Day: July 26, 2024

President Cyril Ramaphosa has expressed his condolences and sorrow following recent landslides in Ethiopia which claimed the lives of over 200 people.

‘President Cyril Ramaphosa, on behalf of the government and the people of South Africa, has expressed deep sorrow and condolences following the recent landslides in Gofa, South Western Ethiopia, which tragically took the lives of at least 250 of people at this stage,’ said the Presidency on Thursday.

President Ramaphosa said the South African people’s thoughts are with the people of Ethiopia, particularly the bereaved families, during this period of mourning.

‘Our hearts goes out to the government and the people of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia at this difficult time.’

According to news reports, the landslides were brought about by heavy rains on Monday.

President Ramaphosa recalled the strong and historic relations between South Africa and Ethiopia, dating back to the struggle against apartheid.

Source: South African Government News Agency

The KwaZulu-Natal Departments of Education, Health and Social Development have been allocated the lion’s share of the provincial budget for the 2024/25 financial year.

Presenting the provincial government budget for the 2024/25 financial year at the KZN Legislature in Pietermaritzburg on Thursday, KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC, Francois Rodgers, announced that the bulk of the provincial budget is allocated to the social sector departments, which received 80% of the provincial budget, while the balance of 20% goes towards funding all the other votes.

‘Education receives between R4.1 billion and R4.4 billion per annum over the MTEF [Medium-Term Expenditure Framework], Health receives between R2.6 billion and R2.8 billion per annum over the MTEF, [and] Social Development receives between R134 million and R144 million per annum over the MTEF,’ Rodgers said.

Conditional grant allocation increase

Rodgers said the conditional grant allocation has increased by R501.3 million in 2024/25 and reduced by R989.3 million i
n 2025/26 and R593.5 million in 2026/27.

The budget allocated towards Ilima/Letsema Projects, under the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, has been cut by R24.7 million in 2024/25.

The MEC said the cut is due to National Treasury reprioritising the funds towards the Presidential Employment Stimulus.

In aggregate, Rodgers said the province receives R141.4 million through two Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) conditional grants aimed at increasing job creation in the province.

Rodgers said the EPWP Integrated Grant for Provinces and the Social Sector EPWP Incentive Grant for Provinces have been reduced in 2024/25 due to National Treasury reprioritising these funds towards the Presidential Employment Stimulus.

He said these grants were cut by R42 million and R29 million, respectively, against various Votes.

The MEC said the Education Infrastructure Grant has increased by R58.1 million in 2024/25.

Rodgers noted that the grant is incentive based, and the increase is partly due to the ince
ntive allocation where the department scored well, achieving 98% in terms of submitting planning documentation and showing capacity to spend, and thus received an incentive allocation of R89 million.

‘The National School Nutrition Programme grant receives an increase of R19 million in 2024/25 to continue with the provision of nutritious meals. The budget for 2024/25 after the increase is R2.2 billion,’ the MEC said.

The budget for the Health Facility Revitalisation Grant has also increased by R31.1 million in 2024/25.

Rodgers said the addition to the grant is due to incentive based and the department’s score at 99%, in terms of submitting planning documentation and showing capacity to pend and was allocated R72.9 million. The budget for Health Facility Revitalisation Grant is R1.5 billion in 2024/25.

Significant increase for Provincial Roads Maintenance Grant

The Provincial Roads Maintenance Grant has also seen a significant increase of R691.8 million in 2024/25 for the maintenance and rehabilitation of
the provincial road network, as well as repairs to infrastructure damaged by floods.

‘The budget for this grant is R3.2 billion after this increase and shows our commitment to improving the provincial road network,’ Rodgers said.

The Human Settlements Development Grant has decreased significantly by R268.7 million in 2024/25 to be able to provide funds to the social sector for the 2023 wage agreement carry-through costs.

‘The budget for this grant in 2024/25 is R2.5 billion after the budget cut. The Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership grant also had a large budget cut of R228.6 million in 2024/25, in line with National Treasury’s decision to source funds through reprioritisation to provide funds to the social sector for the 2023 wage agreement carry-through costs.

‘This budget cut is carried through over the MTEF and the budget for 2024/25, after the budget cut, is R597.1 million,’ Rodgers said.

The Provincial Treasury receives R7.7 million over the MTEF (R2.6 million per annum) towards the costs
of upgrading the Biometrics Access Control System to strengthen its security and ransomware features, while Sport, Arts and Culture was allocated R4.1 million for the construction of a monument in honour of the 1860 arrival of the Indian indentured labourers.

‘Transport requested that R3 million be suspended from their Vote in 2024/25 for allocation to Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs with respect to sourcing an airport emergency fire and rescue vehicle for the Margate Airport.

‘This relates to the ongoing collaboration between these two departments to ensure the successful operation of the provincial regional airports,’ Rodgers said.

Source: South African Government News Agency

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has once again assured citizens that the government of national unity (GNU) is working towards developing a common programme to create a better, more equal, and a more just South Africa.

‘For us to reach our objective, the National Development Plan 2030 goals remain the central pillar to guide the development approach, which will inform the outcomes to be achieved in this administration,’ he said on Friday.

He announced that in the next five years, the GNU will focus on strategic priorities, including creating inclusive economic growth and job creation, maintaining and optimising the social wage, and building a capable ethical and developmental State.

In addition, the seventh administration said it would focus on fixed capital investment, industrialisation, job creation, and the transformation of people’s lives.

‘We remain intentional in investing in people through education, skills development, and providing quality healthcare. We want to change our communities’ spatial ou
tlook by building inclusive cities and providing them with services,’ he said on Friday.

The Deputy President was speaking at the University of Johannesburg (UJ) in Auckland Park, delivering a keynote address on the second day of the conference co-hosted by the UJ and the National School of Government (NSG).

The second-in-command used the platform to call upon all sectors of society to work with the State to ensure it was stable, efficient and an effective democracy.

In addition, he described the GNU as parties behind a united agenda.

National dialogue

‘We have now set our sights on deepening this initiative by engaging in a substantive national dialogue as proposed by the President.’

According to the Deputy, the national dialogue aims to initiate fresh conversations that tackle relevant and unresolved issues that affect most South Africans, particularly the impoverished.

Economic transformation

He told attendees that developing a solid strategy for economic transformation should be at the centre of t
he dialogue and believes that the discussion will have a positive effect on poverty, inequality, and unemployment levels.

The Deputy President pleaded with the guests to provide solutions that would harness the potential for South Africa to become the world’s ‘finest’ civilisations.

‘I firmly believe that our nation possesses sound policies, yet we struggle with their execution due to a deficiency in accountability. I believe that accountability is essential for successful implementation.

‘Our motto now is to strategically put our policies into action.’

He is of the view that to deliver results, South Africa must invest in devising a workable plan and be more meticulous in its implementation.

Democracy

As South Africa continues to reflect on 30 years of democracy, he urged people to remember those who gave their lives and fought for freedom, equality, and justice.

While there are still challenges, he reminded attendees that since democracy, South Africa has made significant strides in overcoming divisi
ons of the past, demonstrating remarkable progress in social transformation.

‘Let us draw inspiration from our collective journey and utilise it to propel us towards a better future.’

International guest speaker and renowned expert in public administration and management, Dr Ra’ed BenShams, said regardless of the form of government, the ultimate goal must be to serve the people.

He used the analogy of the formation of a new river system through the merging of multiple streams, symbolising the creation of a new government coalition.

He discussed the importance of public sector reform in addressing inequality and building social cohesion.

The expert also offered a fresh perspective on South Africa’s past, present, and future, emphasising the need for unity and hope for a brighter future.

BenShams also stressed the importance of effective communication and collaboration with different communities to ensure efficient service delivery.

‘We must be willing to be tolerant of the different values and principle
s forming our different cultures. We strive to do so and embrace all necessary actions because our paramount responsibility is to provide clean water to our people,’ said BenShams.

Source: South African Government News Agency