Latest news with #R466
The Citizen
10 hours ago
- Business
- The Citizen
Merafong residents brace for major tariff hikes after municipal budget approval
Residents of Merafong are set to experience significant increases in municipal service charges from 1 July 2025, after the 2025/2026 municipal budget was officially approved during a Special Council Meeting on 28 May. The newly approved budget outlines steep hikes across various services: Water tariffs will rise by 15.30% Electricity tariffs will increase by 8–11%, depending on usage Sewerage services will go up by 9.5% Refuse removal will increase by 6% Sundry tariffs will also rise by 6% In addition, property rates for residents living in towns will rise by 5%, while agricultural properties and Public Service Infrastructure (PSI) will see a 3% increase. Mine property rates will rise by 4.4%. The total budgeted expenditure exceeds R2.7 billion, with the largest portion allocated to debt repayment, followed by spending on bulk purchases such as water and electricity. Employee-related costs are expected to total R466,720,835. Despite opposition from the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), the budget was passed by majority vote. These increases are likely to place additional financial strain on residents already grappling with rising living costs. The municipality has defended the hikes as necessary to ensure service delivery and cover growing operational expenses. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Citizen
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
R466bn ‘hit' as National Treasury lowers SA GDP forecast
'This is the main contributor to the projected increase in the country's debt-to-GDP ratio' – DG Duncan Pieterse. South Africa's National Treasury has lowered its GDP growth forecast for the country (to 1.4%) for 2025, as well as for the next two years (1.6% in 2026 and 1.8% in 2027), in the wake of 'international trade volatility and policy uncertainty' due to US President Donald Trump's tariffs and the resultant threat of a global trade war. The slower growth over the next three years is expected to have a R466 billion 'hit' on the SA economy, Director-General (DG) of the Treasury Duncan Pieterse confirmed in response to questions during a Budget 3.0 media Q&A session on Wednesday. In the March budget, Treasury forecast 1.9% GDP growth for 2025, 1.7% for 2026, and 1.9% for 2027. However, it had to revise this downwards in the latest budget. Facing questions about SA's 'weaker fiscal position' reflected in the country's higher debt-to-GDP forecast of 77.4% in Budget 3.0 (up from 76.2% in the March budget), Pieterse said the downward revision in economic growth 'is what's driving' the increase in debt-to-GDP projections over the next three years, not higher government debt levels or significant increases in spending. ALSO READ: Sensible or underwhelming? Economists react to Godongwana's Budget 3.0 He said that due to the revision of the economic outlook, SA is now forecast to see 'a R130 billion movement' in nominal GDP growth for 2025 – essentially less-than-expected growth. 'In 2026/27, the impact would be around R161 billion, and in 2027/28, around R178 billion … The cumulative effect [of the lower GDP growth] is some R466 billion,' Pieterse later added. 'Included in this is the fact that we ended up with lower-than-expected GDP growth in the last quarter of 2024 [0.6%, instead of the forecast 0.8%]. Remember that the Q4 2024 GDP outcome was not included in the March budget [it was not released at the time],' he explained. Source: National Treasury Pieterse said the lower GDP growth forecast effectively 'pushed up the debt-to-GDP' or debt as a percentage of GDP metric. 'However, for us, the de facto fiscal anchor is the primary surplus … And that is getting better. We believe our fiscal objectives are on track,' he said, echoing Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. ALSO READ: Budget 3.0 was not a chainsaw budget, economists say Pieterse stressed that more focus should be placed on SA's primary surplus and the fact that the forecast budget deficit as a percentage of GDP was still 'intact' at 4.6% for 2025/26. 'As global growth has faltered, South Africa's economic outlook has also weakened, with GDP expected to grow by only 1.4% in 2025. Global risk and economic weakness reinforce the need for us to put our fiscal house in order,' he said in the foreword of the latest Budget Review, tabled with other budget documents in parliament on Wednesday. 'The fiscal strategy remains on course so that government can spend less on debt-service costs and more on critical public services. As per our commitment, government debt will stabilise in 2025/26 at 77.4% of GDP. For the first time since the 2000s, government is consistently running a primary surplus, where revenue exceeds non-interest expenditure,' Pieterse added. This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
The Citizen
21-05-2025
- The Citizen
Metro removes occupants from condemned building
The Tshwane metro, led by Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya, recently evicted occupants of a Pretoria West building marked for demolition. In March, the metro obtained a court order to demolish illegally constructed buildings on Stand 1313 and Stand 1312, located at 510 and 514 Luttig Street, Pretoria West. The Pretoria High Court received an appeal from George Asaba and GABSA Consolidated Prop (Pty) Ltd to stop the order from being carried out, but the appeal was struck off the roll in the High Court on April 3. The structures built violated the National Building Regulations and Building Standards. While conducting a Tshwane Ya Tima drive in parts of the CBD and Pretoria West, the mayor stopped by the condemned property to remove any occupants or property still left at the site. They stopped the Tshwane Ya Tima operation temporarily to support the officers enforcing the court order. 'Something good happened in our pursuit of law and order in our city. We have obtained a court order that has allowed us to demolish the structure. Both of these yards have erected all of this illegally. There are no approved plans, so we approached the court and the court granted us the order,' Moya said. Moya said the city has been fighting for three years in court while owners kept expanding their building, and described the order being granted as a victory for Tshwane. 'These private people who erect these [buildings] and rent them out don't want to take the responsibility for those people who then rent from them. It's quite sad to see such because it shows people want to put money over people's rights,' she said. 'We have removed the people who are staying here because, more than anything, these buildings are not safe. We can say we're not going to evict people, but what if something happens to them? We've seen these cases in Tshwane, and we've seen them in Joburg. She said they were going to demolish the structure. 'When you look at it, you can see no thought went into the fact that this is a space that should be suitable for human beings. The toilets are connected to the kitchen and all sorts of things. Moya said there was going to be law and order in Tshwane and that they are going to target 'these buildings with no control or order'. 'Pretoria West is notorious for these,' Moya said. The Tshwane metro has also impounded several vehicles that were found inside this yard. 'The landlords of these illegal buildings take advantage of the fact that the people who are desperate for housing are usually foreigners, a factor found to be at play in this instance,' said the mayor. Other stops during the Ya Tima drive included the Bothongo Plaza, which was the second switch-off operation done at that location. The owners have defaulted and owe the city more than R1.17-million. A building on Francis Baard Street in the CBD was shut off after owing R466 956. This building leases space to various businesses, including a government department. The third property was in Sunnyside, which owes the city R3-million. The fourth stop was in Pretoria West at the Ebbul Foods factory, which owes R445 382. Tshwane Ya Tima also disconnected Daimler Trucks and Buses Southern Africa. The company owes R608 313. The final stop was at Delta Prop Fund, which made good on its promise to immediately pay its outstanding debt of R492 211. Residents and businesses are urged to settle their municipal accounts as soon as possible to avoid disconnection. Watch here: 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!
The Citizen
13-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
Government settles land claims worth over R200 million since start of 2024/25 financial year
According to Rise Mzansi, expropriation should be properly applied in cases of public housing and rural development. Rise Mzansi leadership is seen at the launch of the party, 19 April 2023, at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg. The party is led by Songezo Zibi. Noticeable faces among the leadership are former Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament Makashule Gana and apartheid activist Ishmael Mkhabela. Picture: Michel Bega/The Citizen The South African government has spent more R217 164 192 on land claims in the 2024/2025 financial year. This land was privately owned by individuals and private companies; the claims were largely submitted by black people. This information was recently revealed in a parliamentary reply to questions directed to the Minister of Land Reform and Rural Affairs. Rise Mzani, chief whip of Makashule Gana, recently told The Citizen that this amount of money was paid for 287 claims. He said that of these claims, 14 farms were considered productive at the time of settlement. During the 2024/2025 financial year, the land reform and rural development department budgeted R466 million to acquire and allocate 46 767 hectares of land for redistribution through the proactive acquisition of strategically located land and also for security tenure purposes. 'This information once again pours water over the misinformation and disinformation around the Expropriation Act,' said Gana. Gana said Afrikaner farmers who had applied for asylum in the United States (US) were spreading false information about land confiscation by the South African government. 'Peddling lies on land' The first group of Afrikaners landed in Washington this week. Gana accused some Afrikaners of peddling lies and division. ALSO READ: Ramaphosa to meet Trump, says 49 Afrikaners headed to US are not 'refugees' 'They falsely claimed that the government has in the past and will arbitrarily and illegally start a process of grabbing land, particularly farming property. 'Thus far, not a single iota of proof has been produced to support this false claim,' he said. Is the Expropriation Act in full use? Gana said the party had even questioned Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson about the amount of land expropriated using the Expropriation Act. Macpherson is the custodian of the Expropriation Act. 'He stated that between 2014 and 2024, the department has not expropriated a single portion of land, despite already having the legal authority to do so,' he said. According to Gana, the minister of Land and Rural Development, had also confirmed that 16,696 beneficiaries elected monetary compensation over taking ownership of the land being claimed. 'This in itself requires further inquiry around the reasons so we can better understand the psychology around and processing of land claims,' he said. Gana said, while his party believe that the Expropriation Act should be implemented, he does not believe that it should be used maliciously. 'Government should follow the provisions of the constitution, implement the Expropriation Act and have the political will to do so.' At the same time, he said the lies being peddled about the Expropriation Act have the potential to create a diplomatic crisis for South Africa and other countries, such as the US. 'Rise Mzansi hopes that with accurate information on expropriation and land reform in the public domain, it will aid with positively resetting relations between Pretoria and Washington. 'Moreover, we hope that those who have subscribed to the misinformation and disinformation campaigns now see the truth,' he said. Why is Trump not listening? Meanwhile, Gana took a jab at US President Donald Trump for failing to listen to the South African authorities about the situation with land in the country. 'He listens to the wrong people. It is deliberate from certain sections of society that have never supported our transition to democracy. NOW READ: Afrikaners who accepted Trump refugee offer 'know there's no persecution in SA'
