Latest news with #MmusiMaimane
IOL News
10 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
Municipalities in fiscal turmoil as appropriations committee scrutinises financial mismanagement
The Standing Committee on Appropriations has raised an alarm over the dire financial state of metropolitan municipalities Image: Supplied The Standing Committee on Appropriations has raised an alarm over the dire financial state of metropolitan municipalities during a recent engagement with the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality in the Free State, as part of discussions surrounding the 2025 Division of Revenue Bill. The committee's session focused on the pressing fiscal challenges exacerbated by unfunded mandates and poor financial management practices that continue to plague these vital urban areas. One of the major points of contention was the late submission of critical documents by the City of Johannesburg, which arrived a mere 30 minutes before the meeting commenced, limiting the committee's ability to review and discuss its contents thoroughly. In response, the committee has resolved to reconvene with Johannesburg next week in hopes of addressing these concerns in detail. Particular emphasis was placed on the financial practices at the Mangaung Municipality, where several directorates are reportedly overspending their approved annual allocations by an alarming 10 to 12 per cent. Much of this overspend can be traced back to bloated employee costs and outsourced contracted services. Committee members expressed their alarm at the continuing trend of outsourcing fundamental municipal responsibilities, arguing it undermines institutional capacity and invites potential misuse of funds by service providers. Committee chairperson Mmusi Maimane did not mince words, highlighting the pervasive threat of corruption that continues to inflate service delivery costs. 'What should cost one rand ends up costing three, four or even five rands due to corrupt practices,' he emphasised. The committee is firmly of the view that addressing corruption is essential to restoring financial integrity and ensuring that funds are used effectively for public services. In a stern reminder of the consequences of mismanaged resources, the committee pointed to Mangaung's failure to achieve unqualified audit outcomes for the last three consecutive years. The Auditor-General's reports have consistently pointed to significant financial management deficiencies, including weak internal controls and governance failures that undermine public trust. Members of the committee urged Mangaung to clarify its outstanding debts to Eskom, emphasising the urgency of reporting on any progress made in tackling these fiscal obligations. Maimane further lamented the broader decline of metropolitan municipalities across the country, particularly focusing on the deteriorating conditions in inner-city areas. He warned that such decline leads to a profound loss of housing opportunities and vital economic infrastructure, exacerbating already strained urban living conditions. As part of its discussions, the committee issued a pointed reminder to municipal officials to prioritise basic service delivery, which includes repairing potholes, installing traffic lights, ensuring reliable water access, and maintaining clean sanitation facilities in informal settlements. IOL
Mail & Guardian
10 hours ago
- Business
- Mail & Guardian
Maimane: ‘Whether you and I accept it or not our relations with the US are crucial'
Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane. (David Harrison) South Africa must strategically reset its diplomatic and economic approach by diversifying its global partnerships while maintaining its critical relationship with the United States, political leaders and academics said at a forum this week. 'Many people ask: why would 'We are net He noted numerous defiant posts on social media platform X that 'the US can go jump' — a response to the fractious relationship between the two countries mainly over what the Trump administration says is the persecution of white South Africans. Maimane cautioned: 'I would argue the fact that before you become so bold about that statement, be conscious about the extent of job losses that a US exit would mean for South Africa.' He said relations with South Africa had not been top of mind for many US legislators over the past decade. 'So the culmination of President Trump is not an accident, it is a function of the fact that I believe as a government we neglected our relations with the US with almost the underlying mantra that to be anti-west is to be progressive. That thesis itself has translated in a number of key actions that have meant in some ways our relationship with the USA has suffered.' Maimane noted that South Africa did not have an ambassador to the US when President Cyril Ramaphosa met Trump in Washington DC last month. '[South Africa] still does not have an ambassador to the US and ultimately our trade envoy who was recently appointed was not in the room,' he said. 'But perhaps maybe, as Africa, we need neither look West nor East. We need to look forward and therefore we need to begin to reset. And this is where I stand with President Ramaphosa on our relations with the US. To achieve that, a number of critical steps need to be taken. We need to reset our diplomatic outlook.' Maimane said Africa's 1.4 billion citizens and mineral wealth would drive the global transition into a greener economy. 'Without a shadow of a doubt Africa will be what the next decade will be defined by and if South Africa begins to think of itself in the context of the continent at large we can then begin to argue a better case about how we engage both the US and China,' he said. He proposed that Brics should include more African states. 'The first reset of South Africa in its diplomatic focus must be the reset of its relation to the rest of the continent. We have an opportunity to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area,' he said. 'The second is that in our trade relations with our US and our global partners, we need to ask the question: how do we develop a fund that is inherently looking at how we improve on capital fund formation in the continent, in South Africa.' Maimane added that discussions often focus on GDP and debt but not on foreign direct investment. 'If we put that at the forefront we begin to put forward positions that hold us as Africans to say 'this is a future of investment'. Africa still has a net positive birth rate. Africa is where your next set of labour, your next set of skills, your next set of minerals will come from, and more crucially, it's a continent that can fast-track industrialisation,' he said. David Monyae, an associate professor at the University of Johannesburg, argued that South Africa should not expend its energy on criticising or trying to understand Trump and the US. 'We know what they stand for, and we should waste no time trying to understand, there's nothing to understand. There is nothing that South Africa can do. We can send the best of the best brains. We can develop views of countering and reset or terms that we put. We're just wasting our time,' he said. 'Their foreign policy and ours are worlds apart. It is anti-diversity. It is anti all we stand for in foreign policy. I'm not saying we should abandon the United States. The United States remains the most important country in the world, a number one trading partner in so many areas of our goods getting into the United States. We have a rich history with the African diaspora, even in the anti-apartheid struggle. 'We cannot convince them to abandon their own view on us, but what we can do is to craft ours and adjust it to ensure we lessen the dependence on key areas. We need to find alternative trade,' he said. Monyae recommended that South Africa explore new markets such as Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Latin America and others, while still holding discussions with the US and China. This required technical skills, negotiation, understanding and unity so that regardless of which political party a leader belonged to, they should 'speak with one voice' on the global stage, he said. 'We cannot continue to be bogged down in slogans, singing, kill this and kill that [a reference to the debate regarding the controversial 'We must ensure the youth understand the fourth industrial revolution, understand Starlink and there are so many other satellite-based communication systems. How can we engage them for development, also understanding the security risk that goes with this? Satellite internet company Citing the war in Ukraine, Monyae said such satellite-based systems were not just used for communication. 'We saw what's happening in the Ukraine War, that they're not just communication. They communicate with weapons. They are used to undermine sovereignty. They are used to undermine and advance agendas other than our own. What kind of policies are we putting in place to protect our digital sovereignty?' he said. Zamokuhle Mbandlwa, a professor at the Durban University of Technology's department of public management and economics, said South Africa could not afford a bad relationship with the US, noting that the latter's withdrawal of financial support was affecting patients in the health sector who could not get treatment. 'A lot of people will suffer if we don't mend our relationship between us and the US,' Mbandlwa said. The acting director of the Centre for Security, Peace and Conflict Resolution at Nelson Mandela University, Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast, said South Africa tended to punch above its weight. 'I think the straw that broke the camel's back between us and [the US] was the grievance that we instituted against Israel,' he said, referring to South Africa's 'I do appreciate the fact that what is happening between Hamas and Israel is a violation of human rights,' Breakfast said, but added: 'If we had done that in good faith, then the question that begs is, why do we apply double standards? There is a conflict which is under way between Russia and Ukraine. We say we are neutral but [not] with regard to the conflict between Hamas and Israel. 'What is happening in the Gaza Strip is out of line, it is a violation but the point I'm making is that if, if you've got a principle and you stand by that, then you've got to apply it across the board, you can't chop and change and say, in this case, no, you're neutral.' He called for broader economic strategies and the diversification of the country's export partners to grow its market share in Africa and in countries like Russia, China, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates.
Zawya
20 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
Standing Committee on Appropriations Calls for Urgency in Dealing with Municipal Debt to Eskom
The Standing Committee on Appropriations has urged Eskom to collaborate closely with the National Treasury and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to ensure that there is full municipal cooperation in the implementation of the Distribution Agency Agreement (DAA) programme. The power utility briefed the committee today regarding the Eskom Debt Relief Bill. The committee expressed deep concern over Eskom's increasing debt levels and that the power utility continues its trajectory towards unsustainable indebtedness. The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Mmusi Maimane said: 'When we examine the various pieces of legislation under consideration by this committee, it is undeniable that Eskom remains a pivotal component. The state of Eskom's liquidity, along with serious concerns raised by municipalities around debt servicing are critical factors, especially in light of the appropriations made to Eskom.' Mr Maimane said he feared that Eskom will be heavily indebted despite being in receipt of the Eskom Debt Relief Bill. The committee further said the lack of urgency in addressing underperforming and financially distressed municipalities, many of which are unable to service their debts to Eskom, is a major contributor to Eskom's debt burden. The committee also highlighted that Eskom was not doing enough to curb the 'ghost tokens' in the pre-paid electricity segment and the failure to address it has contributed to significant revenue losses. Furthermore, the committee recommended that the power utility needs to ensure that it deals decisively with acts of sabotage carried out by its own employees. The committee cautioned that that the power utility needs to begin exploring ways to harness its own energy sources and not rely on independent power producers as this process can easily be influenced by political forces. The committee called on Eskom to urgently implement decisive reforms to address inefficiencies, improve governance, enhance revenue collection, and safeguard its infrastructure. The committee will tomorrow, 11 June receive a briefing from the City of Johannesburg and the City of Mangaung Metropolitan Municipalities on the 2025 Division of Revenue Bill. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
Eyewitness News
14-05-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
BOSA's Maimane launches 'Budget to the people' initiative at Parliament
CAPE TOWN - Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane has launched his party's "Budget to the people" initiative at Parliament to mobilise and give citizens a chance to make inputs. The party said the initiative would ask South Africans exactly what they wanted to see in the national budget, which Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will table in exactly a week. The initiative will span the next seven days through budget community town halls, including a digital service to canvass South African views. Maimane said that BOSA would ask South Africans one simple question: "What do you want to see in the national budget?" He said that the last two attempts to table the national budget had been marred by "political infighting" and a "deadlock" within the Government of National Unity (GNU), paralysing Parliament while citizens continue to suffer. He said that it was time to listen to citizens and what they wanted to be included in the budget. "We begin and we launch this tour of going around and seeing people, asking them their input in what we would like to call the people's budget tour. It will be a seven-day mobilisation where we will hear from ordinary South Africans about what they want to see. We will be going around asking them." Maimane said that during the initiative, BOSA would be engaging citizens on the party's growth charter, a blueprint for how South Africa can grow the economy at 5% per year. "For too long, national budgets have served the connected first, and the citizens second. This budget is not just a financial document. It tells us who and what the government truly values. Our 'Budget to the people' initiative is about shifting that power back to the people of South Africa," said Maimane.
eNCA
25-04-2025
- Business
- eNCA
Taxi industry's R408 million relief fund raises eyebrows
Tension is brewing between the City of Cape Town and Santaco Western Cape. JOHANNESBURG - The South African National Taxi Council is standing by the COVID-19 relief fund payments. This follows the Transport Department allocated a R408-million once-off taxi gratuity in the 2025/26 financial year. Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane, has questioned the continued financial support for the industry.
