Polity.org.za Audio Articles

The Western Cape High Court turned down Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's application for leave to appeal the court's earlier decision which prevented her from immediately returning to her office.

The court also hit Mkhwebane with a personal costs order.

Along with the United Democratic Movement, African Transformation Movement and the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania, who backed her in the application, she has to pay the costs of President Cyril Ramaphosa and the Democratic Alliance court fees.

South Africa’s economy needs to expand consistently at 5% for years to create jobs and lower an unemployment rate that’s among the world’s highest, according to central bank Deputy Governor Rashad Cassim.

For an economy that expanded at an average rate of 1% in the past decade and is being buffeted by rolling electricity outages, labor unrest and transport bottlenecks, accelerating growth to 5% may be a challenge.

“Going from a 1% economy to 3% isn’t rocket science” for South Africa, Cassim told reporters in Johannesburg on Tuesday. “Unfortunately, 3% gets the economy going, but it will not bring the unemployment down. To get unemployment down, we really need systematic 5% growth every year and that’s a different debate.”

Power outages -- known locally as loadshedding -- reached a record this year and are deterring companies from expanding and adding jobs. Rising labour and utility costs spurred Sibanye-Stillwater South Africa’s second-largest precious metal miner by sales, to consider cutting about 2 000 jobs at some of its gold mining operations.

The unemployment rate in the continent’s most-industrialized nation is currently 33.9% -- the highest on a list of 82 countries and the euro zone monitored by Bloomberg.

The International Monetary Fund projects the nation’s jobless rate will reach 35.2% this year, the highest in the world, though data for some countries is unavailable. A Bloomberg survey of economists forecasts the jobless rate will be 34% this year, before declining to 32.7% next year and 31.8% in 2024.

Acting Treasury Director-General Ismail Momoniat has come under fire for failing to account for how much money has been allocated nationally towards fighting gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) and how much of the allocation has been spent.

During a question-and-answer session on the second day of the presidential summit on gender-based violence and femicide in Midrand, Johannesburg, on Wednesday, an uncertain Momoniat initially said the national allocation to government departments and provinces was R20-billion. He said he thought R13-billion of that had been spent.

Momoniat painstakingly tried to explain why it was difficult to establish how much of the allocated funds had been spent and what had been returned due to underspending by government departments.

"Let me explain the figure. It's not as straightforward as it seems. If we want to understand the figure, we need to understand how the government is organised. You have government departments, and then you have programmes within those government departments.

"So, firstly, the budget will be allocated to the government department, and from that, it will be allocated to the programmes, and it's up to each department whether it spends those funds or not," added Momoniat.

He said identifying what had been spent was an extensive exercise as one would have to monitor the various financial statements of the departments and locate the spending on eradicating gender-based violence and femicide.

Momoniat said according to the breakdown that was in his possession, national government, which included "the departments of health, education, social development", spent R10-billion annually.

"We think provinces have spent R3-billion over this 2022 financial year," he said.

An activist at the summit criticised Momoniat.

"Why then have you attended this summit where delegates are expected to account for the progress made towards eradicating GBVF if you do not have the figures to give as feedback?" the said.

The acting director-general replied that "it doesn't matter how much we spend, when we look at the enormity of the problem, it's never going to be enough".

He added that while state capture had exacerbated the lack of accountability, "the problem of lack of accountability was there in government departments even before that".

"If a programme has been budgeted for, can departments spend money on what they say they are spending it on? It's a problem that we have, not only with allocations around eradicating gender-based violence but across the government.

"All of us as public servants must be accountable and make sure we spend what we have said we are going to spend," said Momoniat.

He was then asked to confirm that money allocated to GBVF programmes was returned to Treasury after not being spent.

"I don't have that figure. I should have that figure... You must wait until the end of the year – once they have produced their financial statements. It still required a research effort," he replied.

Majority of political parties at Ekurhuleni council have supported a motion to postpone the election for a mayor.

The African National Congress (ANC), Inkatha Freedom Party, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Democratic Alliance all supported the sitting being cancelled due to council voting technicalities.

The main reason that the meeting has been postponed and supported by the EFF and ANC follows the collapse of talks between the two parties.

Council Speaker Raymond Dhlamini supported the postponement and said he would call a special council sitting in the next seven days. News24 reported that the ANC and EFF had tense talks during caucus breaks at the special council sitting.

The two parties were win negotiations about mayoral candidates in hopes of striking a deal. These talks seem to have deadlocked and negotiations were expected to continue following the postponement of the meeting.

Parliament has been warned that, should the Public Service Wage Bill be escalated, it could pose a great risk to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's Medium-term Budget Policy Statement outlook.

The warning came courtesy of the Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC), which presented its recommendations on the medium-term budget as presented by Godongwana last week. It is the FFC's mandate to respond to inquiries on fiscal policy from any organ of the state.

The FFC briefed a joint sitting of Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance, the Standing Committee on Appropriations, the Select Committee on Finance, and the Select Committee on Appropriations on Tuesday morning.

FFC chair Nombeko Mbava told MPs that debt service costs remain high and that the debt finance strategy should work in tandem with economic growth initiatives, and "growth-friendly fiscal consolidation" should be applied. In light of this, she said, the public wage bill could not be ignored.

"The commission notes the provision for the public wage bill increase for this financial year and calls for more comprehensive planning - including developing a long-term plan to address increases in the public sector wage bill and improve public sector productivity," said Mbava.

Godongwana pencilled in an average 3.1% growth in the public service wage bill in the medium-term budget last week, after acting Public Service and Administration Minister Thulas Nxesi invoked section 5 of the Public Service Act to implement an increase unilaterally.

However, this happened amid adversarial wage talks in the public service, with the Public Servants' Association (PSA) set to strike for the first time in over a decade next Thursday. The government is also in dispute resolution processes with at least five unions in the public service.

Unions in the public service are also expected to march to Parliament on Tuesday.

FFC specialist on macroeconomics and data information, Thando Nkozo, said the extension of the Social Relief of Distress grant by a year to March 2024 implied that the government had no permanent social relief solution as yet.

Nkozo said the windfall revenue would not fund permanent spending increases but will address only critical issues at strategic state-owned entities. He said struggling state-owned entities and a ballooning public wage bill undermined the government's ability to keep a grip on spending and debt.

"With regards to the wage bill, we see that no wage bill increase is assumed for the next financial year. Only 3% has been pencilled in for this year. But what we note is that the public service salary negotiations are ongoing, and this means, to us, that there is great uncertainty around the issue.

"We note that transferring up to two-thirds of Eskom's debt to government's balance sheet is necessary to make Eskom fundable, but what we note is that it will increase government debt," said Nkozo.

FFC researcher Noxolo Mahlalela said main budget revenue is expected to increase to 25.5% of GDP in the current year, due to higher revenue collections, and is projected to average 24.9% over the medium term, but that global economic headwinds could undermine South Africa's chances to improve collections.

"Although the upward revisions of the revenue estimates are encouraging, we note that revenue could decrease if power cuts escalate, if global growth slows further or if the Ukraine-Russia conflict intensifies," said Mahlalela.

Mahlalela warned that while South Africa could expect a primary balance surplus, debt service costs and risks of the public wage bill escalating more wildly than expected added uncertainty and risk in the medium term.

"A primary balance surplus is projected from 2023/24 increasing in the following years. This reflects the government's commitment to fiscal discipline which is in line with its stance on ensuring fiscal credibility and sustainability. However, debt servicing costs present an escalating risk to the framework in the medium term," Mah...

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Tuesday that government has sought to establish an enabling environment to support women entrepreneurs, which informs government’s determination to direct at least 40% of public procurement to women-owned businesses.

Speaking during the second Presidential Summit on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) in Midrand, Ramaphosa said government had been working to ensure that South Africa’s efforts to turn the tide against gender-based violence (GBV) were aligned with global efforts.

He highlighted that late last year, South Africa ratified the International Labour Organisation’s Convention number 190, aimed at eliminating violence and harassment in the workplace.

A key aspect of South Africa’s National Strategic Plan was the economic empowerment of women, he said.

“We have trained more than 6 000 women to prepare them to take up procurement opportunities. Through the Women’s Economic Assembly, we have seen industry associations and companies committing to industry-wide gender transformation targets,” he explained.

Ramaphosa noted that government could, therefore, say that it had made significant progress in putting the supporting architecture in place that was critical to a coordinated and collaborative fight against GBVF.

“In the Joint Sitting of Parliament in 2019, I called for government departments to allocate the necessary resources to combat GBVF. As a result, in February 2021, government announced the allocation of approximately R21-billion over three years to implement the various components of the National Strategic Plan,” he said.

A significant portion of these funds has been committed to advancing the empowerment of women through procurement, business support and access to economic opportunities.

Funds have also been directed towards expanding support to survivors, strengthening the response of the criminal justice system and undertaking prevention programmes.

Ramaphosa said the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation had been tracking expenditure of the R21-billion allocated over the medium term.

“We need to ensure that our resources are being directed to where there is the greatest need and where they have the greatest impact. Last year we established a private sector-led Gender-Based Violence and Femicide Response Fund 1, which received a commitment of R162-million and has to date funded 112 grant partners,” Ramaphosa explained.

He said it must be acknowledged, however, that given the demand for services to address the different aspects of the fight against GBVF, these funds were currently inadequate.

He urged the private sector to join hands with government – as it did with the Solidarity Fund – to make more resources available where it was most needed.

PREVENTION OF VIOLENCE

“We must accept that as individuals, institutions and leaders across society, we all must play our part. This fight is about far more than ensuring that survivors of GBV get justice. It is about preventing violence against women and children from happening in the first place,” said Ramaphosa.

He noted that it was in the area of prevention that government needed to place greater attention, exert more effort and dedicate more resources.

“As government, we have developed a comprehensive National GBVF Prevention strategy and, in March this year, we also launched the National Integrated Prevention Strategy against Femicide,” he said.

However, he acknowledged that government had not mobilised the resources required for effective behaviour change programmes that link up with the efforts of social partners in communities to address the attitudes and actions of men.

South Africa’s central bank said it will continue using interest rates to curb inflation, and responded to calls for its mandate to explicitly include promoting economic growth and creating jobs by saying monetary policy already targets those indicators.

At 6.25%, the Reserve Bank’s repurchase rate is still below long-term levels and in expansionary territory, South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said in a speech in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

The consequences of the central bank loosening its grip on inflation and falling behind global peers as rates are being normalised would be “too costly,” he said. “The best chance we have with monetary policy to get faster, more job-rich growth is to maintain our focus on price stability with flexible inflation targeting, a proven framework.”

The Reserve Bank’s price-stability mandate, which is prescribed by the constitution, has been a contentious issue for the governing African National Congress (ANC) for years. With the unemployment rate at 34.5% and the ANC heading into a five-yearly elective conference, where it also decides on policies, next month, calls to widen the central bank’s policy focus have resurfaced.

South Africa has an unemployment problem that needs more credible solutions, Kganyago said. Job creation and growth are both limited by factors that are beyond the reach of the central bank’s tool set, he said.

Kganyago, who has been in his role for eight years, is a staunch proponent of inflation targeting. Under his leadership the central bank started to manage price growth to be close to the mid-point of its target range of 3% to 6%.

“Inflation erodes the buying power of the population,” Kganyago said. “If the authorities do not step in a deal with inflation, we are selling our people short.”

South Africa’s inflation rate declined for a second straight month to 7.5% in September. However, central bank forecasts show that it will only return to the 4.5% mid-point of the target range by the fourth quarter of 2024.

The central bank’s critics say its focus on inflation, which has meant higher interest rates over the past year, increases poverty and only hurts consumers. But Kganyago said high inflation affects poorer and less-skilled South Africans more than the wealthy, and exacerbates inequality.

“We hear your cries when you say inflation is eroding your income, whether a salary or a grant from government,” Kganyago said. “Erosion of that income by inflation is what the central bank should deal with. But in dealing with your cries there will be short-term pain and that comes in the form of medication that is interest rates.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Imtiaz Fazel as the Inspector-General of Intelligence, following Parliament's approval, for a tenure of five years from Tuesday, 1 November.

Last month, the National Assembly approved Fazel's appointment after interviewing 12 out of 25 people who applied for the position.

In a statement, Ramaphosa's office said the Intelligence Services Oversight Act mandates the Joint Standing Committee on Intelligence (JSCI) to recommend a candidate for approval by at least two-thirds of the MPs.

"Following National Assembly approval, the name of the candidate is submitted to the president to consider the nominee for appointment as Inspector-General. The president has appointed Mr Fazel in accordance with Section 210(b) of the Constitution, read in conjunction with Section 7(1) of the Intelligence Services Oversight Act of 1994," the statement read.

The Inspector-General monitors and reviews the operations of the intelligence services, including the State Security Agency, the defence intelligence division of the South African National Defence Force and the Crime Intelligence division of the South African Police Service.

According to the Presidency, the appointment is a continuation of the attention Ramaphosa is giving to efforts to strengthen the capability of the state, including the security sector.

"Mr Fazel is a former chief operating officer - at the level of deputy director-general - in the Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and a former deputy director-general in the office of the director-general of the State Security Agency. From 2015 to 2020, he served as deputy director-general for governance, risk and compliance in the Department of Public Works, following which he served as acting director-general in the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure," the statement read.

Fazel obtained a Master's Degree in Security Studies from the University of Pretoria and holds a Bachelor of Accounting Science degree from the University of South Africa.

He also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Accounting from the University of the Western Cape and is a member of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Ramaphosa wished Fazel well in his new role.

In June, the committee announced that it had nominated former anti-apartheid activist Reverend Frank Chikane, but he didn't get the National Assembly's nod.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said new requirements for entry into public service will include competency assessments, as part of government’s National Framework towards Professionalisation of the Public Sector, which will strengthen the management of State-owned entities and prioritise merit in the appointment of board members.

The Framework was made public last week.

Ramaphosa said in his weekly letter to the nation on Monday that government needs to build a public service that is professional, ethical and driven by merit, as the country recovers from State capture.

He said one of the “bitter lessons” South Africans took away from the State capture era is how fragile the country’s public sector can be and how it needs to be strengthened.

The State Capture Commission report laid bare how organs of State were systematically weakened by political and corporate interference.

It further detailed instances where individuals without the necessary competence and experience were appointed to strategic positions so that they could be manipulated by private interests.

The finalisation of the Framework, which will be applied across all spheres of the public sector, fulfils the President’s commitment, made in his February State of the Nation Address, to build a more capable State.

The Framework highlighted clear requirements for recruitment and selection processes, mandatory induction for new public servants and performance management. It prioritises continuous learning so that the skills and capabilities of public servants are always improving.

Ramaphosa said that this is to ensure that only qualified and competent individuals are appointed to the ranks of the public service.

“Those people who are unfit or unwilling to serve the public should make way for those who are dedicated and capable. We will be introducing competency assessments as part of new requirements for entry into the public service. Those seeking appointment or promotion will need to complete compulsory courses with the National School of Government (NSG); those who are newly appointed will not be allowed to assume duty until they have successfully completed induction programmes. Long-serving public servants will also have to undergo regular refresher training,” he explained.

Further, the Framework seeks to reduce undue pressure placed on directors-general and CEOs of public entities to carry out unlawful instructions, break public procurement rules or favour certain private sector interests, as happened during the State capture era.

The Framework will also contribute to greater stability in the senior leadership of the public service. Ramaphosa said staff appointed into political offices, including ministerial advisers, must complete a pre-entry course for middle and senior management with the NSG, as well as competency and integrity assessments within 90 days of their appointment.

“We have accepted several of the recommendations of the State Capture Commission in this regard, including that independent panels with appropriate technical expertise be constituted to recommend suitable candidates for boards,” he added.

He said this Framework should be welcomed by the country’s public servants as an important tool for progression as they work on the frontline to deliver on the promise of a better life for every South African.

Reinstated City of Johannesburg Executive Mayor Mpho Phalatse announced on Monday that the multiparty government will start the major task of fixing Johannesburg, beginning with the rollout of the asbestos pipes replacement project.

Phalatse was reinstated as the mayor after last week’s court judgment confirmed the African National Congress (ANC) illegally removed her from the position, which she said was a win for democracy.

She highlighted that the Democratic Alliance (DA) had already begun replacing asbestos pipes in the greater Fourways area, and begun the upgrades of the Brixton and Crosby reservoirs.

Phalatse said Joburg Water has replaced 100.8 km of water pipes and 69.5 km of sewer pipes between April and June.

“But today I stand before you, as the executive mayor of the City of Johannesburg, a city I so dearly love, and I make a commitment that only a party with a proven track record of service delivery can make: using concrete solutions to real problems, the multiparty government will start the major task of fixing Johannesburg. Truly fixing, not merely sticking on a plaster,” she stated.

She stated that the ANC’s solution to the water crisis included Jojo tanks and boreholes.

“It can only be the corrupt ANC that suggests a plaster to heal a severe wound,” she said.

“Joburg Water has proposed medium- and long-term interventions and projects to ensure the sustainability of water supply to our municipality. Plans for a new connection from Rand Water to supplement supply to critical bulk water supply areas in Joburg are underway,” she added.

Despite the interventions, Phalatse claimed that maladministration remained in the City’s bulk water supplier, Rand Water.

She said the entity failed in the maintenance of electric infrastructure which now impacts its ability to pump water.

Phalatse highlighted that over the coming days, the party will also be working to ensure that urgent matters, such as the water and power crises, and the safety and security of residents, are attended to.

“I believe most residents of this City know that there is still a long way to go to turn around Johannesburg and will likely take many years to fix. But if there is one thing I know to be true, it’s that the DA can get it done,” she said.