Latest news with #Botes
IOL News
15 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
DIRCO defends policy change that will enable Musk's Starlink to operate in SA as 'in the national interest
Elon Musk. Bringing billionaire Elon Musk's controversial satellite internet system, Starlink, into South Africa's airspace is in the country's national interest because it will help meet its developmental goals Image: AFP Bringing billionaire Elon Musk's controversial satellite internet system, Starlink, into South Africa's airspace is in the country's national interest because it will help meet its developmental goals, said Deputy Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Alvin Botes. During a conference on illicit financial flows, mobilising domestic resources, and financing for development, hosted at SGN Grant Thornton's offices at the end of last week, Botes said that any trade agreement would be subordinate to the Constitution and must facilitate development. Botes also hinted at government's policy towards trade agreements with the United States following President Cyril Ramaphosa's meeting with Trump on May 21. He said that the county's policies are 'not subordinate to trade incentives'. The Deputy Minister added: 'We can only speak about what our constitutional imperatives are.' He explained that it was important that public debates were held as government effects changes in law when public opinion focuses on certain issues. However, Botes also said that the United States is South Africa's second largest trade partner as a country following China. 'It would be reckless to say we don't need the US,' he noted, speaking specifically about automotive exports. During Ramaphosa's meeting with Trump, which was televised, the United States President seemingly blindsided Ramaphosa by screening videos in which then EFF leader Julius Malema chanted 'kill the boer, kill the farmer'. 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 ✕ Ad Loading Trump has been targeting South Africa for what he sees as genocide, while Musk has publicly stated that the country has 'racist ownership laws,' which may deter him from investing here, including through Starlink. Recent proposed changes by Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, that will amend current laws governing the telecoms space has caused controversy and have been viewed as paving the way for Musk, who was previously close with US President Donald Trump, to operate his satellites in South Africa. Speaking to IOL on the sidelines of the SNG conference, Botes said trade agreements must be reconcilable with nation building. When specifically asked about Starlink, the Deputy Minister said government sought to get the best outcome for South Africans still suffering the consequences of the Apartheid era. Malatsi has proposed that the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to reconsider its regulations on ownership of licences. This would include making use of alternatives to requiring companies to be 30% owned by historically disadvantaged individuals before that entity can be awarded spectrum. Botes pointed out that not all South Africans have access to the internet and Starlink will bridge these gaps in rural areas. A release from Statistics South Africa last week showed that the percentage of households who had access to the Internet through any other means increased from 28.0% in 2010 to 82.1% by 2024. Malatsi was 'invited' by the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies to explain these directives, which would essentially allow international companies to implement skills development, enterprise development, socio-economic investment, and Equity Equivalent Investment Programmes instead of ownership. The Committee said that these directives 'appear to be in contravention of the Electronic Communications Act and in favour of low earth orbit satellite provider SpaceX, which will be providing broadband services'. Space X operates Starlink.
IOL News
17 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
Crooks steal almost R100bn from SA's economy each year
Illicit financial flows are costing South Africa a staggering $3.5 billion annually, nearly 5% of its tax revenue. Image: RonAI / IOL Illicit Financial Flows (IFF) – theft – is robbing South Africa of a massive $3.5 billion every year. That amount translates to almost 5% of the tax revenue that the South African Revenue Service brings in each year, or R92.5bn, according to Deputy Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Alvin Botes. 'In 2022 we received roughly $1.1bn (R19.7bn) in official development assistance, but we lose an estimated $3.5bn (R62.7bn) to $5 billion (R89.6bn) each year to tax abuse, trade mis-invoicing, illegal capital transfers and profit-shifting,' said Botes, who was speaking at a conference on illicit financial flows, mobilising domestic resources, and financing for development, hosted at SGN Grant Thornton's offices at the end of last week. Botes added that 'these losses erode tax bases, shrink fiscal space, weaken institutions and make true sovereignty impossible'. This, he said, means 'children left out of classrooms, hospitals short on medicine, dreams deferred.' Victor Sekese, SNG Grant Thornton CEO, said that progress is increasingly threatened through IFF, which 'denies our people access to public goods like healthcare, education, infrastructure, and opportunity.' Quantifying the effect of IFF on socioeconomic development initiatives to improve the lives of all, Botes stated that UN Trade and Development statistics indicate that countries with high illicit flows spend a quarter less on healthcare and more than 50% less on education than their peers. On a continental level, Sekese said that Africa is estimated to lose over $80 billion annually to these IFF outflows. 'Imagine what we could do with that – build public infrastructure, schools, hospitals and industries,' he said. Sekese added that it was important not to just have talk shops but to agree on ways to share data, harmonise laws, and hold those who make it possible for IFF to take place accountable. 'Most importantly, to ensure that our recommendations not only inform but shape the final policy proposals presented at the G20 later this year'. South Africa will host the G20 Johannesburg Summit, the twentieth meeting of the Group of Twenty, on 22 and 23 November. The meeting is set to include heads of state and government, with US President Donald Trump having said the US will attend. Botes noted that 'the complexity of these crimes also demands deeper inter-agency cooperation, rapid information-sharing and, ultimately, an international legal instrument robust enough to match transnational crime. We therefore call for a United Nations Tax Convention capable of halting Africa's wealth leak and choking multinational tax abuse.' Let us plug the leaks, mobilise the means and finance the future humanity deserves,' said Botes. IOL Business
IOL News
19 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
SA wants bold financial reforms to end Africa's debt crisis ahead of UN financing conference
Deputy Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Alvin Botes, said that debt must be sustainable and international development finance needs to be reimagined so that 'no school, clinic or innovator's dream is sacrificed on the altar of debt or indifference'. Image: Katlholo Maifadi / DIRCO News South Africa is calling for the upcoming 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) to be a catalyst for change in how international development finance is structured so that no African nation suffers crippling aid debt. Deputy Minister of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Alvin Botes, said that debt must be sustainable and international development finance needs to be reimagined so that 'no school, clinic or innovator's dream is sacrificed on the altar of debt or indifference'. FfD4, to be held in Seville, Spain between June 30 and July 3, 'must close the financial divide, attack inequality at its root and operationalise the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact,' said Botes. FfD4, to be held under the auspices of the United Nations, seeks to address the urgent need to fully implement Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and support reform of the international financial architecture. Speaking at an event on illicit financial flows, mobilising domestic resources, and financing for development, hosted at SGN Grant Thornton's offices towards the end of last week, Botes also said that the global financing landscape is in disrepair. 'The G20 Common Framework has stalled, multilateral development banks deliver net negative flows, and unsustainable debt crowds out SDG spending,' the Deputy Minister said. South Africa, currently Presiding over the G20 until it hands the baton to the United States at the end of November, is ready to champion developing nations when it comes to their economic plight and unsustainable debt, said Botes. He noted that 43 of the world's 47 emerging nations are in Africa. 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 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. Next Stay Close ✕ 'The age of incrementalism has ended; the era of decisive, equitable and bold action begins now. South Africa is ready to lead, to support and to walk alongside every partner committed to justice, equity and shared progress,' Botes said. South Africa aims to use its Presidency to have the G20's Common Framework overhauled some five years after its creation during the COVID-19 pandemic as a mechanism to help relieve the economic impact caused by the plague. 'South Africa chairs this G20 year resolved to turn analysis into action and global consensus into ground-level change,' said Botes. Current international development financial frameworks are throttling emerging countries, which end up with unsustainable debt that 'crowds out' SDG spending, said Botes. He added that emerging markets need to 'participate equally in global decisions'. Botes also called for multilateral development banks to honour country ownership, credit rating agencies to reflect each country's fundamentals in their assessments and not prejudice them, and for developed economies to finally meet their Overseas Development Assistance and climate-finance commitments.
The Citizen
3 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Weekly economic wrap: Rand strongest since December, but falling again
Although the rand kept its head up all week and strengthened even more on the back of the repo rate cut, it lost traction on Friday afternoon. The biggest economic news of the week was the mostly unexpected cut in the repo rate of 25 basis points, while the rand kept its momentum and reached its strongest level since December. Gold, on the other hand, was not so lucky. Lisette IJssel de Schepper, chief economist at the Bureau for Economic Research, says the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) decided to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7.25%, which means that the prime interest rate is now 10.75%. 'The dovish tilt, with all six members voting for a cut and one member even preferring a 50 basis points cut, was surprising, but welcome. In addition, the clear signalling around moving to a 3% inflation target is positive and removes uncertainty.' Bianca Botes, director at Citadel Global, points out that the rand strengthened to its best level since December, helped by a weaker dollar and the Sarb's repo rate cut, which aims to support the local economy and as inflation remains low. Busisiwe Nkonki and Isaac Matshego, economists at the Nedbank Group Economic Unit, also point out that the rand gained further ground this week. 'The Sarb's interest rate cut and the announcement of the imminent lowering of the inflation target boosted sentiment, lifting the local unit to R17.80/$ late Thursday, and on Friday morning it was trading around R17.83/$.' Unfortunately, the good news did not last, and the rand traded at R18.04 on Friday afternoon. ALSO READ: Reserve Bank cuts repo rate thanks to lower inflation, stronger rand Decrease in prices of oil and gold Oil prices dropped for the second week in a row, with Brent Crude trading near $63/barrel, Botes says. 'This decline is driven by investors remaining uncertain about what will happen with US tariffs, as the legal back-and-forth is making the market more unpredictable. 'Traders are also watching the upcoming expanded Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC+) meeting, where major oil-producing countries are expected to agree on increasing oil production in July.' Botes says there is extra tension because Kazakhstan is producing more oil than it is supposed to, which could lead to even more supply than planned. On the demand side, recent US economic data shows the economy shrank slightly in the first quarter, raising worries that people and businesses might use less fuel.' She says gold prices also slipped to around $3,290/ounce and are heading for a weekly loss, as investors wait for the PCE index, which could affect future interest rate decisions. Investors also remain cautious as they wait for more clarity on US inflation and interest rates. ALSO READ: Producer Price Index remains unchanged, but an increase is coming Producer price inflation remains muted Lebohang Namo, economist at the BER, says producer price inflation (PPI) for final manufactured goods, remained unchanged at 0.5% in April. 'Like consumer inflation last week, this was above consensus expectations following a string of downward surprises.' Mamello Matikinca-Ngwenya, Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, Thanda Sithole and Koketso Mano, economists at FNB, say continued deflation in fuel, paper products and transport equipment helped keep overall producer inflation contained in April. Nkonki and Matshego, economists at the Nedbank Group Economic Unit, say April's producer price inflation provided more evidence of subdued price pressures. Producer inflation held steady at 0.5%, matching our forecast and exceeding market expectations of 0%. 'Deepening fuel price deflation offset higher food prices. Elsewhere, price pressures remained relatively subdued. Food, beverages and tobacco inflation accelerated from 4.1% to 4.7%, while deflation in coke, petroleum, chemicals, rubber, and plastics deepened from 4.1% to 5.5%. Producer inflation will likely rise moderately off a low base in the months ahead.' ALSO READ: Salaries decreased by 2% in April, but higher than a year ago Private sector credit extension increased in April Matikinca-Ngwenya, Mkhwanazi, Sithole and Mano say Private Sector Credit Extension (PSCE) growth increased to 4.6% in April, up from 3.4% in March, largely driven by an acceleration in corporate credit growth, which increased to 6.0% from 3.9%. Household credit growth was 3.0%, marginally higher than the 2.9% recorded in March. Within corporate credit, growth in general loans and advances rose to 7.4% from 4.3%, overdraft growth climbed to 12.6% from 10.3%, and mortgage advances grew by 6.2%, slightly up from 6.1% in the previous month. Instalment sales credit growth remained stable and above inflation at 5.0%, compared to 5.1% in prior months, while credit card growth declined sharply to 0.6% from 2.5%. In the household segment, general loans and advances and overdrafts remained in contractionary territory, while mortgage advance growth was stable at 2.3%, unchanged from the prior month. Growth in other household credit categories remained above inflation, with instalment sales credit at 6.2% and credit cards at 8.5%. Nkonki and Matshego say the growth in broad money supply improved slightly from 5.8% in March to 6.1% in April, exceeding their expectations of 5.9%. 'The boost in PSCE came from faster growth in loans and advances and a less severe decline in bills and investments. 'The most significant momentum came from companies, where advances jumped from 5.5% to 7.5%, amplified by last year's low base. Even so, company overdrafts and general loans accelerated, while commercial mortgages and instalment sales and leasing finances held relatively steady.' They also note that the slow recovery in household loans continued, rising slightly from 2.9% to 3%. 'The uptick came mainly from a rebound in credit card usage, while vehicle finance and home loans were unchanged. We expect the recovery in credit demand to gain moderate upward traction in the months ahead, supported by easier financial conditions and firmer domestic demand.'
The Citizen
19-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Is Morero protecting corrupt officials? — ACDP backs DA's motion of no confidence
The DA said it was shocked to see Helen Botes conducting television interviews as Acting Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the City of Johannesburg, The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) says it will support a proposed motion of no confidence vote against Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero. The party is the first to publicly come out in support of the DA's proposed motion to remove Morero. Speaking on Sunday, ACDP councillor Norman Mkhonza said Morero had made a number of questionable decisions that have left doubt on his ability to lead. This includes the appointment of former Johannesburg Property Company CEO, Helen Botes as Chief Operating Officer (COO) earlier this year. Botes has been implicated in Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) corruption, with damning findings by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) proclamation R23 of 2020. She was also implicated in retired judge Sisi Khampepe's report on the Usindiso building fire in 2023 that killed at least 76 people. Khampepe recommended that the Joburg Property Company's board act against Botes 'for the total disregard of managing the Usindiso building, despite knowledge of its disastrous state of affairs since at least 2019'. The DA later laid culpable homicide charges against her over the matter. The ACDP questions why action has not been taken against Botes, and whether she is being artificially protected. 'We now know that the outgoing executive mayor was behind her promotion, but why, we don't know,' he said. Mkhonza said the position of COO calls for someone with a track record of integrity and professionalism and good ethics. 'Not someone who managed a building where 76 people died in a fire made inevitable by neglect,' Mkhonza said. Will Morero achieve his priorities? Mkhonza said he believed that Morero would also not achieve the targets that he set for himself at his State of the City Address (SOCA). 'On revenue collection: the debtor's book is now sitting at an estimated R62 billion, and he is still speaking about a war room that has not done anything tangible since his inauguration. The city now relies more on loan funding,' he said. DA guns for Dada The DA had cited several reasons for proposing a motion of no confidence against Moero, including the protection of alleged corrupt officials. It also alleged maladministration, unfair service delivery in different communities, and a number of lawsuits facing the municipality. The party's caucus leader, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku, told The Citizen that Morero is complicit in flouting governance laws and attempting to extend the contracts of senior managers who have been in acting positions for more than three months. 'Despite the DA raising concerns in Council, a resolution was passed on 8 May 2025 that attempts to retroactively approve and extend the acting terms of seven senior officials — including the Acting City Manager. These appointments have already exceeded the legal three-month limit and are now without any lawful basis,' he said. ALSO READ: DA lays criminal charges against City of Johannesburg top officials Charges against Botes dropped Responding to the allegations against Botes, the City of Johannesburg said a legal opinion cleared her of all corruption allegations. 'As a result, the JPC Board resolved to drop all the charges against the CEO, in view of the legal advice it had obtained. 'To the best of our knowledge, the letter the JPC Board addressed to the SIU, in 2022, records the JPC Board's considered view on the matter,' the city said. Meanwhile, ANC co-convenor in Gauteng, Panyaza Lesufi, told reporters at the SOCA that the DA did not have the numbers to eject Morero from his position. It is still not clear on what day the motion against Morero will take place. NOW READ: 'Joburg is in free fall' — Next month could be make or break for Mayor Dada Morero
