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The Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) on Friday expressed concerns that only the Western Cape had received funding, from the submission made for five provinces.

A National Disaster Management Centre team briefed the committee on disaster readiness and the Centre's response capabilities for the summer season.

The committee said it plans to invite Cogta departments to brief them, next week, on the disaster funding allocation to provinces.

This after the committee heard that a submission was made by the National Disaster Management Centre to the National Treasury for disaster funding for five provinces most affected by disasters, and, supposedly, only the Western Cape received an allocation.

Committee chairperson Dr Zweli Mkhize pointed out that the committee requested that the National Disaster Management Centre share the submission with them.

"We believe it is illogical, unreasonable and unfair. We will need both Treasury and Cogta to come and answer the committee as to why such an irrational decision has been made," said Mkhize.

He said this needs to be rectified.

"There is no way you can explain to the whole country that when we have seen floods hitting Durban and provinces being affected so heavily by disasters, only one province is allocated money," he highlighted.

RESPONSE TIMES

He also stressed the need for timely responses to disasters, which he highlighted as a challenge, citing funding as reason for this.

Mkhize explained that disaster financing needs specific attention to enable faster responses, easy coordination, and direct responses to deal with recovery in affected areas.

The committee heard that an increase in disaster incidents and damages requires investment in preparedness and disaster risk reduction measures, to better anticipate future disaster risk, reduce exposure or vulnerability and improve community resilience.

"We can't fold our hands and wait until disaster hits, and then we just say we did not check for any readiness. This is very important," said Mkhize.

The committee also urged the National Disaster Management Centre to brief all municipalities that may be affected in the summer season ahead of time to potential disasters.

He said dry runs to test responses should be considered.

The committee also stressed that municipalities affected by disasters must be part of any discussions relating to disaster preparedness.

South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago's repeated emphasis of uncertainty is expected to translate, at most, into only a handful of additional interest-rate cuts next year.

The central bank, which lowered its policy benchmark by 25 basis points Thursday to 7.75%, said its model showed rates easing further, stabilising a bit above 7%, but emphasised that the projection was a broad policy guide.

"Decisions will be made on a meeting-by-meeting basis, with no forward guidance and no pre-commitment to any specific rate path," Kganyago said. He also acknowledged that while inflation has slowed, Donald Trump's election as US president could create upside risks for price pressures.

"Along with its characterisation of a 'more challenging' external environment, the SARB's communication was therefore incrementally hawkish," Goldman Sachs Group economist Andrew Matheny wrote in a client note.

South Africa's annual rate of inflation fell to 2.8% in October, below the central bank's 3% to 6% inflation target. Still, the SARB lifted its forecast slightly for inflation in late 2025 and 2026 and noted that risks to the outlook "requires a cautious approach."

Kganyago, in his final monetary policy press conference of the year, declined to comment directly on the US election but said that additional trade protectionism could have implications for interest rates.

"There is a concern that the protectionism we are seeing could impact global trade," the governor told reporters after the rate decision. "If it does become inflationary, you would expect that globally, central banks will react, and that changes the dynamic and that is the uncertain environment within which we operate."

Oxford Economics' Jee-A van der Linde sees three 25 basis point reductions next year, while economists led by Sanisha Packirisamy at Momentum Investments project two such moves, warning that Trump's return could limit the extent of South African easing.

The rand has fallen almost 4% against the dollar since the US election on November 5, as investors bet Trump's pledge to raise tariffs and cut taxes will prompt the Federal Reserve to lower rates less than it had forecast, boosting the US currency.

The SARB's implied starting point for the rand in the fourth quarter of 2024 was 17.74 per dollar. It is currently trading at about 18.09 per dollar.

Kganyago noted its recent depreciation showed "how rapidly changes in the global environment could affect South Africa."

Others see this careful approach translating into monetary policy in real, inflation-adjusted terms that will restrain the economy and help tame price pressures.

"If the SARB continues to cut by only 25 basis points at every meeting until mid-2025, the real policy rate will average 4% over the next seven months. This should be considered as highly restrictive," wrote economist Kim Silberman at Matrix Fund Managers. This raises suspicion that "the SARB is implicitly adopting a lower inflation target without making a formal announcement."

Kganyago said the central bank and Treasury were "coming to a conclusion" in their ongoing review of the inflation target - which was adopted in 2000 and has not been revised since - without offering a timeline.

He has repeatedly said it should be revised lower, but rejected the suggestion that the SARB was already aiming for the bottom of the 3% range.

"If you set a target and it's a secret and nobody knows it, but you are targeting it quietly, it's not useful as a policy anchor," Kganyago said.

African National Congress (ANC) veteran Mathews Phosa has warned that the party risks losing significant electoral support unless it takes decisive action against corruption and holds accountable those implicated in the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. He predicts that without meaningful self-correction, the ANC could secure as little as 26% to 29% of the vote in the next national election.

Phosa was speaking exclusively with Polity about his latest book 'Witness to Power', where he highlighted that corruption was a cancer that was eating the ANC away.

He denied any corruption under his administration as ANC treasurer-general, saying the party raised billions during those days.

"In my treasury there was no corruption, it was clean, we raised the biggest money in the history of the ANC, billions. And everyone was paid every month, they got bonuses, increases every year in terms of market rates - oh we had fun. All the elections were run with cash, the centenary was during my time, unfortunately I spent R250-million, I paid in cash, we had fun, there was no corruption," he pointed out.

He claimed that the ANC was "murdered and buried" during its Polokwane Conference in 2007, when the party elected Jacob Zuma. Phosa claimed that ex-President Thabo Mbeki became very bitter at the loss and said he later ignored the party.

Phosa said Mbeki's removal intensified division in the party.

"…and these things continue to haunt us until today. [Julius] Malema was expelled on some flimsy reasons, I defended him in the first case, and we won but later they caught him on, really, fluff and they had a grudge against him, they expelled him, and I spoke against it," he said.

He recalled that he told his comrades that the party should have retained Malema and disciplined him, rather than expelling him.

"Malema was pleading for his membership of the ANC, he was an honest member of the ANC, we forced him out and it harmed the youth," Phosa believes.

He said Malema, who now led the Economic Freedom Fighters, left with the youth of the ANC.

Turning to Zuma, Phosa said the former President did not see eye to eye with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

"…he has formed the MK Party (MKP), very strong in KZN and growing in other parts of the country, phenomenal. We did not predict this, all of us, but it's the reality today. It is the biggest opposition party in Parliament, but that is the nature of democracy, and we must learn to live with democracy, different viewpoints in our society," he pointed out.

Phosa believes that the MKP was formed with the idea of a new ANC, stating that Zuma thinks the ANC has lost its touch.

"If you listen to the tone of his voice, he keeps saying the ANC of Ramaphosa, as if Ramaphosa owns the ANC, so the MKP is the ANC in quotes. He just says the ANC has lost course and he is just going to form a party," Phosa said.

Meanwhile, his book also talks of the infamous Guptas, whom he claims used their New Age newspaper and ANN7 news channel to campaign viciously against him during his nomination for ANC deputy president at the ANC's national conference in Mangaung in 2012.

"…because I had refused to be their puppet, and I am saying that in my book and I am very proud that I walked away from brown envelops".

Watch the FULL Polity interview with Mathews Phosa here.

Government on Thursday said the significant easing of consumer price inflation (CPI) provided relief for households and businesses by lowering transport and input costs, helping to support overall economic activity, however, it called for collaboration as it acknowledged persistent challenges.

Government welcomed the latest data from Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), which showed a sharp decline in CPI to 2.8% in October 2024, down from 3.8% recorded in September 2024.

Acting government spokesperson Nomonde Mnukwa pointed out that this marked the lowest inflation rate since June 2020, when the country experienced a rate of 2.2% during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"According to Stats SA, October's CPI decline was primarily driven by falling fuel prices. Petrol and diesel prices decreased by 5.3% between September and October, resulting in an annual fuel inflation rate of -19.1%. Notably, the inland price of 95-octane petrol in October stood at R21.05 per litre, the lowest since February 2022, when the price was R20.14 per litre," she said.

Government announced that it was continuing to work on interventions to reduce the cost of fuel and in other critical areas to ease the financial burden on citizens.

Meanwhile, the GOOD Party called on the South African Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee to grant extra relief to cash-indebted consumers and reduce the Repo rate.

GOOD secretary general Brett Herron said consumers continued to face increasingly difficult decisions around spending with the rising cost of living, leaving most South Africans struggling for their basic survival.

"Our people have suffered the crippling effects of an under-performing economy for far over a decade. A significant interest rate cut will contribute to stimulating the economy," he explained.

Herron highlighted that South Africans urgently needed an economy that created long-term jobs, and addressed the high levels of inequality and poverty for inclusive growth.

South Africa's central bank opted for another small cut to its main interest rate on Thursday, stressing the global economic backdrop was tough and the outlook highly uncertain despite domestic inflation falling below its target.

The decision to lower the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 7.75% was unanimous, with the Monetary Policy Committee not discussing a larger 50 bps cut, South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago told reporters.

The majority of economists in a Reuters poll published last week had predicted a 25 bps cut, the same size of cut as in September.

Annual inflation slowed sharply to 2.8% in October, its lowest level in over four years, dropping below the central bank's 3% to 6% target range.

"The Committee agreed that reducing the level of policy restrictiveness is still consistent with achieving the inflation target. The risk outlook, however, requires a cautious approach," Kganyago said.

"Global interest rates could well shift higher again, and the recent rand depreciation demonstrates how rapidly changes in the global environment can affect South Africa."

Alongside other emerging market currencies, the rand has sold off since Donald Trump's US election win, losing more than 3% against the dollar.

South Africa's National Disaster Management Centre has declared foodborne illnesses a national disaster, in response to countrywide sicknesses and deaths, particularly of children, in recent weeks.

The declaration was made under the Disaster Management Act, No. 57 of 2002.

On Thursday, Ministers in multidisciplinary teams responsible for the national response to foodborne illnesses held a media briefing in Pretoria, to outline government's plan to manage foodborne diseases.

Justice Minister Thembi Simelane said the disaster classification encourages State entities, the private sector and communities to improve their risk-avoidance practices through adherence to food safety legislation, standards and procedures.

Government has also called on individuals to comply with applicable business registration legislation, standards and procedures.

Simelane pointed out that the classification recommended that the National Executives, respective Provincial Executives, and the respective Municipal Councils implement a multisectoral relief and rehabilitation plan to deal with the effects of the disaster.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the closure of spaza shops implicated in food-borne illnesses that had claimed the lives of 22 children in recent weeks and called for all spaza shops and food handling facilities to be registered with municipalities within 21 days.

He said any shop not registered within 21 days and that did not meet all health standards would be closed.

Ramaphosa pointed out that since the beginning of September, there had been a total of 890 reported incidents of food-borne illnesses across all provinces.

The ministerial team announced that it would in the next few days appoint health experts, who will serve in the Ministerial Advisory Committee, which is responsible for developing medium-to-long-term prevention measures to curb the incidents of foodborne illnesses in the country.

"The directive to notify the deaths of patients 12 years and below is a critical one and will be implemented as a matter of urgency. This will help us to understand the burden of disease and the population at risk in real time instead of waiting for a long period of time," said the team.

The ministerial team assured that the shortage of environmental health inspectors was receiving urgent attention, as government tried to capacitate all districts and metropolitan municipalities to effectively enforce inspections across the country.

INSPECTIONS

Government has expressed concerns about surfacing allegations that suggest that some South Africans are assisting illegal foreign nationals to fraudulently comply with the requirements for business registration.

It also appealed to the members of the public not to disturb the process of registration by blocking certain shop owners from participating in the process, this included conducting unlawful inspections by members of the public, and other unauthorised bodies.

Lawful joint inspections are ongoing across the country, led by multi-disciplinary teams comprising experts and officials from various government departments, State bodies and law enforcement agencies.

The inspections include the food value chain from manufacturing, wholesale and transport, and the retail sector to monitor and enforce norms and standards for food safety.

"These inspections will be complemented by nationwide cleanup campaigns, which have already kicked off in the province of Gauteng and will be rolled out to other hotspot areas and the entire country," the ministerial team added.

To succeed in this effort to rid the country's environment of rat infestations, and other waste management challenges, the country is said to need a sustained partnership between government and society.

In the next few days, the Department of Agriculture will conduct inspections at all five registered manufacturers of Terbufos to ascertain controls and to determine if markers are put into locally produced products to distinguish between ...

Government on Wednesday appealed to members of the public to not disturb the registration of spaza shops and other small and medium-sized business enterprises by blocking certain shop owners from participating in the process.

It said while the process of registration of spaza shops, as one of the measures to mitigate the current outbreak of foodborne illnesses and illicit trade, had steadily commenced in various parts of the country, government was concerned about isolated incidents of disruptions, particularly in areas around Soweto which had since been attended to by law enforcement agencies.

Government warned members of the public and any unauthorised bodies from conducting their own unlawful inspections.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the closure of spaza shops implicated in food-borne illnesses that had claimed the lives of 22 children in recent weeks, and called for all spaza shops and food handling facilities to be registered with municipalities within 21 days.

He said any shop not registered within 21 days and that did not meet all health standards would be closed.

Government pointed out that lawful joint inspections were ongoing across the country, led by multidisciplinary teams comprising experts and officials from various government departments, State bodies and law enforcement agencies.

"We would like to emphasise that the law allows every shop owner who is a legitimate trader and who meets the legal requirements to own a business in the republic to register a business and trade," government said.

It said it had been inundated with enquiries and concerns from individual business owners and organised groups about the registration deadline of 21 days and requests for extensions.

"We would like to urge the business community to come forward within this period and ensure that they get their businesses registered without delay. For its part, government will make every effort to assist those business owners who are struggling with the process to comply with the requirements to register," it explained.

The African National Congress (ANC) on Wednesday refuted what it termed "misleading narratives", suggesting that the registration and regulation of all spaza shops favoured foreign nationals.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the closure of spaza shops implicated in food-borne illnesses that had claimed the lives of 22 children in recent weeks, and called for all spaza shops and food handling facilities to be registered with municipalities within 21 days.

He said any shop not registered within 21 days, and that did not meet all health standards, would be closed.

Ramaphosa's interventions to mitigate the current outbreak of foodborne illnesses and illicit trade, have been largely criticised, with residents claiming the measures are prioritising foreign nationals.

The ANC said the interventions were designed to address pressing socioeconomic challenges, protect public health, and revitalise local economies, and aimed to ensure fairness, compliance and safety.

Soweto community members and Operation Dudula have led protests against the registration of businesses for foreign nationals.

Meanwhile, ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri called on communities to support the registration measures by refraining from activities that undermined their implementation.

"...this includes avoiding practices such as facilitating marriages of convenience for undocumented immigrants to acquire citizenship. Such actions are not only illegal but also undermine the integrity of our laws and will be met with appropriate legal consequences," she said.

The party encouraged communities and small businesses to work closely with municipalities, health authorities, law enforcement agencies, and government departments.

"Together, we can create safer and healthier environments for our people while fostering sustainable economic opportunities," Bhengu-Motsiri said.

South Africa's annual inflation rate slowed sharply to 2.8% in October, data showed on Wednesday, setting the stage for another interest rate cut by the central bank this week.

Statistics South Africa said falling fuel prices were the primary driver of the slowdown in the headline rate from 3.8% in September.

October's reading is the lowest inflation has been since June 2020, during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Independent economist Elize Kruger said fuel and food price developments play a greater role in October, which is considered a low survey month.

South Africa's government-regulated petrol and diesel prices fell by more than one rand a litre in October.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast inflation would slow to 3.1%, well below the 4.5% level the South African Reserve Bank (Sarb) aims for but just within the bank's 3%-6% target range.

The Sarb will announce its next interest rate decision on Thursday.

A Reuters poll published last week predicted the central bank would lower its repo rate by 25 basis points (bps), the same size of cut as in September, when the Sarb cut rates for the first time in more than four years.

"Given recent Sarb rhetoric, the recent rand depreciation and a conservative (monetary policy) committee, a 25 bps cut remains the base case forecast," Kruger said.

The South African rand fell on Tuesday as investors pulled out of riskier assets after President Vladimir Putin updated Russia's nuclear doctrine amid escalating tensions with the United States over Ukraine.

At 1056 GMT, the rand traded at 18.0825 against the US dollar, about 0.8% weaker than its previous close. The currency had lost more than 1% against the greenback earlier in the day.

Putin on Tuesday approved an updated nuclear doctrine, with the aim of making potential enemies understand the inevitability of retaliation for an attack on Russia or its allies, driving investors to safe-haven currencies like the dollar.

Traders also said that markets were confident of an interest rate cut by the South African Reserve Bank on Thursday, which could weaken the currency.

South Africa-focussed investors will look to October's inflation print on Wednesday and the central bank's monetary policy decision a day later.

The bank is expected to reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points, according to a Reuters poll of economists, after a cut of the same magnitude at its September meeting.

On the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the blue-chip Top-40 index was little changed.

South Africa's benchmark 2030 government bond was weaker, with the yield up 1.7 basis points to 9.14%.