BUDGET 3.0 GROW THE ECONOMY @KASIBC_NEWS

BUDGET 3.0 GROW THE ECONOMY @KASIBC_NEWS 

On Wednesday, 21 May 2025 the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, will table a revised Budget reflecting the withdrawal of his March proposal to increase VAT. In his statement on 24 April announcing the withdrawal of VAT, he mentioned that the new Budget must plug a R75-billion revenue hole.

It is likely that the hole has grown because the GDP growth outlook has been revised down from 1.8% to 1%, with an expected direct impact on the amount of taxes the SA Revenue Services (SARS) is able to collect. Therefore, we expect the new Budget to have a direct and negative impact on some frontline services and key expenditure priorities, such as:

• R29-billion earmarked for Basic Education
• R29-billion for health
• R46-billion for infrastructure, including the R19-billion marked to install signalling equipment on the Passenger Rail Agency of SA’s (Prasa’s) network to make more trains available, and the R11-billion for Window 8 infrastructure projects

While we are yet to see if, and how much these allocations will be cut – there is little doubt that they will have an adverse impact on many South Africans. For example, the Departments of Basic Education and Health allocate only between 4% and 5% of their respective budgets on capital expenditure – the expansion of services to South Africans who desperately need them. Such allocations are not enough even without budget cuts. South Africans demand and deserve more, but the fiscal limitations cannot be wished away.

RISE Mzansi has consistently stated that South Africa’s fiscal challenges are largely political in that there is little or no appetite to change the composition of expenditure so that more money can be dedicated to growth enhancing measures. There is also an urgent need to change the culture of spending in government, which allows waste and theft.

Out of South Africa’s R1.855-trillion revenue collected in 2024/25, the March budget allocated:

R823-billion to salaries

R442-billion to social grants

R423-billion to debt service costs at R1.2-billion interest payments per day

Only a growing economy can produce jobs and a bigger, sustainable tax base. The composition of expenditure almost guarantees that economic growth will get crumbs. South Africa cannot compete globally if the billions we spend on Basic Education do not produce the skills needed to produced goods and services other countries need. We cannot grow the economy with crumbling infrastructure in which we invest peanuts, and allow corruption to continue.

Businesses cannot grow in collapsing, corrupt municipalities with crumbling infrastructure and crime. South Africa’s Parliament cannot continue to tinker around the edges, and accept a scenario where everything is a priority while we continue to achieve little to nothing, and deadlock for months over marginal budget allocations.

We must change the composition of expenditure such that capital expenditure amounts to at least 8% of budget allocations, and the government is restructured to reflect the efficient expenditure our constitution demands.

In my role as Chair of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), I will be working with all political parties represented therein, and other Portfolio Committees, to drive tough measures to reduce financial waste, improve governance and prevent corruption. As I said in February, there is no possibility that we will turn South Africa around without tough choices – and the time has come for maturity and resolve to effect the reforms we need to grow an inclusive economy.

 

PRESIDENT JOHN STEENHUISEN VISIT TO AMERICA WITH PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP @KASIBC_NEWS

PRESIDENT JOHN STEENHUISEN VISIT TO AMERICA WITH PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP @KASIBC_NEWS

This week I will form part of the delegation led by President Cyril Ramaphosa, on a historic, and crucial visit to the United States of America, to engage with President Trump, and other senior US officials.

The highest issues on my priority list will be securing trade relations between the US and SA, particularly in agriculture, to protect jobs, grow the economy and expand employment opportunities.

South Africa's relationship with the United States is one of immense importance. Preferential trade agreements such as AGOA contribute significantly to our economy. Losing these benefits would be disastrous for farmers, farm workers and the economy at large.

Relationships between countries are never simple. We cannot pretend that we are not facing unique challenges in our country. This delegation to Washington DC represents all South Africans, who have entrusted us to put the shared national interests, and desire for economic growth and job creation first, ahead of any party, or ideological positions.

As a proud member of this GNU delegation, I will endeavor to ensure every effort is made to mend, and improve relations between the US and SA.

There is a renewed hope in South Africans, thanks to the formation of the GNU, and we dare not fail them on our mission to increase economic growth, and job opportunities for all South Africans.

South Africa will work if South Africans can get work.

DA PRESIDENT JOHN STEENHUISEN 

TRAGIC LOSS OF LIVES DURING DIEPKLOOF PROTEST @KASIBC_NEWS

TRAGIC LOSS OF LIVES DURING DIEPKLOOF PROTEST @KASIBC_NEWS

Government deeply regrets the tragic loss of lives during a violent housing protest in Soweto on Monday, 19 May 2025. Two people lost their lives when angry Diepkloof residents blocked roads, looted trucks, and clashed with police, citing the City of Johannesburg’s failure to develop vacant land.

GCIS Acting Director-General, Nomonde Mnukwa, said: “We strongly condemn the violence and looting that took place in Diepkloof and extend our heartfelt condolences to the families of the two individuals who lost their lives. Every life lost under such circumstances is one too many, and we deeply mourn this tragedy.”

Government acknowledges and upholds the constitutional right of all South Africans to protest and express their grievances. However, such actions must be conducted peacefully and within the confines of the law. The right to protest does not extend to acts of criminality, violence, or the infringement of the rights and safety of others.

“We are confident that law enforcement authorities will conduct a thorough investigation into the events of Monday to ensure those responsible are held accountable and to help prevent similar incidents in the future. Government has full confidence in the ability of the South African Police Service to act decisively and lawfully,” added Mnukwa.

Government calls on all citizens to exercise their rights responsibly, and to uphold the values of democracy, dialogue, and mutual respect. Violent acts and destruction of property not only weaken the legitimacy of genuine causes but also threaten the safety and livelihoods of innocent members of the community.

GREAT NORTH TRANSPORT ( GNT ) INVESTIGATION @KASIBC_NEWS

GREAT NORTH TRANSPORT ( GNT ) INVESTIGATION @KASIBC_NEWS 

The Democratic Alliance in Limpopo has written to the Chairperson of the Limpopo Portfolio Committee on Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, calling for an urgent meeting with the management and board of Great North Transport (GNT) to interrogate the financial sustainability, effectiveness, and integrity of GNT’s Turnaround Strategy.

In particular, we call for the purchase and leasing of buses, as well as the outsourcing of routes, to be subjected to full scrutiny, to determine whether these transactions are in the best interests of GNT, can withstand oversight, and are above reproach.

In our letter, we also call for the executive and board of the Limpopo Economic Development Agency (LEDA), GNT’s shareholder, to be present at the meeting.

As the DA, we have received worrying representations from various interested and affected parties alleging impropriety. Corrupt and malfeasant governance practically collapsed GNT, were it not for repeated bailouts from the fiscus. We simply cannot afford, and will no longer accept, a situation where current attempts to turn around and recapitalise GNT are once again mired in inefficiency and corruption.

We have also received reports that the outsourcing of routes is rendering GNT staff, including its drivers, maintenance personnel, and some depot operations redundant. This further calls into question the coherence, objectiveness, and rationality of the entity’s actions.

We urge the Committee to hold the executive and board of GNT to account, and to monitor, investigate, and enquire into GNT’s purchasing and leasing of buses, as well as the outsourcing of routes. We cannot allow further bailouts to sustain ongoing failure.

The DA stands for good, ethical, and corrupt-free governance.

NSFAS BLACKLIST SERVICES PROVIDERS @KASIBC_NEWS

NSFAS BLACKLIST SERVICES PROVIDERS @KASIBC_NEWS

The Democratic Alliance Students’ Organisation (DASO) today calls on the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to urgently investigate and blacklist service providers that have subjected students to squalor off-campus residences at the Umfolozi Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) college’s Nkandla campus.

During an unannounced oversight visit, DASO inspected two privately run, NSFAS-accredited residences that house students. We found conditions so degrading that they violate the Minimum Norms and Standards for Student Housing and the very purpose of the NSFAS accommodation allowance.

We therefore call on NSFAS to launch an urgent investigation, blacklist the service-providers concerned, and guarantee every student a safe, dignified place to live.

Upon inspection of the first off-campus residences off a dirt road behind the campus, we found that each small room was thread-bare and had two single beds meant to accommodate two students per room; a small doorless cupboard/shelf space for both students to share; one naked bulb on the ceiling; no study desk; and no running water in their rooms. There was a communal ablution block of raw cement and tin roofing where 60-plus students share two toilets and four (4 ) showers and are required to use JoJo tanks. Of major further concern was the fact that there were no security personnel, fire extinguishers or emergency exits.

The second residence we visited was even more dilapidated with smaller derelict rooms and broken windows. There was no central kitchen, and students were forced to cook in their tiny rooms. It was clear from both residences that there was zero fire-safety equipment and no perimeter security—an obvious fire and crime hazard.

Despite these appalling conditions, the landlords reportedly charge R3 000 per student per month, the full NSFAS accommodation allowance, effectively profiteering from vulnerable beneficiaries. This is a blatant breach of national standards for student housing which demands adequate space, lighting, sanitation, security, and study areas, none of which are met in these facilities.

This is a terrible misuse of public funds as NSFAS disburses taxpayer money on the assumption that accredited residences meet the standard grading criteria it has laid down for private providers. The academic impact is also of concern as overcrowded, unsafe and unsanitary environments undermine students’ ability to study, threatening throughput rates the TVET sector desperately needs to improve.

As DASO, we call on NSFAS to:

- To conduct an urgent inspection and investigation of these premises and to furthermore interrogate how the residence was accredited.

- To Suspend and blacklist the service provider if indeed the investigation reveals there has been fraudulent activity.

- To move students to dignified alternate housing in an environment that will allow them to flourish.

- To strengthen whistleblower channels for students to report violations without fear of eviction or victimisation

We refuse to leave any student behind. Young people are the future of South Africa, and we cannot stand by as they are robbed of the opportunity to make the most of the educational opportunities afforded to them.