Latest news with #R20-million
The Citizen
3 days ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Tshwane councillors clash over budget
The Tshwane metro council meeting at Tshwane House witnessed intense debates as councillors scrutinised the latest budget. The budget, above R50-billion, was presented by the MMC for Finance and Deputy Mayor Eugene Modise last month. The debates, marked by political tensions and divergent views, highlighted the metro's ongoing financial challenges and the complexities of governance. Modise tabled a fully funded budget for the 2025/26 financial year in a move towards financial sustainability and improved service delivery. The budget was formally endorsed by the National Treasury, marking an achievement for the municipality, previously plagued by financial instability. He hailed his budget as a turning point in Tshwane governance and fiscal management. The budget doesn't rely on external loans or borrowing, which Modise described as 'historic and a reflection of responsible leadership'. Despite the budget's passage with 113 votes, opposition parties raised concerns. The DA rejected and criticised the budget, and described it as using residents as 'cash cows'. DA councillor Jacqui Uys highlighted that the ANC in Tshwane has ignored opposition voices and included another punitive tax on residents. Uys said the plan is to tax every single resident who cannot afford to use the metro's rubbish collectors, at R500 per month, by forcing them to pay R200 per month in the form of a City Cleansing Levy. 'Private waste collectors already pay a fee to utilise the metro's dumping grounds, and those using private collectors will now pay double. Those who cannot afford the metro's rates will be penalised for being poor. 'R20-million is allocated to pay for an advisor, who will facilitate transactions, getting the Rooiwal and Pretoria West Power Stations operated privately. However, the fine print makes it clear that there is no plan to rid Tshwane of Eskom's 93c/KwA Wheeling tariff,' said Uys. She said no independent power producer will be able to sell electricity at the loss this tariff causes. 'The deputy mayor, in his budget speech, celebrated that the water woes of Ikageng are over. In Ikageng, the taps are dry, but water tankers can be found everywhere. This budget has almost doubled the Water and Sanitation Department's water tanker budget.' As Tshwane navigates its financial recovery, the effectiveness of the implemented measures and the administration's commitment to equitable service delivery will remain under scrutiny. Godwin Ratikwane of the EFF commended the MMC of Finance for presenting an improved budget that directly addresses long-standing social injustices raised by communities in the township and informal settlements. He said this budget 'reflects a decisive departure from the neglect of the past administrations and stands as a testament to the party's commitment to uplift the marginalised and make it great again'. 'The fully funded budget backed by the National Treasury is a clear signal that this administration is not merely making hollow promises, but taking concrete steps to transformative change. 'Let it be known that the R1.7-billion allocated to emergency services will revitalise the department, long neglected, and address the communities and the staff shortages that have jeopardised public safety,' said Ratikwana. LISTEN: ActionSA's Tshepo Modiba said this budget is not just a compliance exercise but a plan for inclusive development, service delivery, acceleration, and financial resilience. 'It gives life to the service delivery priorities we have set as a collective. It is a budget that passes both the test of legality and the test of vision. 'We acknowledge that the majority of revenue comes from service charges, and we are strengthening the social package to protect the vulnerable. This budget ensures we maintain the balance between financial stability, sustainability, and social responsibility,' said Modiba. FF Plus councillor Grandi Theunissen rejected the budget and said it places a financial burden on residents, businesses, and property owners. He said instead of the budget fostering growth and stability, it prioritises revenue, extraction over ethical governance, disregards economic realities and fails to uphold financial justice. 'The new valuation role has caused property values to increase for an average of 24.17%, drastically increasing municipal tax obligations, the metro claims to soften the impact by 4%, and adjusting the threshold from R150 000 to R250 000. 'The controversial city cleaning levy unfairly targets households and businesses that do not rely on municipal waste collection, forcing them to pay for services that they do not use. This levy amounts to double taxation,' he said. LISTEN: Modise said the passing of the budget by the council marks a turning point for Tshwane's financial governance and service delivery capabilities. 'The approval of this budget restores credibility to the city's institutional capacity and sends a clear message that Tshwane is moving forward with purpose, discipline, and unity of vision. 'This outcome reflects extensive work behind the scenes, from council engagements to technical planning, all in service of building a city that works better for its people,' Modise said. 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!
Daily Maverick
22-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Factors to consider when deciding to keep or cancel a life insurance policy
The issue of keeping or cancelling a life insurance policy is a relevant one for many people. Question: I took out a life insurance policy many years ago that will pay out about R20-million. I do not need the life cover any more, as the loan it needed to cover has been settled. The monthly premium is now about R35,000 and it increases by 6% a year. I am 70 and in good health. Is it prudent to keep the policy or to terminate it? Answer: The issue of keeping or cancelling a life insurance policy is a relevant one for many people. The premiums often increase by more than one's income does and they start to use up more and more of the available family budget. The question is whether you will be helping or harming the family's financial health by cancelling it. I will take you through my thought process when it comes to answering this question. We typically take out life insurance to cover a particular risk. This would include covering a debt or protecting the family income. If the debt has been repaid or you have reached the stage in life where you are living off your capital, is there still a need to carry on paying the premiums on the life insurance? If you invested these premiums, at what stage would you be better off? As we don't know when we are going to die, there is no definitive answer I can give. You can, however, do a calculation to determine at what age the value of investing the premiums is likely to exceed the sum assured should you pass away. There are, however, a few factors that you must be aware of: Type of life policy Not all life policies are the same. Many of the older policies combined investment and risk benefits. When you cancelled the policy, you would get a cash payout. This cancellation payout often increased the longer you kept the policy. They were subsequently replaced by policies that provided just risk cover, so when you cancelled the policy there would be no cash payout. I like these policies, as it is very easy to make a decision as to whether it is worth keeping them. The current trend among life insurers is to try to encourage you to keep the policies for longer by adding in complicated bonus structures that pay out bonuses or premium refunds at certain stages in the future. This does muddy the waters a bit, but it is relatively easy to calculate the true value of this benefit. Annual increases in cover Is the life cover increasing, decreasing or remaining the same each year? If so, what is the size of this increase? Annual increases in premiums Are the premiums increasing each year? If so, what is the size of this increase? In many instances, these increases are a fixed percentage, so the calculation would be quite simple. You do, however, have life insurance that increases by an age-rated factor and the premium increase gets larger each year. I would recommend that you take the average increase over the past five years and then apply it into your calculation. So, coming to your question, I would assume that there is no annual increase in the cover amount and that your premiums will be increasing by 6% a year for the rest of your life. I will assume that the returns that you could get on an investment would be 8%. So, if you lived to the age of 86 and beyond, you would be better off if you cancelled your life insurance and invested the proceeds. Remember that there are a number of variables at play, such as your life expectancy and investment returns. Tax The other factor that needs to be taken into account is income tax. You will be paying capital gains tax on any investment growth. The life insurance policy pays out a tax-free amount, but it will form part of your estate and possibly attract between 20% and 25% in estate duty. I would recommend that before you make the decision to cancel your policy, you consult with a financial professional who can help you to unpack these numbers. DM Kenny Meiring is an independent financial adviser. Contact him on 082 856 0348 or at Send your questions to [email protected] This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
eNCA
19-05-2025
- Sport
- eNCA
Various Eastern Cape stadiums falling apart
KOMANI - Several multi-million-rand sporting facilities in the Eastern Cape have been vandalised and are now unusable. READ: McKenzie demands upkeep of sports facilities in Eastern Cape The Steve Tshwete Stadium in Kirkwood had its awnings removed while the R20-million Lesseyton Sport Facility in Komani is also unusable. Howard Sikweza, HOD for Sports, Recreation and Community Development at the Buffalo Metro discussed the situation with eNCA.
Daily Maverick
23-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Cash properties and new SUVs – inside Independent Development Trust CEO's R22m assets splurge
The Independent Development Trust's newly constituted board has passed a resolution calling for lifestyle audits into the entity's executive management. Daily Maverick unpacks several property transactions and vehicle purchases that might pique the investigators' interest. Trusts controlled by the Independent Development Trust's (IDT's) CEO, Tebogo Malaka, in 2023 forked out R6-million in cash for the purchase of three properties in Gauteng. This includes a plot in Gauteng's upmarket Waterfall Country Estate, where the priciest properties currently on offer sell for upwards of R20-million. Daily Maverick has established that one of Malaka's trusts is in the process of building a house on the Waterfall plot — again without a bond — and that the total cost is set to be around R12-million. This will bring to R18-million the grand total for the assets splurge that Malaka embarked on in 2023 – all paid for, or due to be paid for, in cash. Later in 2023, Malaka also forked out more than R4-million for two luxury vehicles. The IDT CEO purchased a brand-new Porsche Cayenne SUV and a Range Rover Sport, each with a price tag of at least R2-million. Unlike the properties, Malaka seemingly bought the vehicles through financing arrangements. However, the new wheels may still raise questions over Malaka's ability to service the instalments, especially when these purchases are viewed alongside the cash transactions for the properties. Malaka has strongly denied any wrongdoing. Last week, the queries Daily Maverick sent out for this piece seemingly triggered a hefty social media campaign aimed at discrediting our work. On the same day that we sent our questions to Malaka, an account on X (formerly Twitter) claimed that Daily Maverick and this journalist were part of a 'coordinated information ecosystem' that seeks to unfairly target the likes of Malaka. On Good Friday, another X account posted fake screengrabs purporting to show Whatsapp messages between this reporter and Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson's chief of staff. The falsified messages again sought to show that this reporter was acting in cahoots with dubious forces that were out to tarnish Malaka's reputation. The fake messages also made specific reference to the assets Malaka had acquired through her trusts. Speaking through a law firm that Malaka had appointed after we sent her our queries, the IDT CEO denied that she had played any role in disseminating fake news. 'Any suggestion that our client is involved in any form of wrongdoing, or in the manufacturing or distribution of the purported false information, is categorically denied. Our client asserts that she had no role in, nor responsibility for, the alleged activities referenced in your correspondence. Any such allegation is without merit and is firmly rejected,' reads a letter from her attorneys. 'Not public information' As the IDT's political custodian, Macpherson recently called for lifestyle audits into the IDT's top management. The IDT's board of trustees, now chaired by businesswoman Zimbini Hill, subsequently passed a resolution that approved broad-ranging lifestyle audits into Malaka and other senior IDT executives. The resolution comes on the back of several media exposés involving IDT contracts worth hundreds of millions of rands. In October last year, Daily Maverick revealed that the IDT had awarded the lion's share of a R836-million oxygen plants project to Bulkeng, an apparent 'ghost company' that did not possess the necessary accreditation to deal in medical equipment. The National Department of Health, on whose behalf the IDT managed the project, has since pulled out of the contracts. In light of the upcoming lifestyle audits, Daily Maverick's latest offering delves into the properties and vehicles that Malaka and her trusts bought in the space of just one year. Our report comes with an important caveat: We neither possess any evidence that the assets were purchased with funds linked to IDT contracts, nor are we suggesting that this was the case. However, the transactions detailed in this piece will almost certainly feature in the upcoming lifestyle audits. The investigators are sure to take a keen look at especially the cash purchases, seeing as the movement of large sums of money is a key consideration in any instance where there are concerns over alleged corruption, fraud and money laundering. What's more, the timing of the assets splurge may also raise further red flags. The properties and cars were all purchased in 2023. During that year, the IDT oversaw tender processes for some of its most contentious contracts, including those that were awarded for the oxygen plants initiative. We specifically asked Malaka how she and her trusts had managed to acquire the assets in such a short space of time, especially those properties that had been bought without bank loans. We also wanted to know how she would finance the multimillion-rand building project on the Waterfall plot. 'The source of income of the trust used for the acquisition of the properties in question is not public information. Our client elects not to disclose any further details in this regard,' stated Malaka's attorneys. 'It is denied that our client has, or had, any influence over the appointment of any service providers to the IDT. All appointments were made through a public tender process, in which representatives from the relevant government departments formed part of the evaluation panel,' said the attorneys. The two apartments In early 2023, Malaka set out to purchase two apartments, both of which were paid for by means of cash transfers. The properties were acquired through the Mmutla Wa Noko Family Trust. According to two sources familiar with Malaka's affairs, the IDT CEO had set up the trust to manage some of her family's assets. The Mmutla trust first forked out R1.1-million for a unit in a residential development in Fourways, Johannesburg. Deeds records show that the trust bought the property in February 2023, and that the transfer was concluded in June that year. In March 2023, the Mmutla trust bought a second apartment, this time paying R1.25-million. The unit is located in Centurion. Like the first apartment, there is no bond registered to this property, which means the trust had concluded the purchase through a cash transfer. Waterfall Country Estate Malaka is also a trustee of the Magogodi Family Trust, which was registered at the Master of the High Court in Pretoria in June 2023. In July 2023, one month after the trust was founded, it paid R3.6-million for an empty stand in the upmarket Waterfall Country Estate, located to the north of Johannesburg. The Deeds Office records don't reflect any bond registered for the purchase, so Malaka's trust would have had to come up with this substantial figure in cash. In other words, in the space of just six months, Malaka's two trusts had somehow accessed R6-million to pay for the two apartments and the Waterfall erf. Daily Maverick has established that construction on the Waterfall plot started some time in late 2024. The construction project serves as confirmation that Malaka is the controlling hand behind the Magogodi trust. We were able to establish that Malaka had briefed key roleplayers involved in the Waterfall development, and that she had personally appointed some of the key contractors. According to sources familiar with the project, Malaka's trust is set to spend at least R12-million on the construction costs, finishes and related expenses. Given the absence of a bond from a financial institution, the trust would somehow have to cover these costs in cash. Shiny rides In July 2023, Malaka bought a grey Porsche Cayenne GTS Coupé. In December of that year, she also purchased a new Range Rover Sport. The records available to Scorpio don't reflect the costs for each purchase, but the average price tag for these models is well north of R2-million. Board resolution The IDT's board of trustees was only recently restored to a full quorum after months of inactivity. One of its first decisions was to give the go-ahead for lifestyle audits on key IDT personnel. 'The reconstituted Board has made it a priority to strengthen governance and rebuild public trust in the IDT, an entity critical to the delivery of social infrastructure in South Africa. To this end, the Board has resolved to introduce a policy on lifestyle audits, aligning with the Public Sector Integrity Management Framework, which encourages the use of lifestyle audits to detect and prevent unethical conduct,' the board said in a written response to Daily Maverick. 'This policy forms part of a broader strategy to promote ethical leadership, transparency and accountability within the organisation. The lifestyle audits will not be conducted on an ad hoc basis but will form part of a structured governance approach. They will initially focus on senior management and individuals occupying high-risk roles, particularly in areas such as supply chain management,' explained the board. The board of trustees wants to use lifestyle audits as a means to mend the public's trust in the entity. 'The Board believes this step is necessary to ensure that those entrusted with the management of public resources conduct themselves with integrity and accountability. While the IDT continues to play a significant role in delivering public infrastructure, restoring public trust remains a priority. The Board is committed to ensuring that the institution operates with high standards of governance, ethical conduct and public confidence.' DM
