during business hours, but I could pick it up after hours for a different experience.

The reason it has “Flip” in the name is that as a 2-in-1 laptop, it flips all the way to 360°. You can open it traditionally like a laptop, fold it all the way across to use it like a tablet, or use it in a tent mode. When flipped all the way, the keyboard faces outward, but hitting the keys accidentally on your lap while scrolling won’t affect it in any way.

I could sit on the couch and second screen with it, while tuned into episodes on my smart TV. I could browse on it as a secondary device instead of my phone, like most of us do nowadays anyway. The one downside in using it this way is when the screen shut off, I had to flip it back to laptop mode to unlock the screen again.

I found myself propping it up in tent mode to browse content from my streaming services. Watching videos while keeping it at an angle that was comfortable started growing on me very quickly.

The flip form factor is in tune with how we consume content, even when travelling and working on a plane. The laptop will sit in a way that is comfortable to your surroundings, making it easier to get things done on the fly.

The laptop has a 2.8K OLED display, so everything looks good on it. Bright colours appear vibrant, and dark colours are deep — it has Pantone validated colour accuracy, which would be useful for designers. It has a 2880×1800 resolution in a 16:10 ratio that supports a 90Hz touch display. A stylus pen is included in the box.

You can see everything in high-res, which appears crisp, even down to the text on your email. If you like this level of detail, you will appreciate the display even more. 

Given that it has a stylus, this appeal to creatives as well. However, I’m not in the habit of using one, so I didn’t find it useful for my day-to-day use. 

That said, the experience was smooth while browsing and using multiple browsers and apps. I didn’t find the laptop struggling or lagging for what I needed to do daily. I’ve not tested it for things like video editing because I do that on my smartphone.

The Zenbook 14 I had on review is powered by Intel’s 13th-gen Core i7 processor with Iris Xe graphics, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB solid state hard drive, and a 75Wh battery.

Ports include 1x HDMI 2.1; 1x USB 3.2 type-A; 2x USB-C Thunderbolt 4; and a 3.5mm audio jack. It has built in speakers and a microphone, Harman/Kardon sound and is powered by Windows 11.

It also has an AI camera and audio system for video calls using Asus’ noise-cancelling technology and supports face login.

This is the only variant that Asus will sell in South Africa, but to be honest, good hardware is easy to come by today. What sets laptops apart from each other is the experience and software each one brings with it.

The Zenbook Flip has the “My Asus” app built-in, accessible on the menu bar at the bottom of the screen. It has useful info like everything about your machine, a user manual, product registration and option to upgrade the warranty. 

It also has personalisation options to tweak it to your preference, like the fan profile, AI noise cancellation, sound modes, screen modes, dynamic screen refresh, the Number Pad or Function Keys plus a link to customer support. You can also monitor your software updates from it.

There’s another app called GlideX to pair your smartphone or tablet to, so it will mirror your device. This works for anyone who wants to demo an app on a big screen.

I enjoyed using the Zenbook more for recreational use and the personalisation that it brought, which could easily be overlooked if you don’t go into it. I found it easier to manage than default Windows.

The keyboard is springy and feels good to type on, it’s not loud or distracting, but I also used it a lot in touchscreen mode as a tablet. It has a large multi-touch touchpad that supports gestures.

The battery was average, but likely because of the bright OLED screen usage. You could also dim the screen, as with most laptops, to get more battery life out of it. 

When it came to recharging, it took a while to fully charge. It does not support “fast charge”, something I’ve become accustomed to on smartphones, but I did use it with a portable battery during load shedding. 

The placement of the charging port does not interrupt when using the screen folded to a full 360 degrees or tent mode, but I found that it heats up a bit while using it in that mode as the fans get partially covered.

The Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED is a laptop for work and play; excellent for an on-the-go lifestyle as it weighs 1.5kgs. It offers personalised software and is packed with good hardware. The USB-C ports are a bit too close to each other, and battery life is not the greatest. 

The Zenbook 14 Flip comes in at R29 999 and is competitively priced for a 2-in-1 running Intel’s 13th-gen processor. Other brands to consider in the segment are HP, Dell, or Microsoft.

The updates unveiled at Spotify’s recent annual Stream On event include a home feed with music, podcasts and shows and audiobooks sections, as well as a smart shuffle for new recommendations and auto playing for podcasts.

The revamped feed is no longer static and looks like TikTok mashed up with Instagram Stories. South Africa does not have access to audiobooks; it is only available in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

The multimedia-heavy feed uses more data by automatically playing videos from the home page and, as if IG stories were embedded in the feed, lets you scroll tracks vertically from the carousel. It includes podcast recommendations that previews a snippet. 

The app is redesigned to keep users engaged in different ways, much like TikTok, so you stay on for longer discovering new content. It does feel busy with constant videos playing on the feed, although snippets of audio from podcasts should help with finding new shows.

The new feed combines insights from users and creators globally with its machine learning tools to create a feature that is automatic for creators and intuitive for users, said Gustav Söderström, co-president and chief product and technology officer at Spotify.

“Spotify is the first platform to enable truly seamless previews across music, podcasts, and audio. Listeners will now be able to see and hear short clips powered by machine learning, right in the home feed, making it much easier for them to discover the content that we think they’ll love,” he said.

Thanks to the new feed of visual clips, users can scroll through music, podcasts, and audiobook previews (in supported markets) until they find something they like, said Ziad Sultan, the vice-president of personalisation at Spotify. With a quick tap, users can start listening, save to the library or discover more about the artist, series or creator.

The recent launch in the US and Canada of DJ, a personalised artificial intelligence guide, is an example of how the company is building on that innovation by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence (AI) in a new way, Sultan said.

“DJ was created using the combination of Spotify’s personalisation technology, which gives you a line-up of music recommendations based on what we know you like; generative AI in the hands of music editors; and a dynamic AI voice platform from our 2022 Sonantic acquisition, that brings to life stunningly realistic voices from text,” he said.

The company is improving the podcast section through personalisation, the same way it helped with music discovery. 

“Our personalisation efforts have helped music discovery evolve significantly over the past years and we’re very focused to do the same for podcast creators by driving discovery, delivering listeners the right content at the right time, and accelerating growth of the category worldwide,” Sultan said.

From a creator perspective, Spotify is hoping to draw in more podcasters through hosting platform Anchor that it acquired back in 2019. It offers an all-in-one solution to create and grow a podcast in the Spotify for Podcasters app. 

It also announced a partnership with Patreon, a membership platform that lets individuals run their own subscription service, which now incorporates podcasts from Spotify.

The company says podcasters will be able to publish patron-only content on Spotify, and patrons will be able to link their Patreon account to their Spotify account to access their Patreon-exclusive podcasts right where they’re already listening to all their audio content.

Last year,  Spotify announced the Africa Podcast Fund and chose four South Africans who earned a share from the $100 000 grant pool. 

Spotify Africa’s managing director, Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, says at Stream On, its re-envisioned Spotify for Podcasters, brings together the best of Spotify’s creator tools into a one-stop shop to create, manage, grow and monetise podcast content.

“Mpoomy Ledwaba (Wisdom and Wellness), for instance, just hosted her highly successful Unlimited event, in partnership with Spotify. The team also worked with Gugulethu Nyatsumba (After School is After School with Sis Gu) on her first podcast live event,” she said.

“This is a year-long programme, and our aim is to not only fund these creators but elevate their platforms and allow them to grow their audiences.”

The new updates to the Spotify app are being rolled out globally, with the audiobooks feature available in select markets.