Latest news with #OfficeofthePremier
Calgary Herald
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Alberta's new access to information rules come into effect
Alberta's new access to information rules that the province characterizes as modernizing dated legislation but critics say permit more government secrecy came into force Wednesday following the approval of four orders – in – council. Article content The Access to Information Act was first introduced by Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally last November and was passed by the legislature and received royal assent the following month. Article content Article content Article content Wednesday's orders-in-council come six months later and proclaim the new legislation into force while also setting out new regulations for the act. Article content Article content 'Access to information plays a vital role in ensuring public confidence and trust in the integrity of government institutions,' reads a statement from Nally's office. Article content 'The regulations and policies that will support the Access to Information Act will help secure that trust by demonstrating the government's open and accessible approach to handling official records and enabling and encouraging government departments to proactively disclose more information to Albertans.' Article content The act replaces the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act by splitting it into two, with the new Protection of Privacy Act also coming into force on Wednesday. Article content Nally has cited the need to overhaul the prior legislation that hadn't been updated in two decades, including by creating a new central website, Transparency Alberta, that includes information about government decisions, spending, and activities, though not a database of completed information requests as seen in other Canadian governments. Article content Article content 'We expect that the number of records available through Transparency Alberta will grow,' Nally said. Article content The new rules have been criticized as further limiting what information can be disclosed. Article content They exempt communications between political staff and ministers as not disclosable, with the regulations defining political staff as 'an employee, other than an employee appointed under the Public Service Act, who holds a position in the Office of the Premier or an office of a member of the Executive Council (cabinet).' Article content The former timeline for the government to respond to an access to information request is also extended from 30 calendar days to 30 business days.
IOL News
18 hours ago
- IOL News
Gender-based violence allegations shake KwaZulu-Natal Premier's office after DG's resignation
Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize, the director-general in the Office of the Premier in KwaZulu-Natal resigned earlier this week. It has been alleged that her resignation came after a colleague threatened her. Image: KZN Provincial Government / Instagram The Office of the Premier in KwaZulu-Natal has been rocked by allegations of gender-based violence after the most senior civil service staff member in that office suddenly quit her post, allegedly after she was threatened by a male staffer. The chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on the Office of the Premier, Mbali Frazer, raised the issue. She has written to Premier Thami Ntuli demanding an explanation regarding the resignation of Director-General Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize, who resigned suddenly this week. Frazer said it was alleged that Mkhize quit after allegedly being subjected to verbal abuse and threatening conduct by a senior male staff member in that office. Attempts to contact Dr Mkhize were unsuccessful yesterday. The Premier's office acknowledged Dr Mkhize's resignation a few days ago but did not give a reason for her resignation. 'As the first female Director-General of KwaZulu-Natal, she leaves behind a powerful legacy of transformation, collaboration, and excellence in public service. Her ability to foster unity across both the political and administrative spheres will have a lasting impact on the governance of our province,' the statement from the Premier's office said. Committee chair Frazer said in a statement, 'In my capacity as the chair of the Portfolio Committee on the Office of the Premier, Community Safety and Liaison, I wish to inform the people of KwaZulu-Natal that we cannot ignore the widespread serious allegations levelled against a certain official in the Office of the Premier. 'It is alleged that a youth manager in the Office of the Premier threatened to physically harm the first and longest-serving female Director-General, Dr Nonhlanhla Mkhize. Her crime was refusing to sign off on an appointment letter related to the R100 million Youth Fund,' said the statement. 'As the Portfolio Committee, we believe that it would be an abdication of our responsibility not to allow Premier Thami Ntuli to address these serious allegations on an appropriate platform. In this regard, we have written a letter to the Premier requesting him to appear before the committee. As the committee responsible for oversight over the executive, we believe that such allegations warrant our attention. Threats to physically harm a senior female civil servant should be viewed seriously by all leaders of society across all political affiliations,' said the statement. The Mercury has seen a letter sent to the Premier and the Portfolio Committee about the incident. The unsigned letter alleges that on May 20, the youth directorate section submitted documents for the award of the Youth Empowerment Fund; however, the letter was returned the same day as there were no supporting documents. It states that the documents had not been seen by the Director-General because the practice in her office is that staff vet the documents. They vetted the documents that had been sent and found them non-compliant and sent them back. However, the official who sent the document allegedly made accusatory remarks towards the Director-General. It further alleged that on June 4, there was a heated meeting between the Director-General and the official over the matter where Mkhize was allegedly threatened. The letter further claimed that the police were called, and Mkhize subsequently resigned. 'The DG ended up tendering her resignation, which was not her plan, due to fear for her safety and life. Her resignation was tendered due to the severe nature of threats, as well as the emotional and psychological trauma,' the letter claims.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Education sector grapples with financial strain from national government underinvestment
ducation sector faces severe financial strain due to a decade of chronic underinvestment by the national government Image: Supplied The Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, revealed that the Education sector is facing severe financial strain due to a decade of chronic underinvestment by the national government. The Minister indicated that the repeated redirection of public funds to bail out struggling state-owned enterprises, combined with poor financial management at the provincial government level, is also causing severe financial strain in the sector. This was revealed after the Minister recently initiated the unprecedented review of all nine provinces for the 2024 financial year. 'The education sector is under extraordinary pressure; without urgent intervention and robust financial planning, several provincial education departments risk becoming insolvent before the end of the current financial year. There is no room for complacency," said Gwarube. Several provinces are experiencing escalating financial challenges, most notably KZN. The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) in KZN revealed that the department has collapsed financially. Sadtu provincial secretary Nomarashiya Caluza indicated that the department owes close to R250 million to the eThekwini Municipality for water delivered by water tankers, as detailed in the municipality's financial report released last month. The report also showed that the KZN education department has faced serious budget cuts over the past few years and has revealed that it is struggling to meet its obligations. It has emerged that it has not paid all the suppliers of the school nutrition programme and missed salary payments to Grade R teachers, who were expected to be paid in May. Gwarube said the department has recently met with KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Education, Sipho Nhlamuka, and representatives from the Office of the Premier to discuss the province's mounting challenges. Gwarube said the department is engaging with the National Treasury and other education departments from all affected provinces to explore interventions aimed at addressing their most urgent service delivery challenges. 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 The minister has assured the public that the department will remain committed to working with both provincial and national stakeholders to shield learners from the worst impacts of the current financial crisis. "All MECs and Heads of Provincial Education Departments to submit comprehensive plans safeguarding the continuity of education service delivery and addressing irregularities in school personnel management," said Gwarube. Gwarube is calling on all all MECs and Heads of Department to fully account for their performance in key service delivery areas, by ensuring timely disbursement of statutory school payments, including school allocation, restoration or continuity of basic services at affected public schools, such as electricity, water, security, learner transport, and the National School Nutrition Programme. IOL News
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GOP lawmaker on Ontario electricity surcharge: ‘It's only going to help Trump'
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said Monday that Ontario's 25-percent surcharge on electricity exports to his state — announced in response to President Trump's tariffs on Canada — will only help the U.S. president win support from his base. The Minnesota Republican told NewsNation's Joe Khalil on Monday that the additional charges are a 'mistake,' noting Trump ran on tariffs and is following through on a campaign promise. 'The more they try to make it painful on Americans, the more it's going to strengthen Donald Trump,' Emmer said about the Canadians. 'He told everyone when he campaigned that this is what he was going to do, and he was going to work for Americans.' 'What the Canadians are doing is a mistake in my mind,' he continued. 'It's only going to help Donald Trump in his argument that they don't care about you, I'm the only one who does.' The government of Ontario announced Monday it is applying a 25 percent surcharge on electricity exports to New York, Minnesota and Michigan in response to U.S. tariffs on Canada. The surcharge will affect electricity sales for 1.5 million homes and businesses across the three states, the Ontario government said. In total, it could cost the states up to $400,000 per day. New market rules are going into place requiring Canadian electricity sellers to add a $10 per megawatt-hour surcharge, equivalent to a quarter of the electricity's average value, to the cost of power for sales to the U.S., according to a statement from Ontario's Office of the Premier. The additional charges are a response to 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports to the U.S. announced last week by the Trump administration. Trump announced and then walked back tariffs on different occasions, leading to some confusion about the extent and applicability of the orders. Following the initial announcement, Trump exempted carmakers from the tariffs and then delayed them for a month for goods covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the update to the North American Free Trade Agreement that Trump renegotiated during his first term. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
10-03-2025
- Business
- The Hill
GOP lawmaker on Ontario electricity surcharge: ‘It's only going to help Trump'
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said on Monday that Ontario's 25-percent surcharge on electricity exports to his state — announced in response to President Trump's tariffs on Canada — will only help the U.S. president win support from his base. The Minnesota Republican told NewsNation's Joe Khalil on Monday that the additional charges are a 'mistake,' noting Trump ran on tariffs and is following through on a campaign promise. 'The more they try to make it painful on Americans, the more it's going to strengthen Donald Trump,' Emmer said about the Canadians. 'He told everyone when he campaigned that this is what he was going to do, and he was going to work for Americans.' 'What the Canadians are doing is a mistake in my mind,' he continued. 'It's only going to help Donald Trump in his argument that they don't care about you, I'm the only one who does.' The government of Ontario announced Monday it is applying a 25 percent surcharge starting electricity exports to New York, Minnesota and Michigan, in response to U.S. tariffs on Canada. The surcharge will affect electricity sales for 1.5 million homes and businesses across the three states, the Ontario government said. In total, it could cost the states up to $400,000 per day. New market rules are going into place requiring Canadian electricity sellers to add a $10 per megawatt-hour surcharge, equivalent to a quarter of the electricity's average value, to the cost of power for sales to the U.S., according to a statement from Ontario's Office of the Premier. The additional charges are a response to 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports to the U.S. announced last week by the Trump administration. Trump has announced and then walked back tariffs on different occasions, leading to some confusion about the extent and applicability of the orders. Following the initial announcement, Trump exempted carmakers from the tariffs and then delayed them for a month for goods covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the update to the North American Free Trade Agreement that Trump renegotiated during his first term.
