South Africa records budget deficit of $704mln in March
This is compared with a surplus of R3.36bn in the same month last year, National Treasury data showed on Wednesday, 7 May 2025.
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South Africa: How public-private partnerships can benefit from the National Treasury Regulation amendments?
On 7 February 2025, the Minister of Finance promulgated Gazette Notice 5841, amending NTR (National Treasury Regulation) 16, which governs public-private partnership (PPP) approvals under the Public Finance Management Act. These amendments flow from a 2019 review of South Africa's PPP framework and aim to streamline approvals, bolster governance and encourage private‐sector participation in infrastructure delivery. Four-step approval process remains, but needs streamlining Under the previous iteration of NTR 16, all national and provincial PPPs had to pass through four approvals: - Feasibility study approval - Procurement documentation approval - Bid approval - Contract signature approval While these checks ensure rigour, they often lead to duplication, delays and uncertainty; especially for lower-value projects. Threshold and faster approvals for smaller projects What's new? Projects valued below the newly prescribed threshold of R2bn are now exempt from the first two Treasury approvals, namely, feasibility-study sign-off (Approval IA) and procurement-documentation review (Approval IIB) (ie. step 1 and 2 above). Why it matters: State departments and SOEs can move small-scale initiatives (such as municipal renewable-energy plants or local water-treatment works) directly to competitive bidding and contract signature, cutting weeks or even months off the timeline. Private partners benefit from quicker financial close and lower transaction costs, enhancing bankability. Formalising the PPP Advisory Unit What's new? The amendments codify the National Treasury's PPP Advisory Unit as the mandated centre of expertise for all PPP planning, risk allocation and transaction structuring. Public bodies must engage the unit at the earliest project stages. Why it matters: Early involvement of a central advisory body embeds best practices from the outset and reduces reliance on inconsistent external advice. Departments may also establish their own 'programmatic' PPP support teams, aligned with Treasury's Unit, building long-term in-house capacity. Clearer institutional responsibilities What's new? Regulation 16 now distinctly separates the PPP Advisory Unit's policy-and-facilitation role from the PFMA's formal regulatory-oversight checkpoints. Why it matters: By assigning discrete reporting lines and mandates, the reforms eliminate duplication and confusion over who to approach for guidance versus formal approval. This clarity enhances accountability and ensures smoother interactions between government, private partners and advisors. Enhanced fiscal-risk reporting What's new? At each major approval milestone (Approvals I, IIB and III), sponsors must submit a standardised report detailing explicit and contingent liabilities the state may incur, such as revenue-guarantee commitments or off-balance-sheet obligations. Why it matters: Consistent disclosure of fiscal exposure empowers National Treasury to monitor and manage the government's overall contingent-liability profile. Lenders and equity partners gain confidence from clear, uniform reporting, reducing uncertainty when assessing state guarantees. Tighter exemption and amendment processes What's new? Any application for exemption from Regulation 16 requirements or amendment of an existing PPP agreement must include: - A detailed justification memorandum - Complete risk analyses - Evidence of stakeholder consultation Why it matters: These prescriptive steps guard against back-door deal changes and ensure all material contract modifications, such as scope extensions or price adjustments, receive appropriate scrutiny. Project managers and legal advisors must now integrate these procedural requirements into project timelines to mitigate post-hoc challenges. Structured handling of unsolicited proposals What's new? State entities must adopt a transparent framework for receiving, evaluating and incentivising unsolicited PPP proposals. Why it matters: Innovators, whether offering waste-to-energy solutions or smart-grid technologies, can approach government bodies outside of formal tenders. 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Zawya
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Saudi: VA Tech Wabag lands $272mln Yanbu desalination plant contract
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Zawya
30-07-2025
- Zawya
EazyPay brings Mastercard Receivables Manager to Bahrain
Eazy Financial Services (EazyPay) has announced that it has entered into a deal with Mastercard for the launch of Mastercard Receivables Manager in Bahrain in bid to elevate the customer experience. With this, EazyPay has become the first acquirer in the market to adopt the innovative solution that enhances virtual card payment processing for businesses. Mastercard Receivables Manager enables EazyPay to support merchants in automating their business-to-business (B2B) virtual card receivables. By eliminating manual processes, the solution helps improve efficiency, working capital and cash flow, said the statement. With minimal integration and no need for application programming interface (API) implementation, the customisable platform streamlines the capture of virtual card payments, processes them straight through, and delivers remittance data directly to merchants' accounting systems, it stated. Virtual card payments are playing a key role in this growth, with B2B virtual card spend forecasted to exceed $14 trillion by 2029. This surge reflects a growing demand among businesses for digital solutions that enhance payment processing efficiency, automate receivables, and strengthen cash flow management. On the key partnership, Founder, Managing Director and CEO Nayef Tawfeeq Al Alawi, said: "EazyPay supports businesses with digital payment solutions designed to simplify operations and elevate the customer experience. As virtual cards gain traction for supplier payments, Mastercard Receivables Manager empowers us to strengthen the B2B payments ecosystem across key industries and large market segments." "At Mastercard, we are committed to delivering value-added services that help acquirers and their merchants operate more efficiently. Receivables Manager addresses a critical challenge for suppliers managing high volumes of virtual card payments by automating processing, reducing time and boosting efficiency," he stated. Saud Swar, the country manager, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan and other Levant, Mastercard, expressed delight at collaboration with EazyPay to bring this transformative solution to Bahrain's dynamic business landscape. The total value of B2B transactions worldwide is expected to more than double over the next seven years, reaching over $213 trillion by 2032, he added. Copyright 2025 Al Hilal Publishing and Marketing Group Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
