KASI BC AFRICA

Cabinet’s approval of the Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy for South Africa @KASIBC_NEWS  The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources (DMPR) welcomes Cabinet’s approval of South Africa’s Critical Minerals and Metals Strategy, as well as the approval for the publication of the Mineral Resources Development Bill (MRDB) of 2025 for public comments.   The approval of these two policy documents marks a major milestone in our concerted efforts that are aimed at ensuring policy and regulatory certainty, as well as maximising the country's potential in the global market for minerals.  Although the term “critical minerals” has been used by various nations for a considerable period, there has been no universal consensus on the definition of critical minerals, as several countries have interchangeably used and defined “critical, strategic or future minerals” according to their importance in: economic growth and industrialisation; technological advancements; energy tr...

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 ...

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, ...

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 safet...

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...

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 acc...

MEMORANDUM NATIONAL TREASURY @KASIBCNEWS We, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), acting on behalf of millions of the unemployed, economically suffocated, landless, indebted, and structurally excluded working-class majority of South Africa, have come to the National Treasury — the very centre of economic policy formulation and fiscal control — to register our total rejection of austerity, our resolute opposition to the increase in VAT, and our demand for a complete transformation of fiscal policy.  The EFF is leading this mass action because South Africa is on the verge of collapse, and it is the National Treasury that has for three decades engineered, enforced, and now intensified this collapse under the pretence of “fiscal consolidation,” “budget discipline,” and “market confidence.” South Africa economy has not grown by more than 1% per annum for over a decade.  There is no coherent, credible, or macro-economic plan from the National Treasury to suggest that this is going t...