Latest news with #MTEF
Zawya
4 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
$21.5bln loan request is Nigeria's external borrowing plan for 2024–2026, FG clarifies
The Federal Government has clarified that Tuesday's $21.5 billion communication by President Bola Tinubu to the National Assembly was a formal request for consideration and approval of the 2024–2026 External Borrowing Rolling Plan, which includes the State Governments. It explained that a borrowing plan does not amount to taking a $21.5 billion loan but only shows a plan of what can be borrowed and where the loans will come from for specific projects that are important to the Federal and State governments, including what will be borrowed by the Federal Government in 2025. Additionally, the Federal Government noted that the proposed Borrowing Rolling Plan is an essential component of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), in accordance with both the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007 and the Debt Management Office (DMO) Act 2003. According to Government, the Plan outlines the external borrowing framework for both the federal and sub-national governments over a three-year period, accompanied by five detailed appendices on the projects, terms and conditions, implementation period, etc. In a statement on Wednesday, Mohammed Manga, Director, Information and Public Relations in the Federal Ministry of Finance, said by adopting a structured, forward-looking approach, the plan facilitates comprehensive financial planning and avoids the inefficiencies of ad hoc or reactive borrowing practices. 'This strategic method enhances Nigeria's ability to implement effective fiscal policies and mobilize development resources. The borrowing plan does not equate to actual borrowing for the period. The actual borrowing for each year is contained in the annual budget. 'In 2025, the external borrowing component is US $1.23 billion, and it has not yet been drawn. This is planned for H2 2025. 'Also, the plan is for both Federal and several State governments across numerous geopolitical zones including Abia, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Lagos, Niger, Oyo, Sokoto, and Yobe States. 'Importantly, it should be noted that the Borrowing Rolling Plan does not equate to an automatic increase in the nation's debt burden. The nature of the rolling plan means that borrowings are split over the period of the projects. 'For example, a large proportion of projects in the 2024–2026 rolling plan have multi-year drawdowns of between 5 to 7 years, which are project-tied loans. These projects cut across critical sectors of the economy, including power grids and transmission lines, irrigation for improving food security, fibre optics network across the country, fighter jets for security, and rail and road infrastructure,' Manga stated. He informed that the majority of the proposed borrowing will be sourced from Nigeria's development partners, including the World Bank, African Development Bank, French Development Agency, European Investment Bank, JICA, China EximBank, and the Islamic Development Bank, as these institutions offer concessional financing with favourable terms and long repayment periods, thereby supporting Nigeria's development objectives sustainably. The government reiterated that the debt service-to-revenue ratio has started decreasing from its peak of over 90 percent in 2023, and it has ended the distortionary and inflationary ways and means. It highlighted that there are significant revenue expectations from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and technology-enabled monitoring and collection of surpluses from Government Owned Enterprises (GOE) and revenue-generating ministries, departments, and agencies, including legacy outstanding dues. 'Having achieved a fair degree of macroeconomic stabilization, the overarching goal of the Federal Government is to pivot the economy onto a path of rapid, sustained, and inclusive economic growth. 'Achieving this vision requires substantial investment in critical sectors such as transportation, energy, infrastructure, and agriculture. These investments will lay the groundwork for long-term economic diversification and encourage private sector participation. 'Our debt strategy is therefore guided not solely by the size of our obligations, but by the utility, sustainability, and economic returns of the borrowing. Ensuring that all borrowed funds are efficiently utilized and directed toward growth-enhancing projects remains a top priority,' the Government further explained. Manga underlined that the government remains committed to keeping borrowing within manageable and sustainable limits in accordance with the DMO Debt Sustainability Framework.
The Citizen
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Tshwane plan to relocate east informal settlement dwellers unfolds
The Tshwane metro confirmed that the construction drawings for the establishment of the Pretorius Park Ext 40 Township are now being finalised and will soon be submitted to the relevant authorities to pave the way for development shortly. This move marks a step towards the long-anticipated relocation of residents from Cemetery View and Plastic View informal settlements in the east of Pretoria. The city also revealed that the Surveyor General Diagrams for the long-awaited township development have been approved. Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said a multidisciplinary team was officially appointed on June 12, 2024, to drive the project. 'The team of engineers and specialists are currently busy with the planning phase, working on designs to prepare the land that will ultimately accommodate hundreds of families living in the fire-prone settlements.' The long-anticipated relocation of residents from Cemetery View and Plastic View informal settlements is a dawn that thousands of east ratepayers eagerly await. Once complete, Pretorius Park Ext 40 is expected to form part of the city's broader spatial integration plan, offering both government-subsidised housing and social rental units to residents currently living in unsafe and overcrowded conditions. Pretorius Park Ext 40 will integrate the poor into the affluent Garsfontein area, in pursuit of spatial transformation and integration principles espoused in the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (Act No. 16 of 2013). East of Pretoria ratepayers have been calling on the municipality to relocate residents from informal settlements through legal efforts to evict them, having been in the courts for years with multiple failed eviction processes thwarted by Human Rights organisations. Pretorius Park will ultimately offer 863 housing units, 300 of which will be fully subsidised by the government. The remaining units will be allocated for social housing rental stock. The qualifying beneficiaries from Cemetery View (currently home to 866 households) and Plastic View (with over 900 households) will be relocated to the new development. Mashigo said a contractor will be appointed during the 2025/26 financial year. 'The project is still in the planning phase; the contractor will be appointed in the next financial year. The designs and construction drawings are underway currently,' said Mashigo. Previously, the municipality said a submission was made to the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements to fund the top structure construction under the current Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). This will follow the installation of bulk infrastructure, including water, sewer, roads, and stormwater systems. The relocation of Cemetery View residents has been discussed for over a decade. In 2010, the city attempted to prevent land invasions by demolishing structures and evicting illegal occupiers at the Cemetery View informal settlement. However, after a court case brought to the North Gauteng High Court, the city was ordered to provide emergency relief in the form of temporary shelters. This led to a court settlement on August 18, 2010, requiring the city to eventually provide permanent alternative accommodation. The process has since faced multiple objections from neighbouring property owners, homeowner associations, and civil society organisations. The city had to revise and resubmit its township planning application in March 2020, which was only approved by the Municipal Planning Tribunal in August 2022. The final approval for the Conditions of Establishment and Layout Plan for Pretorius Park Ext 40 was granted on January 3 2023, clearing a major hurdle in the city's goal of building a formal, integrated community in the Garsfontein area. Mashigo said the city will expedite the implementation of Pretorious Park Ext 40 and ensure that the urban management activities are implemented on both informal settlements to prevent any further pollution and invasion. 'In the interim, Tshwane Metro Police Department is deployed on site to attend to any transgressions of law.' The city previously said it is pushing for the relocation move to be at least by 2029. Mashigo mentioned previously that the city has limited powers over evictions due to the existing court order, which makes it difficult for the city to implement certain measures. Do you have more information about the story? Please send us an email to bennittb@ or phone us on 083 625 4114. For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord's websites: Rekord East For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram or TikTok. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
eNCA
22-05-2025
- Business
- eNCA
DA welcomes R1TN for infrastructure
JOHANNESBURG - The DA has welcomed the R1 trillion allocated for infrastructure development in order to grow the economy. According to Willem Aucamp of the DA this is what the party has been fighting for. "We have a budget that will that will have no VAT increases, no personal tax increases nor corporate VAT increase and that is what the democratic alliance has been advocating for. We do not have an income problem in this country but rather a expenditure problem," he says. Aucamp further welcomed the minister decision to conduct a spending review. He says this will allow for the government to review ghost workers within various departments but also look into projects that do not yield results. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the allocation during his Budget speech on Wednesday. He said going forward, underperforming programmes will be closed as the 2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) budget process undergoes redesign. New reforms will target infrastructure planning and implementation across provinces and municipalities, the minister explained. "A data-driven approach to detecting payroll irregularities will replace the more costly method of using censuses.
IOL News
22-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
SA adjusts social grants budget to combat rising living costs
The social relief of distress (SRD) grant, introduced at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic has been extended to March 2026. Image: File THE budget for social grants has been adjusted downward from the one presented on 12 March 2025 to align spending with revised revenue proposals. Despite this downward adjustment, social grants will be augmented by R1.6 billion in 2025/26 to help beneficiaries cope with the rising cost of living, although no additional increases are planned for the two outer years of the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) period. This is according to the Budget documents presented by National Treasury before the tabling of the speech by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in Parliament on Wednesday. The document also confirmed that the social relief of distress (SRD) grant, introduced at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, will remain in place until March 2026 as the government continues to explore long-term options to replace it. According to the documents, the grant will continue at a value of R370 per month during this period. Godongwana announced that R844.4 billion has been allocated to the Department of Social Development over the MTEF period. Of this, an estimated 99.7% or R841.4b will go to transfers and subsidies and R815.8 billion from that total specifically allocated for social grants and the remainder to transfers for entities. The department remains one of the largest drivers of government expenditure due to the critical role it plays in reducing poverty and providing a safety net for vulnerable South Africans. 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 ✕ An estimated 45% of the country's population depends on social grants or the SRD grant as a primary source of income. This includes approximately 13.2 million child support grant beneficiaries and 4.3m recipients of the old age grant. Social grants are distributed through the Social Assistance programme, whose allocations are set to increase at an average annual rate of 0.3%, from R269.4b in 2024/25 to R271.4b in 2027/28. From April 2025, the old age grant will increase by R120 to R2 310 and rise again by R10 in October to reach R2 320, as originally announced in the 12 March Budget. In addition, a further R34.9b will be added to the Social Assistance programme in 2025/26 to cover the extension of the SRD grant until the end of March 2026. Godongwana said the government is actively reviewing the future of the grant as part of a broader effort to connect social support with employment. 'Government is actively exploring various options to better integrate this grant with employment opportunities. This includes considering a job-seeker allowance and other measures, as part of the review of Active Labour Market Programmes. "Our goal is to not only provide immediate relief. It is also to create pathways to employment, empowering our citizens to build better futures for themselves and their families," Godongwana said. The expected termination of the SRD grant in March 2026 will see the social grants budget drop to R259.7 billion in 2026/27, down from the previous year, due to reallocation of funds to other government priorities. The number of social assistance beneficiaries is projected to decrease significantly from an estimated 27.7m in 2024/25 to 19.3m in 2027/28. To prepare for this transition, the Department of Social Development plans to undertake a comprehensive review of social security policy over the MTEF period. This includes improving communication with beneficiaries to ensure they understand their rights and know how to appeal declined applications. 'To enhance beneficiaries' understanding of their rights and promote appeals for declined applications, the agency will strengthen stakeholder engagement on the effectiveness of social security policies. The government will also develop policy options on the replacement of pandemic-related social relief of distress, which is set to end in March 2026. "This will partly be done through reviewing work, skills, and sustainable livelihood programmes aimed at enhancing their efficiency and reducing reliance on these funds,' the budget document stated. Cape Times
The Citizen
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
Government proposes fuel levy increase
For the first time in three years, government has proposed an inflation-linked increase to the general fuel levy. 'For the 2025/26 fiscal year, this is the only new tax proposal that I am announcing. It means from 4 June this year, the general fuel levy will increase by 16 cents per litre for petrol, and by 15 cents per litre for diesel,' Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana said on Wednesday, in Parliament. The general fuel levy has remained unchanged for the past three years to provide consumers with relief from high fuel price inflation. Re-tabling the 2025 Budget Review, Godongwana said unfortunately, this tax measure alone will not close the fiscal gap over the medium term. 'The 2026 Budget will therefore need to propose new tax measures, aimed at raising R20 billion. We have allocated an additional R7.5 billion over the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF), to increase the effectiveness of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) in collecting more revenue. 'Part of this allocation will be used to increase collections from debts owed to the fiscus. SARS has indicated that this could raise between R20 billion to R50 billion in additional revenue per year,' the Minister said. Another part of the additional allocation to SARS will be used to improve modernisation. This will include targeting illicit trade in tobacco and other areas, which should boost revenue over the medium term. 'As SARS utilises this investment to raise additional revenue, which I believe can be at least R35 billion, the R20 billion to close the current revenue gap will not have to be raised through taxes. 'Madam Speaker, let me call on every South African, be they individuals, small business operators or large corporates, to honour their tax obligations and contribute to building a better and more equitable nation,' the Minister said. He thanked all the taxpayers that continue to pay their taxes while emphasising that government does not take taxpayers for granted. 'As a government, we know that we must earn the taxpayer's trust every day, by spending public money with care and ensuring that every rand collected is spent on its intended purpose. 'We recognise the urgent need to do more to achieve this goal. We are not deaf to the public's concern about wasteful and inefficient expenditure. 'Our commitment to collect taxes must be matched by better efficiency in how that money is spent. It must be matched by much stricter oversight that quickly identifies problems and provides timely solutions when things go wrong,' the Minister explained. Expansion of the zero-rated basket withdrawn Meanwhile, as a result of the withdrawal of the proposed increases in the VAT rate, the expansion of the zero-rated basket, which was included to cushion poorer households from the VAT rate increase, falls away. Last month, the Minister requested the Speaker of the National Assembly to maintain the Value-Added Tax (VAT) rate at its current level of 15% , reversing the previously proposed 0.5 percentage point increase presented in the 12 March budget. 'Madam Speaker, compared to the March estimates, tax revenue projections have been revised down by R61.9 billion over the three years. This reflects the reversal of the VAT increase and the much weaker economic outlook. 'In this difficult environment, it remains vital that we still take actions to increase revenue to protect and bolster frontline services, while expanding infrastructure investments to drive economic activity,' the Minister said. – At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
