Latest news with #Beesley
The Citizen
7 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Jobs crisis: Political parties demand accountability for rising unemployment
Stats SA revealed that 140 000 jobs were lost between April and June. ActionSA is blaming the government of national unity (GNU) for thousands of jobs lost in the second quarter of 2025. This comes after Stats SA on Tuesday revealed that 140 000 jobs were lost between April and June. 'This brings the total increase to almost 350 000 unemployed individuals so far in 2025 under the government of national unity (GNU), according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Q2 2025 released by Statistics South Africa today,' said ActionSA MP Alan Beesley. He said the ANC and its partners in the GNU have been too busy focusing on their own internal squabbles, leaving ordinary South Africans to contend with harsh economic conditions. 'With the GNU consumed by infighting, the economy is left rudderless. At their press conference yesterday, the DA openly admitted to being at odds with their coalition partner, the ANC, on virtually every element of their supposed plan to'save' South Africa's economy. 'Instead of working for the people, the GNU's coalition partners are working against each other,' said Beesley. Unemployment The official unemployment rate increased by 0.3 percentage points from 32.9% in Q1 2025 to 33.2% in Q2 2025. 'This means that one in every three active jobseekers cannot find work. While the expanded unemployment rate declined slightly from 43.1% in Q1 2025 to 42.9% in Q2 2025, this was driven by growth in the labour force rather than genuine job creation,' he said. ALSO READ: Unemployment increases again as economy sheds 140 000 jobs Why are there not enough jobs? Beesley blamed years of economic mismanagement for the inability of the economy to create sustainable jobs. He said government should be held accountable. 'President Ramaphosa's recent claim that the economy is in a 'state of emergency' is a belated and inadequate acknowledgement of what South Africans have known for years. 'The emergency was created by years of slow, ineffectual governance, and now those responsible claim they want to solve it,' he said. Beesley said South Africa has not achieved economic growth of 3% or more in over a decade. 'Under the GNU, growth has yet to exceed 1%, and unemployment continues to rise. 'Each day, thousands of South Africans lose their livelihoods while Cabinet grows and executive perks multiply. 'This additional loss of jobs comes before the anticipated imposition of new US tariffs, meaning that this hapless inertia is likely to have even more devastating consequences for South Africa's already fragile economy,' he said. Unemployment problem in Gauteng DA shadow MEC for Economic Development Mike Moriarty on Tuesday said the unemployment problem is being felt in Gauteng. 'Currently, there are 2 645 000 unemployed residents in Gauteng and 595 000 discouraged job seekers. 'Furthermore, 10.3 million young people are not in employment, education or training,' said Moriarty. He said the province's Nasi iSpani jobs initiative has failed many young people. 'Our residents deserve permanent job opportunities, not short-term employment.' He said the provincial government must remove all corrupt officials and replace them with competent individuals who deserve the jobs. 'The DA Gauteng demands that the premier, along with the MEC for economic development, Lebogang Maile, clean up the GPG and take immediate steps to remove officials implicated in corruption, not reshuffling them to other departments,' he said.
The Star
10-08-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Minister Macpherson faces backlash from ActionSA over alleged derogatory remarks
Bongani Hans | Published 1 day ago Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson is standing his ground against pressure to retract utterances that were allegedly degrading ActionSA supporters to worthless people amid threats to report him to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). The ActionSA held an online meeting on Thursday, discussing further steps to be taken against the DA's KwaZulu-Natal chairperson. The party, which had already referred Macpherson to the national Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests for disciplinary action, is furious that he, outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court late last month, referred to 'over 500 Black ActionSA members' as pharas. ActionSA was demanding that the issue of calling its supporters pharas be given the same condemnation as Open Chats Podcast hosts, who are now being probed by the SAHRC for making derogatory remarks about coloured people. During a TikTok livestream discussion, ActionSA MP Alan Beesley said the SAHRC was the next step to hold the minister accountable for his utterances. 'After we reported Macpherson to the ethics committee in Parliament, and since we were hoping that he was going to apologise after we gave him a week to do so, which he had not done; that is going to continue. 'And we are going to launch a formal complaint with the SAHRC as this was a violation of the human rights of people, who were predominantly black, in a racist manner,' said Beesley. Instead of bowing to pressure to apologise, Macpherson accused ActionSA of being an attention seeker that was hellbent on distracting him from the fight against corruption. 'It's interesting that every time I am fighting corruption or dealing with critical issues in the department, ActionSA is trying to divert attention away from that issue,' he told this reporter last week. When asked to comment on the threats to refer him to the SAHRC, Macpherson said: 'My comment still stands.' Beesley announced taking alleged racist remarks to the SAHRC, shortly after Macpherson was at the Cape Town Central Police Station to open a case against the Independent Development Trust (IDT) suspended chief executive officer, Tebogo Malaka, and the trust's spokesperson, Phasha Makgolane, for trying to bribe a journalist. Beesley said Macpherson violated the rights that were protected by the Bill of Rights. Macpherson was caught in a video that found its way to social media, addressing DA supporters and leaders, including its Francois Rodgers, about the presence of ActionSA supporters outside the court, saying: 'There is a smallanyana (little) party (referring to ActionSA); they just brought up some people, and we don't know who they are since they are pharas; they gave them some green T-shirts. 'When you ask which party (they belong to), they said 'angazi' (I don't know), 'I am just here for one meal and one drink', and they were here for just singing and dancing.' Both the ActionSA and DA were in court attending a case they brought together against eThekwini Municipality for failing to fix sewage spillage around the city. Beesley said it was not premature to refer the matter to the SAHRC before being dealt with by Parliament, which is currently in recess. 'The SAHRC is here to protect human rights, while the ethics committee is here to protect the ethics of Parliament. We cannot divorce the fact that Macpherson is a member of Parliament and is a human being who is treating people differently. 'We should pursue him both as a member of Parliament and as an ordinary South African, because even if he made those comments as an ordinary South African, they would be out of line because you cannot mistreat people who are suffering the most, like that,' said Beesly. ActionSA provincial leader Zwakele Mncwango said Macpherson was refusing to apologise because 'he believed in what he said'. 'I think he does not see a reason why he must apologise as he stands by his words, and that is how he sees black people in South Africa. Unfortunately, he does not see anything wrong with what he said while he is a minister,' said Mncwango. He said Macpherson portrayed himself as a minister who was not prepared to use his ministerial position to help the homeless people out of their situation by building them houses. 'His arrogance will always show off, and even the DA has not said anything about this, and that tells you that it is in their DNA to stand with his views because if they also believed he is wrong, they should by now have spoken to him to apologise,' said Mncwango. ActionSA MP Mika Ngobeni, who was the livestream host, asked Mncwango to comment on parties in the Government of National Unity that were not criticising Macpherson in the same way they did against the podcast hosts who allegedly insulted coloured communities. Mncwango said this was because the legacy of apartheid was still hanging over. 'This requires all of us to work toward unity and to be true when it comes to reconciliation. If we ignore such matters or we look at them depending on who is saying what, we will never heal,' he said. [email protected]
IOL News
08-08-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Minister Macpherson faces backlash from ActionSA over alleged derogatory remarks
Minister Dean Macpherson is facing threats of being reported to the SAHRC for alleged racist remarks. Image: Independent Media Archives Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson is standing his ground against pressure to retract utterances that were allegedly degrading ActionSA supporters to worthless people amid threats to report him to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). The ActionSA held an online meeting on Thursday, discussing further steps to be taken against the DA's KwaZulu-Natal chairperson. The party, which had already referred Macpherson to the national Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests for disciplinary action, is furious that he, outside the Pietermaritzburg High Court late last month, referred to 'over 500 Black ActionSA members' as pharas. ActionSA was demanding that the issue of calling its supporters pharas be given the same condemnation as Open Chats Podcast hosts, who are now being probed by the SAHRC for making derogatory remarks about coloured people. During a TikTok livestream discussion, ActionSA MP Alan Beesley said the SAHRC was the next step to hold the minister accountable for his utterances. 'After we reported Macpherson to the ethics committee in Parliament, and since we were hoping that he was going to apologise after we gave him a week to do so, which he had not done; that is going to continue. 'And we are going to launch a formal complaint with the SAHRC as this was a violation of the human rights of people, who were predominantly black, in a racist manner,' said Beesley. Instead of bowing to pressure to apologise, Macpherson accused ActionSA of being an attention seeker that was hellbent on distracting him from the fight against corruption. 'It's interesting that every time I am fighting corruption or dealing with critical issues in the department, ActionSA is trying to divert attention away from that issue,' he told this reporter last week. When asked to comment on the threats to refer him to the SAHRC, Macpherson said: 'My comment still stands.' Beesley announced taking alleged racist remarks to the SAHRC, shortly after Macpherson was at the Cape Town Central Police Station to open a case against the Independent Development Trust (IDT) suspended chief executive officer, Tebogo Malaka, and the trust's spokesperson, Phasha Makgolane, for trying to bribe a journalist. Beesley said Macpherson violated the rights that were protected by the Bill of Rights. Macpherson was caught in a video that found its way to social media, addressing DA supporters and leaders, including its Francois Rodgers, about the presence of ActionSA supporters outside the court, saying: 'There is a smallanyana (little) party (referring to ActionSA); they just brought up some people, and we don't know who they are since they are pharas; they gave them some green T-shirts. 'When you ask which party (they belong to), they said 'angazi' (I don't know), 'I am just here for one meal and one drink', and they were here for just singing and dancing.' Both the ActionSA and DA were in court attending a case they brought together against eThekwini Municipality for failing to fix sewage spillage around the city. Beesley said it was not premature to refer the matter to the SAHRC before being dealt with by Parliament, which is currently in recess. 'The SAHRC is here to protect human rights, while the ethics committee is here to protect the ethics of Parliament. We cannot divorce the fact that Macpherson is a member of Parliament and is a human being who is treating people differently. 'We should pursue him both as a member of Parliament and as an ordinary South African, because even if he made those comments as an ordinary South African, they would be out of line because you cannot mistreat people who are suffering the most, like that,' said Beesly. ActionSA provincial leader Zwakele Mncwango said Macpherson was refusing to apologise because 'he believed in what he said'. 'I think he does not see a reason why he must apologise as he stands by his words, and that is how he sees black people in South Africa. Unfortunately, he does not see anything wrong with what he said while he is a minister,' said Mncwango. He said Macpherson portrayed himself as a minister who was not prepared to use his ministerial position to help the homeless people out of their situation by building them houses. 'His arrogance will always show off, and even the DA has not said anything about this, and that tells you that it is in their DNA to stand with his views because if they also believed he is wrong, they should by now have spoken to him to apologise,' said Mncwango. ActionSA MP Mika Ngobeni, who was the livestream host, asked Mncwango to comment on parties in the Government of National Unity that were not criticising Macpherson in the same way they did against the podcast hosts who allegedly insulted coloured communities. Mncwango said this was because the legacy of apartheid was still hanging over. 'This requires all of us to work toward unity and to be true when it comes to reconciliation. If we ignore such matters or we look at them depending on who is saying what, we will never heal,' he said. [email protected]
Reuters
25-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
UK's Jupiter rebounds with net inflows in second quarter as client sentiment shifts
July 25 (Reuters) - British wealth manager Jupiter (JUP.L), opens new tab returned to net inflows in the second quarter, driven by a shift in client sentiment towards relatively cheaper European markets CEO Matthew Beesley said the changing sentiment signals the reversal of a U.S.-dominated investment environment in favour of European bourses. "The UK might find itself quite uniquely positioned as a bit of a safe haven market," he told Reuters. Jupiter recorded net inflows of about 300 million pounds ($403.7 million) in the second quarter, compared to the 500 million pounds of outflows recorded in the first quarter. "There's been a general improvement in sentiment across the marketplace since February," Beesley said, adding that the company had benefited from resilient institutional demand and improving sentiment within retail clients. Jupiter shares opened at their highest since March 2023 following the half-yearly report, before reversing course to fall more than 7% on Friday. Panmure Liberum analyst Rae Maile said the share move could suggest profit taking by investors. Underlying pre-tax profit fell 36% to 30.4 million pounds in the first half of the year, while assets under management came to 47.1 billion pounds for the period. Jupiter had a challenging 2024, as nervous clients pulled cash and reshuffled their portfolios amid volatile markets, while the departure of one of its star fund managers, Ben Whitmore, triggered an exodus from the fund. The company has since identified areas for cost savings and announced the acquisition of smaller rival CCLA Investment Manager earlier this month in a bid to rebuild investor confidence. ($1 = 0.7430 pounds)
IOL News
26-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Fuel levy increase amid VAT scrapping, 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'
While the National Treasury acknowledges that the fuel levy was regressive, it maintains that it was one of the options that needed to be considered and was increased in line with inflation. Image: Kopano Tlape / GCIS The National Treasury has been accused of fooling taxpayers by proposing an inflation-related increase in the fuel levy as a replacement for the now-scrapped VAT hike. During a joint meeting of parliamentary committees on finance and appropriations on Friday, where Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and the National Treasury unpacked the 2025/26 Budget, MPs maintained that the fuel levy increase would negatively impact poor households amid questions about whose idea it was. The fuel levy was increased as one of the new tax measures aimed to raise R20 billion after the VAT hike, which was to generate R75 billion, was scrapped. EFF MP Omphile Maotwe said they rejected the fuel levy. 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. 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. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ 'When we rejected VAT in March, we never said it must be replaced with a fuel levy. That is what the Treasury did, they just went to convert VAT to a fuel levy. What is more painful is that the increase of 16 cents per litre for petrol and 15 cents for diesel is only expected to generate R4 billion - you are saying that yourself," Maotwe said. She accused the National Treasury of ignoring their alternative revenue proposals, including the proposed wealth tax and apartheid tax. 'Why are you not considering taxing the rich?… Are you confirming this country is governed by the rich?' asked Maotwe. ActionSA MP Alan Beesley said it was great to see VAT was off the table. 'It is absolutely nonsensical that it has been replaced in part by a fuel levy,' Beesley said. 'I don't know whose idea it was, but it's just absolutely nonsensical. You're robbing Peter to pay Paul,' Beesley added. DA spokesperson on finance Mark Burke said they were supporting the Budget, but it included allusions to another R20 billion in random taxes next year they were vehemently opposed to. 'We are making clear now that unless we can identify the expenditure efficiencies that will avert the R20 billion situation, we will have to oppose any form of taxation. South Africans simply cannot afford more,' Burke said. MK Party MP Des van Rooyen said the million dollar question on the fuel levy was who was fooling who. 'The National Treasury under Minister Godongwana seems to be taking South Africans for a fool. We are saying this because it does not require a rocket scientist to determine that fuel levy is an indirect tax. It is very regressive because of its multiplier effect,' Van Rooyen said. He said the poor will be adversely affected when the price of fuel increases and that the National Treasury had gone for the low-hanging fruit while ignoring their alternative proposals. National Treasury's acting head of tax and financial sector policy division, Chris Axelson, said the fuel levy hasn't been adjusted since April 2021. 'The current increase is in line with expected inflation of around 4%. In our view, this isn't a replacement for the VAT increase,' he said. 'The VAT increase was anticipated to raise R75 billion over the next three years. This figure of a 4% increase in the fuel levy would increase the amount of revenue compared to the 12 March Budget of around R12 billion for the three years, so it's a much smaller amount.' Axelson said the points being made that the fuel levy was regressive, applied to everyone, and consumers will feel it, were valid. 'It's a difficult tax. We've been trying to avoid it, as you can see through the non-adjustments over the past four years, but in a scenario where such a large amount of revenue is missing from the removal of the VAT increases, it was one of the options that needed to be considered and was increased in line with inflation,' he added. Axelson confirmed that the National Treasury had received a lot of alternative revenue proposals, which were discussed at the joint meeting of the committees in March. The National Treasury previously argued against the increase in personal income tax and corporate income tax rates, as well as against introducing a wealth tax. 'At the moment, we don't think it's prudent to be raising these taxes, but we need R20 billion in the 2026 Budget, and that R20 billion we will look at these alternative revenue proposals. We are hoping to have a more consultative approach to the potential tax measures that we can use, and we will assess those and consider them,' he said. Cape Times
