Latest news with #ActionSA
eNCA
2 days ago
- Business
- eNCA
ActionSA believes new Tshwane budget will turn things around
TSHWANE - ActionSA has welcomed the passing of the Tshwane Budget for 2025/2026. The party says it's a victory for the metro's residents. READ: Service delivery | City of Cape Town confirms lack of services since 2021 relocations There's been push back though, with the DA rejecting the budget, claiming residents are being used as cash cows. ActionSA President, Herman Mashaba had a discussion with eNCA's Gareth Edwards.
The Citizen
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
The honeymoon is over: ANC and ActionSA's marriage turns 'toxic'
Morero is accused of not consulting his coalition partners on the budget and on his state of the city address. Just a few months after ActionSA helped ANC regional chairperson Dada Morero become the mayor of Johannesburg, the party has described its relationship with Morero as 'toxic'. This comes after Morero allegedly ignored ActionSA's concerns over the 2025/2026 budget, despite ActionSA being considered a coalition partner in the governing of Johannesburg. Morero is accused of lobbying smaller parties to vote in favour of a controversial R89 billion budget that has been described as anti-poor and flawed. Speaking to The Citizen on Friday, Mashaba said the passing of the budget is a sign that Morero no longer needs support from ActionSA. 'He has shown us that he does not need us but we will not become voting cows to serve his agenda,' he said. Mashaba said he had complained to the ANC provincial task team about Morero's questionable leadership in Johannesburg. This includes the appointments of tainted individuals to powerful positions and unethical behaviour. 'He is failing the residents of Johannesburg; he does not appoint people on the basis of merit. For him to tell me that he appointed the MMC of finance because he wants to control her is shocking. 'I have made the ANC aware of these things and they are also concerned,' he said. Motion of no confidence Mashaba said ActionSA had not decided which way it would vote when Morero faces a motion of no confidence vote next month. 'We will take the next step as it comes. He does not need our vote, it is clear that he has his partners that will protect him,' he said. The DA and the African Democratic Christian Party (ACDP) have already indicated that they will vote in favour of the motion. Will ActionSA take the opposition benches? Meanwhile, Mashaba said even though ActionSA occupies the speaker position in the legislature, the party will not support questionable decisions by the mayor just to keep the position. 'We did not beg or ask anyone to give us the speaker position. If they decide that they do not want us, that decision is not ours. 'They are the ones who approached us to give us the position. If they gave us the position to soften us to become voting cattle, then they made a big mistake,' he said. Mashaba said ActionSA will continue to use its position in the legislature to hold Morero's administration accountable. 'We will hold them accountable officially as long as we run the legislature,' he said. Local government elections He said the party still hopes to boot the ANC out of power in the upcoming local government elections next year. 'What we need to work on is to ensure that residents of Johannesburg vote ActionSA into power and remove the ANC. 'Residents cannot keep empowering the ANC, we have demonstrated that where we govern, we always act in the best interests of our residents,' he said. Mashaba said it is unlikely that the ANC would remove ActionSA from the legislature, as negotiations for that position had taken place at the provincial level. ALSO READ: Joburg's new city manager? Botes is a bad choice, says DA Mashaba's soft spot for Joburg The Citizen sent questions to the ANC in Johannesburg and Morero spokesperson Chris Vondo about tensions with ActionSA. There had been no response at the time this article was published. Meanwhile, Ntsikelelo Breakfast a political analyst from Nelson Mandela University (NMU) told The Citizen that Mashaba had leaned towards a relationship with the ANC despite challenges along the way to avoid working with the DA. 'One could say ActionSA is stuck between a rock and a hard place. The reason that this party was started wa because of the discontent that Mashaba had with the DA. 'So instead of Mashaba gravitating to a party that made him have a broken heart I think he chose to work with the ANC which was a surprise because ActionSA has always said they will never work with the ANC because the ANC is corrupt,' he said. Breakfast said it is clear that Mashaba has a soft spot for Johannesburg because he had been mayor before and perhaps wanted to preserve his legacy. NOW READ: How Joburg plans to spend R89 billion
The Citizen
3 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
DA slams Tshwane's first funded budget since 2021
The DA says the budget increases costs for vulnerable residents while protecting elite networks. While the City of Tshwane's coalition partners celebrate the passing of its first fully funded budget since 2021 in council yesterday, the opposition has accused the city of using its residents as cash cows. The coalition partners which included ANC, EFF, ActionSA, Good, DOP, ATM, PA, PAC and AIC said the budget represented a significant step toward restoring fiscal stability, advancing service delivery and meeting growing developmental needs of residents. DA rejects budget as a betrayal of the poor DA Tshwane spokesperson on finance Jacqui Uys however rejected the 'farce that was the City of Tshwane's budget'. Uys said the ANC government disregarded Tshwane's vulnerable communities because the watchman services budget was increased from R307 million in 2024 to R565 million. 'Tshwane's budget, while promising to uplift and make life easier for the residents, is nothing but a protection of ANC patronage, while using residents as cash cows. The ANC has ignored opposition voices and included another punitive tax on residents. 'The plan is to tax every single resident who cannot afford to make use of the city's rubbish collectors, at R500 per month, by forcing them to pay R200 per month in the form of a city cleansing levy,' she said. ALSO READ: Tshwane's R54.6bn budget draws mixed reactions Private power plans and patronage concerns Uys said the flawed budget was an exercise in protecting patronage networks with R20 million allocated to pay for an advisor that will facilitate transactions getting the Rooiwal and Pretoria West Power Stations operated privately, yet it was clear there is no plan to rid Tshwane of Eskom's 93c/KwA wheeling tariff. 'No independent power producer will be able to sell electricity at a loss this tariff causes,' she said. Uys said it was clear that they wanted to keep Tshwane dependent on Eskom patronage. 'The deputy mayor in his budget speech celebrated that the water woes of Ikageng are over. Yet the taps are dry and water tankers can be found everywhere. This budget has almost doubled the water and sanitation department's water tanker budget,' she said. ActionSA hails budget as a major coalition victory ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said the passing of the 2025-26 Tshwane budget represented a major victory for all the city's residents. 'It marks the first time that ActionSA mayor Nasiphi Moya and her multiparty coalition government have delivered from their own budget, an astonishing feat, given the changes already achieved in the city,' he said. Mashaba said plans to reimagine customer care in the city were exciting, ensuring that residents receive timely, responsive service and clear feedback while issues were being resolved. NOW READ: Here is how Tshwane will be spending its R54.6 billion budget
TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
eThekwini's R71bn budget gets thumbs up from ruling coalition
The eThekwini council on Thursday gave the green light to a R70.9bn budget for the 2026 fiscal year, after a second consecutive year of revised tariff increases. Mayor Cyril Xaba had previously tabled the revised budget on Monday where he announced it had been reduced from the proposed R71.3bn owing to tariff hike adjustments. The municipality decided to scale back on some of the tariff increases it had initially proposed in the draft budget after a public outcry during the consultation processes. The increases include: 13% and 14% for water in households and business, down from 15% and 16% respectively. 11% and 12% for domestic and business sanitation respectively, down from the proposed 13% and 14%. Refuse collection has been reduced to a 9% increase from the proposed 9.9% for domestic households, which is in line with that of business. 5.9% for property rates from the proposed 6.5% The city has further increased the rebate on vacant land from 10% to 30%. The electricity increase, however, remained unchanged at 12.72% after the city could not convince Eskom to reduce its 11.32% hike. 'We failed to win our argument with Eskom. They pleaded that the cost of providing services has increased and that they can't improve the tariff,' Xaba said on Monday. The main opposition party, the DA, disapproved of the budget, saying it lacked the necessary elements to rescue eThekwini from its challenges. Councillor Andre Beetge said he did not share Xaba's optimism on the budget because it sounded like a repetition of previous promises. He said the 'strategically' reduced tariffs were just a smokescreen while the underlying issues remained unresolved. Chief whip Yogis Govender argued the overall impact of the tariff hikes remained significant for consumers despite some slight decreases. 'I couldn't help but note the mayor saying that some tariffs came down by a few percent but what you are really saying to consumers is that 'this bottle is selling for R500 but I feel sorry for you. I hear you so I will sell it to you for R499. 99 because that's how caring we are.' The reality is the pinch will still be felt because an increase is still an increase,' she said. 'You are taxing your fast-shrinking rates base into extreme financial distress. Life is extremely stressful for the taxpayer in eThekwini.' ActionSA leader Zwakele Mncwango said the budget failed to adequately address the needs of residents. 'The proposed tariff increases are excessive and will further burden our citizens who are also struggling. The 13% increase over tariffs is so high while we're facing 58% water loss and the 11% increase in sanitation tariffs will have significant impact on low income households and make it even more difficult for them to access basic needs.' He added it did not provide sufficient funding for critical services like public transport, crime prevention and land management. He further questioned the city's financial management, highlighting concerns over collection rates and decreasing revenue while expenditure increased. 'This will have long-term consequences for the municipality's financial health. Furthermore, irregular expenditure continues to increase, which is unacceptable and raises questions about the municipality's ability to manage its finances effectively.' The EFF welcomed the budget, saying that the adjustment of tariff increases would provide relief to residents. The party said they would've called for no tariff increases but noted circumstances do not allow for that. 'We have our reservations because we wouldn't necessarily want tariff increases but at the same time we understand that eThekwini is 60% rural and 40% urban, meaning we have a very low tax base to collect from — which is why you find that our rates are not like other municipalities.' Xaba said the budget aimed at accelerating service delivery through improved revenue collection and infrastructure development. He said the city was largely dependent on effective collection of revenue and the residents' ability pay for services to boost its coffers and implement the budget. 'This means that when we enter the new financial year in July, we will embark on an intensive campaign to encourage our residents to pay for services. For those who are poor and cannot afford to pay, we already have a programme in place — the Indigent Support Policy — where qualifying households are subsidised by government and are eligible to receive free basic services.' They will achieve this by improving their cash collection through metering all unmetered properties, replacing old meters and conducting monthly readings to ensure accurate billing. The city is also looking to build resilient infrastructure that can withstand natural disasters and wants to attract new investment to grow the economy and create jobs. The budget was adopted when 134 councillors, mainly from the governing coalition of the ANC, EFF and IFP caucuses, voted for it against the 54 who voted against it while three councillors abstained.
IOL News
4 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Controversial R70. 9 billion budget approved by eThekwini Municipality
The eThekwini Municipality approved a R70.9 billion budget for the 2025/26 financial year at the ICC The eThekwini Municipality approved a R70.9 billion budget for the 2025/26 financial year at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre Complex on Thursday. This decision comes after Mayor Cyril Xaba presented the budget on Monday, where he highlighted key priorities such as infrastructure development, job creation, and enhanced service delivery. However, while the budget was passed, several political parties including ActionSA, the United Independent Movement and the Democratic Alliance (DA) rejected the budget, arguing that it "fails to adequately address the needs of our citizens." "The budget fails to provide sufficient funding for critical services such as public transport, crime prevention, and land management. The allocation for public transport is insufficient to address the needs of our growing city, and the lack of funding for crime prevention will make the situation worse. "Thirdly, the municipality's financial management is a major concern, " KZN Action SA leader Zwakele Mncwango said.
