MINISTER STEENHUISEN’S 100 DAYS FAILURE @KASIBCNEWS

MINISTER STEENHUISEN’S 100 DAYS FAILURE @KASIBCNEWS 

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) condemns the flagrant incompetence and corruption of Democratic Alliance’s (DA) John Steenhuisen, the Minister of Agriculture, who, within the first 100 days of holding office, has failed to appoint qualified staff. 

He continues to cling onto his cadre deployments—appointments of his unqualified cronies and white supremacists—while trying to bend the rules to push them through. Steenhuisen's request for a deviation from the minimum appointment requirements for his candidates shows his blatant disregard for the rules that govern public office appointments. His nominations of Annette Steyn, Una Christians, Charity McCord, and Mr. Kruger are an insult to the hardworking and qualified South Africans who are being overlooked in favour of Steenhuisen’s politically connected friends. 

Three of these four candidates only possess matric certificates and do not meet the minimum academic qualifications required for the positions they have been nominated for, with the last one not having enough experience for their role.

Steenhuisen's actions demonstrate a complete disregard for governance and a prioritisation of personal loyalty over merit. 

This is nothing more than blatant cadre deployment, something Steenhuisen and his party hypocritically condemn in public while practicing behind closed doors. His insistence on appointing these people is the very reason for the delay in finalising appointments and, consequently, the delay in worker’s salaries, and the work of the department and government at large.

Furthermore, Steenhuisen has displayed his true racist colours by hiring Roman Cabanac, notorious for his white supremacist views, as his head of staff. It is only due to public outrage and backlash that Steenhuisen was forced to ask Cabanac to resign. 

However, Cabanac is now refusing to step down, rightly pointing out that Steenhuisen  was fully aware of his racist background before hiring him. This demonstrates not only Steenhuisen’s poor judgment but also his complicity in fostering white supremacists and racist individuals in government, and his lack of commitment entirely to his job and responsibilities.

Steenhuisen is not only failing his staff by withholding their salaries but is also holding  the country hostage by delaying government operations to satisfy his own political agenda.

The EFF will continue to expose and fight against the corrupt practices of Steenhuisen  and all those who seek to undermine the functioning of government for their personal  gain. We demand that he be held accountable for his incompetence, his racist appointments, and the failure of his leadership in the Department of Agriculture.

GAUTENG E-TOLL DEBT INSTALLMENT R3.8 BILLION @KASIBCNEWS

GAUTENG E-TOLL DEBT INSTALLMENT R3.8 BILLION @KASIBCNEWS 

In his 2022 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, the Minister of Finance, Honourable Enoch Godongwana made the following policy pronouncement on the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project popularly known as E-Toll: “to resolve the funding impasse the Gauteng provincial government has agreed to contribute 30 per cent to settling SANRAL’s debt and interest obligations, while national government covers 70 per cent”.

In the Budget Speech in March this year, Gauteng Provincial Treasury announced that as part of the province’s arrangements to service the debt, a provision for honouring this commitment has been pencilled into the 2024 fiscal framework.

This was followed by the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the Gauteng Provincial Government and the National Treasury for the province to honour the debt and the maintenance portion for the E-Toll debt. The obligation to service this debt has necessitated the implementation of a host of reforms and measures to maintain a healthy fiscal environment that will be both sustainable and manageable in the long term.

Today, the Gauteng Provincial Government is starting the process to service the historical debt of R12.9 billion in five equal annual instalments at government 5-year interest rate. The first instalment that we are paying today amounts to R3.8 billion, consisting of R3.2 billion (historical debt) and the maintenance portion of R546 million. The implications of the E-Toll debt require the provincial government to manage finances in a prudent manner whilst carefully balancing the service delivery needs of the citizens.

The fiscal trajectory of Gauteng Provincial Government must be addressed through a combination of active debt management strategies and spending restraint that improves the primary fiscal balance and elimination of wastage and leakages in the system. The province will need to allocate a substantial amount of funds each year for the next five years to meet the repayment obligations.

Therefore, to address these fiscal challenges, Gauteng Provincial Treasury is working with revenue-collecting departments to identify alternative sources of revenue. This aims to ensure that frontline services remain uncompromised, prioritising programmes that foster growth, safeguarding essential social services for vulnerable members of society, maintaining the provision of basic services in the province.

Gauteng Provincial Treasury has a five-year budget approach that will facilitate provincial delivery based on the Medium-Term Development Plan for the 7th Administration. 

The five year budget approach will focus on introducing and implementing immediate, short-term, and medium-term budget reforms over the 2025 MTEF. This include maintaining fiscal discipline and credibility, and impactful service delivery.

Given the maintenance of fiscal discipline, the province will prioritize the reprioritisation of budgets, identification of efficiency gains, and making of trade-offs to fund the government priorities. Fiscal discipline requires that governments maintain fiscal positions that are consistent with macroeconomic stability and sustained economic growth.

Furthermore, provincial departments and entities must explore alternative sources of funding to supplement the existing constrained revenue streams and thus enhance fiscal sustainability over the long-term. Partnerships with private sector, donor funding, developmental finance are among the possible alternative funding sources.

The provincial government also views Public Private Partnerships as a key vehicle to not

only deliver infrastructure but for its ability to stimulate the economy, create jobs and deliver projects within cost, time and quality whilst providing the upfront funding for these projects. Therefore, PPPs with revenue raising potential will be prioritised.

As the MEC of Finance and Economic Development, I have emphasised to Gauteng

Provincial Treasury that any approach to the market for funding should be premised on

securing funding to finance strategic infrastructure projects, which have sound economic benefits to the province, create jobs, raise revenue and potentially provide an avenue to pay back the E-Toll debt. This approach is seen as a more sustainable and will prove far more beneficial to the citizens of Gauteng, with far more positive spin-offs than borrowing to pay a debt of E-Toll.

The 2025 Budget will see a conclusion of the national fiscal consolidation strategy

announced in the national 2020 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), with

debt‐stabilising primary surplus achieved in 2025/26, a reduction in the fiscal deficit to

pre‐COVID levels and a stabilisation of debts service costs as a percentage of revenue.

Gauteng Provincial Treasury is therefore confident that through the measures and reforms mentioned above, the province will be able to service the E-Toll debt, simultaneously providing much needed services to the citizens of Gauteng, whilst reaping the benefits of the spinoffs of proposed economic infrastructure initiatives.

It is in this context that we would like to assure residents of Gauteng that we will not

compromise our priorities in social services such as health and education.

 

COGTA COMMITTEE CALLS FOR STABILITY FOLLOWING REMOVAL OF TSHWANE MAYOR @KASIBCNEWS

COGTA COMMITTEE CALLS FOR STABILITY FOLLOWING REMOVAL OF TSHWANE MAYOR @KASIBCNEWS

The Portfolio Committee on Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), chaired by Hon. Mzi Khumalo, has taken note of the removal of the Tshwane Mayor and calls for urgent action to ensure stability in the City of Tshwane during this transitional period.

As the oversight body responsible for promoting good governance, the Portfolio Committee urges the Department of CoGTA. to take immediate steps to ensure that the upcoming mayoral election is conducted within the 14-day legal timeframe and that  all necessary measures are in place to maintain municipal operations without disruption. The Department must play a proactive role in supporting the City’s governance structures during this period of change.

Chairperson Khumalo emphasized that it is critical for the Department to ensure there are no delays in service delivery, to strengthen internal governance, and to maintain stability in collaboration with local leadership and stakeholders. "The Department must act swiftly to prevent any governance voids and guarantee that essential services to residents remain unaffected," said Hon. Khumalo.

The Portfolio Committee will remain engaged with the Department and other provincial bodies to ensure that the transition is seamless, and processes are handled with transparency and efficiency, ensuring that Tshwane’s residents are prioritized throughout this period.