Parliament ready for third budget 2025
It follows the setting aside of the Fiscal Framework approved in Parliament.
WATCH: Discussion | Budget 3.0 to be tabled in May
It included a 0.5-point VAT increase. without the tax hike, Godongwana warns there is a R75-billion shortfall.
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eNCA
2 days ago
- eNCA
Joburg mayor blames billions in wasteful spending on utility costs
JOHANNESBURG - City of Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero blames the R23 billion irregular expenditure on electricity and water costs. The City is under pressure to get its finances in order and start delivering proper services to its residents. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana wrote a scathing letter to the mayor, warning him to turn things around or face national intervention. "The R23.6 billion in unauthorised, irregular, and fruitless expenditure is a cumulative figure that has progressively increased in the City's financial statements over the years," he says. "During this time, these expenditures were largely unaddressed and not regularised as required by the MFMA," he added. Morero goes on to explain that most of the unauthorised expenditure is due to bulk purchases of electricity and water that exceeded the approved budget.
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Draft terms of reference for Mkhwanazi inquiry incorporate party inputs
The Ad Hoc Committee to probe allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi will circulate the draft document integrating the inputs from parties to check if their submissions were correctly captured before the terms of reference are adopt on Monday. Image: Parliament The Ad Hoc Committee into serious allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi integrated all the submissions made by parties on the proposed terms of reference. This was after a marathon meeting where the committee took a break twice to allow the technical team to factor in the inputs of the parties that made written submissions prior to the deadline into one document. Committee Chairperson Soviet Lekganyane said the draft document would be sent to parties to check if their submissions were captured before they adopt the terms of reference. 'For the purpose of coherence in our engagements, it will be better, and also looking at the kind of document which must guide the work we will be doing, it will be important for parties and members of the committee to study it, especially the proposals that have been made here. 'I realise that there are so many areas of convergence on the draft that was released last week. You would need to study the proposal of the parties and agree when we make the final adoption,' he said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The integrated terms of reference will be discussed and then finally adopted at a meeting on Monday. MK Party MP Sibonelo Nomvalo said as soon as they were done with deliberations on the terms of reference, they should get started with their inquiry's work. 'Our proposal is that we must start next week. We know that such is not to be determined in this meeting,' Nomvalo said. EFF leader Julius Malema agreed that the sooner they start working, the better. Malema said they could not come up with the commencement date without adopting the terms of reference. 'It is not given when we meet next week on the terms of reference that we are to agree and immediately start the inquiry,' he said. DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach urged that the integrated document be shared with parliamentary legal services to advise on whether any proposals are problematic. ANC Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli said the integrated document should incorporate all inputs of the parties. 'If we can get it before the end of the day tomorrow, it will allow us to go through the document over the weekend,' Ntuli said. Lekganyane said the document would be sent to all the parties to confirm their inputs were correctly captured. He confirmed that the document will be taken to the parliamentary legal services to have a look at to make sure it complies with the laws of the country. 'The sooner we start, the better. In the next meeting, there should be a draft programme on commencement of proceedings, but that is dependent on whether we agree on the terms of reference on Monday,' Lekganyane said. The draft terms of reference say the parliamentary inquiry will be inquisitorial. The document proposes that the committee uses the services of an external legal counsel in an advisory capacity to assist it in carrying out its work and lead evidence from witnesses, but some want this function to be done by the parliamentary legal services. It also proposes that the committee may invite any interested parties to provide input if they wish to do so. 'In the event that an invited witness refuses to submit a sworn statement and/or avail themselves as requested, the committee may use its power of subpoena as provided for in the Powers, Privileges and Immunities of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act.' The document also proposes that legal representation be allowed to those who will testify, but they will be allowed to have their legal assistance at their own cost if they choose. 'Witnesses will be allowed to have their lawyers with them and, within reason, consult with and take advice from their lawyers. The committee will not allow lawyers to speak on behalf of their clients at all,' reads the document.
The Citizen
2 days ago
- The Citizen
Dada Morero blames DA-led coalition for Joburg's financial crisis
Joburg's mayor revealed that government departments owe the city approximately R1 billion City of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has blamed previous administrations, particularly the DA-led coalition, for the city's massive R23.6 billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. Speaking at a media briefing at the Joburg Theatre on Thursday, Morero outlined the city's comprehensive turnaround plan following concerns raised by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Finance minister's intervention The mayor acknowledged receiving a letter from Godongwana on 30 July 2025 expressing 'significant concerns' about Johannesburg's non-compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). In the letter, the minister cited failures to prevent and address unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. ALSO READ: Johannesburg mayor Morero given ultimatum over MMC's joyride to KZN Morero confirmed he submitted a response within the required 14-day deadline. He said the response included a complete account of challenges that contributed to the R23.6 billion balance reported in the city's 2023/24 financial statements. Attack on previous leadership Morero launched a scathing attack on his predecessors, blaming them for the financial crisis. 'I want to clearly state, as I publicly did when I assumed office during my first term as executive mayor in 2022, that our beloved city has endured a period of mismanagement and poor leadership from previous administrations, particularly during the DA-led coalition,' he stated. The mayor explained that the massive expenditure represents cumulative spending that grew progressively over years. 'These expenditures were largely unaddressed and not regularised as required by the MFMA,' Morero stated. ALSO READ: 'Barrelling towards collapse': Concerns mount as Godongwana gives Morero deadline to fix Joburg's finances Breakdown of Joburg's financial irregularities Morero broke down the R23.6 billion into different categories of financial irregularities. 'The R23.6 billion comprises R13 billion (55%) in unauthorised expenditure, R9.9 billion (42%) in irregular expenditure, and R735 million (3%) in fruitless and wasteful expenditure,' he explained. According to the mayor, most of the unauthorised expenditure stems from bulk electricity and water purchases that exceeded approved budgets. He explained these purchases are driven by resident consumption alongside technical and non-technical losses during service delivery. 'It is essential to note that non-compliance leading to irregular or unauthorised expenditure does not imply that the city did not receive the services or goods purchased; it indicates that there was non-compliance in the procurement process,' Morero said. ALSO READ: City of Joburg accused of wasting money investigating its forensic investigators Joburg's turnaround strategy To address the crisis, Morero outlined several interventions. These include enhancing the expenditure reduction strategy and re-establishing the disciplinary board. 'In February 2025, I reached out to President Ramaphosa for technical support in the form of a Presidential Working Group. To further enhance service delivery and the achievement of the city's turnaround plan, the 'Bomb Squad' was also introduced,' he said. The mayor also revealed that he established a war room focusing on the city's finances. Morero reported progress in regularising the financial irregularities. 'Of the R23.6 billion reported in the City's 2023/24 financial statements, R12.9 billion has been regularised in accordance with the MFMA,' he announced. He said as of 30 June 2025, only R6.7 billion remains under investigation, while the rest is being processed by the relevant municipal committees. 'Based on the progress noted above, I expect the city's [unauthorised, irregular, fruitles, and wasteful expenditure] balance to have reduced significantly when the FY2024/25 annual financial statements are presented to the auditor general,' Morero said. ALSO READ: Motorists could become targets of aggressive revenue collection operations by JMPD, says DA Disciplinary action underway The mayor also gave an update on holding officials accountable for financial misconduct. 'The disciplinary board has already concluded preliminary investigations on six matters totalling R535 million and will report the outcomes to the council at its next ordinary meeting,' he said. Morero added that on 31 July 2025, the council approved 12 additional matters worth R2.5 billion for preliminary investigations by the disciplinary board. He took another swipe at previous administrations when discussing the board's work. 'For the longest time, the disciplinary board was not implemented by the previous administration until we came on board and implemented it,' Morero stated. He said last year an official resigned based on action taken by the board. 'Part of the unauthorised, irregular and fruitless wasteful expenditure we are acting on, at least around R6.7 billion, which remains under investigation and we are also committing that in the next ordinary council meeting we'll also be presenting on the preliminary investigation of six matters totalling about R335 million,' he said. Revenue collection improvements The mayor reported that the war room initiative is showing results in revenue collection. He said the city's collection rate for April to June 2025 reached 87%, representing a 2.7% increase from the 85% rate recorded during the same period last year. However, Morero acknowledged ongoing challenges with maintaining consistent collection rates. 'There are issues around the turnaround of finance… what is happening is that at times and some quarters we are able to reach our targets. I think that in April and May we reached 90% collection but it dived again,' he said. The mayor expressed optimism about reaching revenue targets. 'The city's performance in July 2025 demonstrates that the minimum average daily collection of R200 million is achievable,' he stated. Government debt and service losses Morero revealed that government departments owe the city significant amounts of money. 'We will be going after them so that we can recoup what is owed to the city,' he declared, noting that government departments owe approximately R1 billion. The mayor also highlighted major losses in the water and electricity sectors. 'We are experiencing losses in the water and electricity sectors which is affecting the money that should be coming into the city,' Morero explained. He said these losses are sitting at around 30-45% but the city is aiming to reduce them by about 10% in the current financial year. The mayor attributed the losses to meter bypassing and illegal connections committed by both businesses and individuals. ALSO READ: Joburg's cure: Place the city under administration Transport MMC appointment pending When questioned about the Patriotic Alliance's (PA) proposal to appoint Liam Jacobs as transport MMC, Morero deflected the questions, saying the briefing was focused on the minister's letter. 'At this stage I'm the acting MMC of transport until further notice,' he said. He, however, indicated the appointment could come as early as next week. READ NEXT: New roles for Joburg leaders as Dada Morero reshuffles his mayoral committee
