Month: April 2024

National Treasury has welcomed South Africa’s ranking by the International Monetary Fund’s Fiscal Transparency Evaluation Report of being among the top three countries worldwide for fiscal transparency.

According to the International Budget Partnership, South Africa has a strong record of fiscal transparency and consistently ranks among the top three countries worldwide for transparency.

‘A predictable and transparent fiscal policy underpins macroeconomic stability. The IMF’s Fiscal Transparency Evaluation Report notes a strong performance in fiscal reporting and budget transparency,’ National Treasury said on Tuesday.

The report also suggested improvements in three areas, which include:

Fiscal reporting: Expand and align fiscal reporting to international best practice by including other spheres of the public sector, strengthening tax expenditure disclosure, and improving adherence to audit timelines for published financial statements;

Forecasting and budgeting: Implement precise, time-bound and stable f
iscal rules, and

Fiscal risk analysis: Enhance analysis of risks in the fiscal risk statement, publish public-private partnership financial data regularly, consolidate transfers to state owned companies to show fiscal impact and set limits on government guarantees.

‘Work is underway on all these areas. Government is committed to addressing these areas to enhance fiscal credibility and ensure continued transparency and accountability in the management of public finances,’ National Treasury said.

The full report can be accessed from the IMF website on: https://bit.ly/4arlhux.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The Presidency has provided an update on the work of the Presidential eThekwini Working Group.

The group was announced following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to the area earlier this year and is aimed at improving service delivery, improving business confidence, and repositioning eThekwini as an investment and tourism hotspot.

READ | Presidential Working Group to accelerate resolution of issues impacting eThekwini

It is co-chaired by the Director-General in the Presidency and Secretary of Cabinet, Phindile Baleni, and former KwaZulu-Natal MEC of Economic Development and Tourism, Mike Mabuyakhulu.

‘On the 8th of April 2024, Director-General Phindile Baleni and Mike Mabuyakhulu led a series of follow-up engagements with the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, organised labour in eThekwini, and the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss the Working Group’s eight priority focal areas.

‘The focal areas are the outcome of a deliberate consultation process within government and with social par
tners in eThekwini. The municipality, organised labour, and the business community expressed their commitment to leverage their expertise to support turnaround strategies across the identified focal areas.

‘The Working Group represents an intergovernmental collaborative approach to addressing challenges in local government and will include active participation from all levels of government, the private sector, state owned enterprises, organised labour, and civil society,’ the Presidency said in a statement.

The group’s focal areas are:

Governance and financial sustainability

Water and sanitation

Safety and security

Tourism revitalisation

Roads, bridges, and transport

Human settlements

Disaster response

Communication and stakeholder management.

The statement said the intervention is expected to last some 24 months.

‘The Presidential eThekwini Working Group will be responsible for reporting progress on the implementation of turnaround strategies to the President and Minsters every three weeks. The i
ntervention will last 24 months and focus on both short-term and long-term interventions.

‘The learnings and outcomes of the Presidential eThekwini Working Group will inform similar interventions in other municipalities facing service delivery challenges,’ the statement read.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The deadline for submissions of proposals to the Budget Facility for Infrastructure has been extended to 17 May 2024.

This, according to National Treasury, is in a bid to add more time for project sponsors to package and submit their proposals.

‘The department earlier published a call for proposals for consideration by the Budget Facility for Infrastructure [BFI]. The BFI is a reform established in 2016 to support the execution of priority infrastructure projects and programmes through a more rigorous planning, appraisal, and selection process.

‘This call for proposals was announced by the Minister of Finance [Enoch Godongwana] during the 2024 Budget Speech. The National Treasury intends to utilise this BFI Window to develop a pipeline of projects and programmes to test alternative financing and funding models,’ Treasury said.

Public institutions, including national, provincial, municipal and public entities are qualified to submit proposals with projects and programmes set to form part of the pipeline.

‘The primary purpose of this BFI Special Window is to close funding gaps and provide viability gap funding for projects and programmes that will leverage private sector financing and technical assistance.

‘The call for proposals is open to projects and programmes that are undertaken under alternative financing and delivery mechanisms and private sector participation frameworks such as public-private partnership and concessions,’ Treasury said.

Further information and guidelines can be accessed at https://bit.ly/3U1dnB3.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, is expected to undertake an outreach programme with business stakeholders in the Northern Cape.

The programme is expected to be held on Thursday and Friday.

‘The programme seeks to forge partnerships between all spheres of government and organised business/industrialists to achieve the Energy Action Plan’s [EAP] target of ending load shedding and creating energy security.

‘The programme focuses on localised solutions to energy supply to protect local economies and save jobs and livelihoods,’ the Ministry said in a statement.

The Minister will be joined by Premier Zamani Saul with the support of provincial and local government.

‘On Thursday, the Minister…will be part of marking the reaching of commercial operation of one of the largest hybrid solar and energy battery storage facilities, Scatec ASA. Scatec has now officially commenced producing and supplying electricity to the national grid from their three Kenhardt plants in
the Northern Cape.

‘With an installed solar capacity of 540 MW and a battery storage capacity of 225MW/ 1140MWh, this innovative and large-scale project delivers 150 MW of dispatchable power to the grid.

‘This milestone is in fulfilment of the EAP’s pillars of enabling private investment in generation and fast tracking the procurement of new generation from renewable energy sources, as part of South Africa’s energy mix,’ the Ministry said.

The programme will conclude on Friday with an engagement with business representatives in the province to be held in Upington.

Source: South African Government News Agency

With the finalisation of the list of candidates contesting seats in the 2024 National and Provincial Elections (NPE2024), the Electoral Commission (IEC) can now go ahead with the printing of ballot papers for the elections.

“The 27.79 million registered voters will receive three ballot papers to elect candidates to represent them in the National Assembly and Provincial Legislatures,’ IEC Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sy Mamabolo said on Tuesday in Centurion.

Addressing a media briefing, Mamabolo said the use of the three ballots follows the amendment of the Electoral Act, which was signed into law in April 2023.

‘This amendment revised the electoral system to allow independent candidates to contest in the regional (province-to-national) tier of the National Assembly and the Provincial Legislatures. Although the phenomenon of three ballots will be familiar to voters in various local municipalities, it will be new to voters in metropolitan areas and for the first time in general elections for national and pr
ovinces.

‘There are a total of 400 contested seats in the National Assembly. The proportional representation compensatory 200 seats will be contested by political parties only and there is a dedicated ballot paper for this tier of the National Assembly.

‘The remaining regional or province-to-national 200 seats will be contested by independent candidates and political parties. This tier of the National Assembly will also have a dedicated ballot paper,’ he said.

This means that National Assembly elections will be based on two ballot papers – a national ballot and the newly introduced regional or province-to-national ballot.

‘Therefore, in respect of the elections of the National Assembly voters may elect a preferred party on the national ballot and elect another preferred party or independent on the regional ballot. However, in respect of provincial elections, voters will elect a preferred party or independent candidate on a single provincial ballot,’ the CEO said.

Mamabolo explained how the three ballot p
apers would work.

It will consist of a list of political parties vying for seats for 200 seats in the National Assembly.

‘This ballot will be used to vote for political parties. There are currently 52 parties who will be on this ballot and the configuration will be a dual column. The Regional or Province-to-National Ballots will have political parties and independents candidates contesting for the seats reserved for each province in the National Assembly.

‘Voters will use this ballot to elect a political party or an independent candidate to represent them in the National Assembly. The number of contestants range from 30 to 44 on regional ballots. The configuration of this ballot is single column,’ he said.

The Provincial Ballots are unique to each province and include parties and independent candidates competing for seats in each respective provincial legislature.

‘This ballot will allow voters to choose either a political party or an independent candidate to represent them in provincial legislatures. Th
e number of contestants range from 24 to 45 on the provincial legislatures ballots,’ the CEO said.

The Commission has decided that the design of the ballot papers will be underpinned by the following identifiers:

Full registered name of the party.

The photograph of the registered party leader.

Registered abbreviated name of the party.

The registered emblem or symbol of the party.

In respect of independent candidates, the ballot papers will have:

The name of the independent;

The photograph bearing the face of the independent and

The word ‘INDEPENDENT.’

The Commission has urged voters to carefully review and mark each of these three ballot papers before depositing them into the ballot box.

‘Our appeal to voters is to remember that they can only put one mark on each ballot, more than one mark will result in a spoiled ballot and will not [count]. The Universal Ballot Template (UBT), whose dimensions are benchmarked against the longest ballot paper, is in production and will be available in all voting s
tations.

‘The UBT can be used by blind and partially sighted people, low-vision users, people who are dyslexic, and people with motor and neuron conditions which do not allow for a steady hand,’ Mamabolo said.

Voters have been reminded that they may only vote at a voting station at which they are registered.

‘Voters who will inevitably be away from their voting districts on Election Day, 29 May 2024, may give a Section 24A notice of their intention to vote at another identified voting station by no later than 17 May 2024,’ the CEO said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

North West Acting Premier Nono Maloyi will lead a sod-turning ceremony on Thursday to mark the official launch of the Mahikeng Student City.

This initiative aims to alleviate the urgent need for student housing in the provincial capital.

The Student City project is a 10 000-bed facility, with provisions for modern amenities such as a fitness centre and health and retail facilities.

In addition, the project is expected to generate 10 000 job opportunities, both short- and long-term.

‘This project forms part of ongoing efforts by government to create various socio-economic opportunities for locals and bolster infrastructure development in the province,’ the statement read.

The official sod-turning ceremony, which be attended by officials and media, will be at Mmabatho Stadium. There will also be a prayer session led by pastors from various denominations.

Source: South African Government News Agency