Latest news with #R89bn
TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Morero launches disciplinary board to investigate financial mismanagement
Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has announced the establishment of a disciplinary board tasked with investigating financial misconduct and unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure (UIFWE). This follows the scathing letter sent by finance minister Enoch Godongwana two weeks ago to the municipality. He told the mayor to respond with a comprehensive plan on how he plans to clamp down on UIFWE and enforce consequence management. Godongwana detailed how in the 2024 financial year the municipality racked up: R1.4bn in unauthorised expenditure; R22bn in irregular expenditure; and R705m in fruitless and wasteful expenditure. He told Morero the metro, which has an annual budget of R89bn, had taken 'little to no action' to address these problems. Morero has vowed to operationalise the city's disciplinary board to bolster its efforts to address the minister's concerns and take action against those responsible for the precarious financial situation. He said the city's July 31 council meeting approved 12 additional matters for preliminary investigation by the disciplinary board, amounting to R2.5bn.
TimesLIVE
09-07-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Ghana launches task force to curb gold smuggling losses
Ghana President John Dramani Mahama on Tuesday launched a task force backed by security forces to address illegal gold trading as Africa's top producer seeks to recover billions lost to smuggling. The task force is Ghana's first national anti-gold smuggling initiative. The government has previously launched efforts to sanitise artisanal mining but these were unsuccessful in curbing illegal extraction and preventing revenue losses that plague most African gold producers. Ghana this year created the new gold board known as GoldBod to centralise gold trading. This has led to record official exports of 55.7 metric tonnes of gold valued at $5bn (R89bn) in the first five months of 2025, Mahama said at the inauguration of the new task force. 'This is money that would not have come back to Ghana because traders would have taken it and kept the foreign exchange outside,' Mahama said. To encourage public cooperation with the anti-smuggling task force, which will involve soldiers and police officers, informants will receive 10% of the value of gold seized as a result of their tips, Mahama said. Ghana plans to implement a nationwide gold traceability system and transition to refined gold exports by 2026, Mahama said. The country will also seek to capture more value from gold through an assay laboratory, certified by the International Organisation for Standardisation to guarantee quality, and a specialised manufacturing hub. West African governments are striving to capture more revenue from surging commodity prices. Military-led nations are adopting aggressive policies, including rewriting mining codes, seizing assets and renegotiating contracts, while democracies such as Ghana and Ivory Coast are pursuing measured reforms through higher royalties and enhanced revenue-sharing deals. Gold prices have jumped 25% this year to date, and peaked at $3,500 (R62,300) per ounce in April, according to Reuters data.
Eyewitness News
28-05-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
CoJ's R200 prepaid electricity surcharge extended for another financial year
JOHANNESBURG - There is no good news for prepaid electricity customers in Johannesburg, as the R200 surcharge has been extended for another financial year. Finance MMC Margaret Arnolds confirmed during her budget speech on Wednesday that the surcharge was here to stay. It was first implemented in July 2024, causing public outrage about soaring electricity prices. ALSO READ: - CoJ allocates more than R5bn to address water challenges over next three years - City of Joburg's Finance MMC tables R89bn budget - ActionSA says won't support CoJ budget unless R200 electricity surcharge scrapped The City of Johannesburg expects to generate R25 billion in electricity revenue in the next financial year, which is a 12.5% increase from the current fiscal period. A significant driver of this increase is the controversial R200 surcharge imposed on prepaid electricity users. Although the surcharge adds to the financial burden on residents, Arnolds said that maintaining it at R200 was in the best interest of taxpayers. "We refuse to allow economic pressure to push our people further into the margins. That is why we are holding the prepaid electricity surcharge unchanged at R200, excluding VAT - a deliberate act to protect the poor against rising energy costs. "This budget makes it clear: we will not govern in a way that reproduces inequality. Our pro-poor programme is a political choice rooted in the values of equity, dignity, and redress. It is a signal that in the City of Johannesburg, no one will be left behind. Not on our watch." She said that other metros in the country also imposed a similar electricity surcharge, and claimed that Johannesburg remained more affordable in comparison.
Eyewitness News
28-05-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
CoJ allocates more than R5bn to address water challenges over next three years
JOHANNESBURG - The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) has allocated more than R5 billion to be spent over the next three years to address water supply challenges. Finance MMC Margaret Arnolds announced this allocation during her maiden budget speech in council on Wednesday morning. READ: City of Joburg's Finance MMC tables R89bn budget The R5 billion capital injection to Johannesburg Water will be channelled towards addressing infrastructure failures and pipe replacements. Arnolds said the money wold also go towards funding major wastewater treatment plants in the metro. "The city will also invest in smart pressure management systems and digital leak detection tools, reducing water loss and increasing service reliability." She expanded further on how the cash would be put to use. "Targeted water pipe replacements in high-leakage zones to reduce non-revenue water, new sewer connections to informal settlements and densified townships, international DFI financing for upgrade of leaking reservoirs and towers, which also contributes to reduced losses."
