Latest news with #R20-billion
Time Out
04-08-2025
- Business
- Time Out
Tidal pools and walking trails: Granger Bay upgrades unveiled
Fancy a bit of 'wild swimming' in a refreshing Table Bay tidal pool? Perhaps a sunset stroll on your way to dinner in Mouille Point? Sunrise watersports in a sheltered bay? While the V&A Waterfront is already one of Cape Town's top attractions, locals this week have a glimpse of plans for expanding the Granger Bay precinct, with calls for public comment on an ambitious plan to 'reclaim' land for mixed-use developments. The expansion into Granger Bay is part of a R20-billion development pipeline for the Waterfront, which is set to unfold over the next two decades. 'The V&A Waterfront's ultimate vision for Granger Bay is opening up public access to a new protected area,' V&A Waterfront spokesperson Donald Kau told Engineering News earlier this year. 'Our design approach will strengthen the shoreline and protect the bay, at the same time as creating a new leisure destination for swimming, walking and water-based activities.' At the heart of the plan is the reclamation of roughly 290 000 square metres of land from Table Bay: that's about 35 rugby fields of new space for the planned mixed‑use development combining residential units, hotels, offices and retail spaces, along with public amenities. And it's the public spaces that will be of most benefit to Capetonians, who can look forward to easy access to even more urban coastline. While the plans – now out for public comment – are scant when it comes to detail, they include two new breakwaters forming a sheltered bay, coastal promenades to linking up with Mouille Point, as well as a network of tidal pools. Whatever shape the expansion takes, it's also set to include long‑standing local institutions such as the Oranjezicht City Farm Market and Oceana Power Boat Club, which will both be relocated and woven into the new layout. It'll be a long time until the new precinct is completed, and the first step begins this month with a pre-application public participation process that runs until 1 September 2025. The Draft Scoping Report already highlights concerns over impact on local kelp forests, dolphin populations and rock lobster marine protected areas, and there are bound to be some objections. The Scoping Report is now available for review and comment. A public Open Day is planned for 3pm to 7pm on 13 August 2025 (roof level of the Breakwater Garage Parking, next to the Cape Wheel), where you can view poster displays and talk to the project team.
eNCA
09-07-2025
- Business
- eNCA
Illicit cigarettes availability in stores increases
JOHANNESBURG - New Ipsos research shows that the availability of illicit cigarette in South Africa has reached its highest levels on record. Over 75-percent of shops countrywide are now selling cigarettes below the threshold applicable to a pack of 20. Approximately R28-billion in annual tax revenue is being lost to illicit trade: enough to exceed SARS's entire additional collection target of R20-billion. Despite increased raids and product seizures over the past year, illicit cigarette availability has continued to grow. The industry is calling for urgent reforms in the industry to curb the trade. Tax Justice South Africa is calling for more to be done to nip this issue in the bud.
Daily Maverick
03-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Currency of credibility – Sarb nationalisation debate in Parliament opens a legacy hornet's nest
The SA Reserve Bank is still partly privately owned, a legacy quirk shared by only a handful of countries. Now, as Parliament reopens old calls to nationalise it, critics warn the real risk isn't who owns the shares, but whether new resolution powers and deposit insurance can protect ordinary savers – and whether the political signal could shake confidence in the rand. South Africa's central bank is an anomaly: part-private, with somewhere between 800 to 1,000 shareholders. In reality, those shareholders have no real say over monetary policy, but are largely a legacy from the early days of central banking – a relic that's survived global reform and local battles alike. That quirk has come before Parliament with public comment regarding the proposed, EFF sponsored, South African Reserve Bank Amendment Bill, which aims to nationalise the SA Reserve Bank (Sarb) – buying out its private shareholders and shifting the shares fully to the state – has resurfaced alongside the Financial Sector Laws Amendment Act, which arguably does far more to rewrite the country's bank failure rulebook. 'What is the problem with government being the sole shareholder on behalf of the 61 million people of South Africa?' asked EFF MP Omphile Maotwe during a Standing Committee on Finance hearing on 2 July 2025. 'If you say there will not be any change, so what is the problem when we want this thing to be in the state?' Old Mutual Wealth's chief investment strategist Izak Odendaal is blunt in his comment to Daily Maverick: 'The real shield for credibility isn't a share register but the constitutional guardrails that keep the Sarb's policy boring – on purpose'. That view clashes with economists and market watchers who say the real safeguard isn't who holds the shares, but whether the backstop works when it matters. What does history tell us? Dawie Roodt is an economist and a Reserve Bank shareholder, a fact that for transparency he declared to Daily Maverick. 'I use it for my work… but to be really honest, I have not been [to] an AGM for many, many years as well.' The dividend, he adds, is fixed and around R8 annually. 'Almost all central banks started off as privately owned banks,' he explains. That legacy has shifted in most countries, but not fully here. Private shareholders still appoint half the Sarb's directors, a governance guardrail Dawie believes still matters. 'I think that's a very good idea… you get this extra set of eyes. See what happened to Eskom or the Post Office – there was no private sector oversight.' New powers, old questions The deeper reform sits in the Amendment Act. It hands the Reserve Bank resolution authority status: power to step in if a bank fails, override insolvency, push through rescue or wind-down. It also launches the Corporation for Deposit Insurance (Codi), South Africa's first explicit deposit insurance fund – R20-billion funded by the banks themselves, not taxpayers. But that parachute remains untested. Odendaal argues that while Codi aligns South Africa with global norms, the real stress test is when confidence wobbles. 'A banking system runs on trust,' he told Daily Maverick. 'If that breaks, no insurance fund is big enough – so the signal from Parliament really does matter.' Defending the founding papers The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) argued a nationalisation-related point to Parliament that the Bill risks overstepping constitutional lines. '[This Bill] effectively provides for expropriation without compensation, which is not constitutional… Compensation has to be borne by agreement… No compensation can never be agreeable, and it must be just and equitable,' IRR representative Gabriel Crouse told MPs during the hearing. Treasury also raised somewhat adjacent nationalisation concerns. Chris Axelsson, Director-General for Tax and Financial Sector Policy, said during the hearing: 'The main point in terms of the amendment Bill that we are concerned about is the rights of the current shareholders… There's no recognition of what will happen if from one day they hold the shares and the next day the state owns those shares. It would be a forced takeover – like an expropriation of those shares.' He warned of 'bilateral investment treaties' that could drag South Africa into international legal fights. 'Changing the composition of ownership doesn't result in any material change in the current role of government… The current structure doesn't have any impact on the mandate and the independence of the Sarb.' For now, the cost of buying out shareholders remains unknown, but any forced expropriation could invite protracted litigation and ripple through foreign investor sentiment, a risk flagged repeatedly in hearings. Credibility is the currency For Roodt, that's the point. 'The only thing that changes is the signal – and that's not a good signal because what we have currently works very, very well,' he said. 'You don't even have to change policy. You just have to change the ownership… the market is going to lose confidence.' The myth that shareholders can steer monetary policy doesn't survive contact with how the Sarb works. 'As a shareholder, I have absolutely no say [in monetary policy]… the governor and deputy governors are presidential appointments,' Roodt said. 'The argument that shareholders influence policy is completely incorrect.' Despite the heat of the debate, no concrete timeline for the nationalisation amendment has been confirmed. Odendaal warns that drawn-out political noise alone can bleed credibility fast, even before a vote is called. Meanwhile, markets and savers watch whether the Sarb's resolution powers and its new insurance backstop can survive the first real test unscathed. The currency of credibility Odendaal's line on the real backstop remains verified: 'Deposit insurance is the parachute – don't panic, your money's safe,' he said. Odendaal says the Reserve Bank's real currency is credibility. 'You want your central bank to be dull and dependable,' he says. 'Once it becomes political theatre, you risk paying that cost in the currency.' Roodt's bigger worry is whether the Sarb stays ahead of the next wave: stablecoins, central bank digital currencies and the new money landscape. 'Money plays a crucial role in a modern economy… there are new kinds of money… the landscape could change completely,' he said. 'If the Reserve Bank doesn't stay on top of new technology… they risk becoming irrelevant.' 'Leave it as it is. If it's not broken, why fix it?' Roodt said. The test for South Africa's central bank won't be its share certificates, but whether the resolution powers, deposit backstops and credibility hold when the next wobble hits. DM
Daily Maverick
27-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Creecy's new Rail Bill promises reform measured in six key numbers
South Africa's logistics infrastructure is under construction and Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has laid out an overhaul plan with six hard numbers and a new Rail Bill. In a rare moment of relatability from the GNU member with the most 'tannie energy', Barbara Creecy said that being transport minister is the worst and best job she's had. 'The best because there's so much to contribute, the worst because there are lots of things that are wrong, and fixing them is very complicated.' 'Complicated' is generous. The logistics bottlenecks in South Africa's rail infrastructure are bleeding billions per day from the economy. But Creecy said her department is moving to tackle the mess with a soon-to-be tabled bill and what she describes as 'overwhelming appetite' from the private sector. Six numbers to shape a sector The minister's 'six numbers' sit at the centre of her department's overhaul masterplan: Ambitious targets, however, don't build tracks. What's needed is a structure to support them. Laying down the law A first-of-its-kind Rail Bill is set to be introduced later this year, according to Creecy, in an effort to move rail reform into legislation. 'This bill aims to legislate reforms intended to transform the freight and passenger rail sectors,' the Department of Transport told Daily Maverick. 'The department believes that this Rail Bill will offer legal clarity regarding future policy directions.' Creecy stressed that the underlying infrastructure will remain in state hands, managed by the Transnet Infrastructure Manager. Private sector appetite The Department of Transport issued a Request for Information (RFI) in March this year – 162 submissions were brought, along with 11,600 visits to the site, which signalled interest across major freight corridors, especially that of ports, Creecy said. 'It's going to mean that future proposals will be responsive,' she said. 'We have seen situations where proposals that have been put out by state-owned entities have not been appetising to the market.' Some companies have already approached the department with funding offers for urgent fixes, Creecy detailed. In the meantime, Transnet has launched funding requests with National Treasury's Budget Facility for Infrastructure for short-term, urgent repairs and long-term revitalisation. How does this affect you? If the transformation goes to plan: Cheaper goods if logistics costs come down Job creation through infrastructure development and manufacturing Reliable exports and better trade performance Less road congestion and more efficient freight If not: Lower tax revenue and reduced income for operational entities Shrinking global logistics share could trigger job losses Freight and port processing costs will continue to rise Higher product prices will cut consumer spending and access Can the state afford it? According to Creecy, the state needs to be investing about R15-billion to R20-billion a year to have the network functioning effectively. 'It is plausible,' said transport economist Dr Johann van Rensburg, but only if this number also takes into account maintenance and future upgrades. Council for Scientific and Industrial Research transport economist Shaun Mhlanga also believes this investment to be possible, pointing to hybrid models that blend government guarantees, private investment and multilateral funding. Mhlanga added that the recent approval of a R51-billion government guarantee and the African Development Bank's R18.8-billion loan to Transnet, show that this is feasible. Dr Alex Malapane, an independent economic analyst, says this estimate is 'fiscally unrealistic, yet politically seductive'. With debt service costs exceeding R380-billion annually, Malapane argues that relying on the public purse alone would be irresponsible. 'True reform means handing over operational control. Anything less continues the cycle of underdelivery and overpromising.' Weak bones, long returns The transformation plan stems from an unavoidable reality: the network is ancient. 'Our existing network has not been developed since the 1970s, with the exception of the Gautrain,' Creecy said, adding that the country still uses narrow-gauge tracks and outdated control systems. The return on this investment won't come quickly. Mhlanga estimates five to 15 years for most major upgrades to show results. Malapane confirmed this, but said that it's not a cause for delaying action. 'Reducing turnaround times at Durban port or unblocking key freight corridors would improve export volumes in under 36 months. The idea that infrastructure only pays off in the long term ignores the multiplier effect that high-impact upgrades can have,' he said. Van Rensburg said the payoff begins the moment new infrastructure opens. If the infrastructure is in better condition, maintenance costs drop, operational efficiency rises and user costs fall, but only if the benefits of the upgrades are not inflated, he said. Transnet's reinvention by necessity Transnet's debt structure is a major concern, according to Creecy, and is thus being restructured into a state-owned infrastructure provider. Private operators will be able to run trains on key routes, pay access fees and offer niche services, such as agricultural and tourism lines. Creecy acknowledges that although South Africa is about 20 years behind the curve, we can learn from the mistakes of other countries with more advanced systems.
The Citizen
12-06-2025
- Automotive
- The Citizen
E-toll debt bites into traffic light repair budget
The DA has raised serious concerns about an imminent budget shortfall that will see Gauteng's provincial traffic light maintenance grind to a halt before the end of July. This looming crisis threatens the safety and mobility of millions of road users across the province, including key urban areas such as Pretoria. 'This will affect the whole of the province,' warned Evert du Plessis, DA Gauteng spokesperson for Roads and Transport. 'There are traffic lights that belong to and are maintained by the province in every metro and municipality. Pretoria will definitely be affected as well.' The budget shortfall was revealed during a recent Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) Transport, Roads, and Logistics Committee meeting. Committee members were told that the allocated funds will be exhausted before the end of July, just three months into the financial year. In Pretoria, provincial roads, designated by the letter 'R', crisscross the city and act as vital connectors between suburbs and national routes. These include major corridors like the R55 and connecting streets, where intersections often depend on traffic signals to regulate the complex flow of daily commuters. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that provincial roads often intersect with national (Sanral) and municipal roads, creating shared responsibilities between all three spheres of government. 'We don't have a specific list for dysfunctional traffic lights on Tshwane's provincial roads as it changes on a daily basis,' explained Du Plessis. 'There are, however, a substantial number of provincial and national roads that cross metro boundaries. So all three tiers of government must take responsibility for their own infrastructure.' However, without a functional maintenance budget, Gauteng's provincial authorities will soon no longer be able to service their share of these intersections. Du Plessis said this shortfall is more than just an administrative hiccup. 'Non-functioning traffic lights pose a real threat to public safety, placing motorists and pedestrians at risk of collisions, violent crime at intersections, and delays that disrupt the daily routines of workers, parents, and emergency services. 'For the remaining nine months of the year, motorists could be stuck in gridlock, relying on pointsmen instead of functioning systems to reach their destinations,' he said. The DA has linked the budget collapse to Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi's decision to commit provincial funds to paying off e-toll debt, an obligation the province was never legally bound to. Lesufi said on March 18 that the Gauteng government will absorb the e-toll debt and will continue to service it. He also confirmed that the provincial government has gone to the Development Bank of Southern Africa for a loan to be able to service the shortfall on e-tolls. The total e-toll debt that the provincial government has to pay back is more than R20-billion. This includes R12.9-billion for the historical debt, R4-billion for interest, and R4-billion for maintenance. The government has agreed to repay this debt in five equal annual instalments, with the first payment of R3.8-billion being made on September 30, 2024. 'This is another example of service delivery money being squashed by an irrational political commitment,' said Du Plessis. The party has called on Gauteng MEC for Roads, Transport and Logistics, Kedibone Diale-Thabela, and the head of the department, Thulani Mdadane, to urgently redirect funding and prevent a province-wide gridlock. 'New technology and the assistance of law enforcement would also go a long way to address this ever-escalating problem,' he added. The DA pledged to continue pressing the issue in the GPL, demanding answers and accountability from the ANC-led provincial government. 'A DA-led Gauteng government would not allow residents to be placed in such dangerous or frustrating situations,' he said. 'We will prioritise funding for traffic lights as a matter of extreme urgency to ensure the safety and well-being of all road users in Gauteng.' 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! Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App Stay in the know. Download the Caxton Local News Network App here
