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May
10
2024
By KOPANO GUMBI and JOE BAVIER
South Africa’s social safety net at a crossroads as ANC support wanes

South Africa’s social safety net at a crossroads as ANC support wanes

NEWS
SOUTH Africa's African National Congress (ANC), fighting to extend its 30-year grip on power in elections this month, would like to cast the government programmes that support Dalene Raiters and her family as a success story. But the 48-year-old doesn't see it that way. "The ANC, I don't want to even talk to them," an angry Raiters told Reuters from the single room in Johannesburg she shares with her sons and grandson. "(Nelson) Mandela's dream is not their dream." With record unemployment and a moribund economy hitting support among voters, the ANC is touting South Africa's welfare system - a…
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Apr
19
2024
By BRETT SILBERG
Two-pot postponed to September …but there’s much to do before then

Two-pot postponed to September …but there’s much to do before then

BUSINESS
IN a webinar, Batseta – a non-profit organisation focused on the interests of principal officers, trustees and fund fiduciaries within the retirement industry – made it clear just how complicated the two-pot retirement system’s implementation will be for administrators, trustees and advisers of pension funds and how much they have yet to prepare. As such, Old Mutual Corporate senior consultant Nobuhle Mfeka said the [retirement] industry welcomed the six-month delay in the system’s implementation, as it would give stakeholders more time to hopefully implement the changes effectively. On Monday (4 December), the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance (Scopa) accepted Finance Minister…
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Nov
02
2023
By KOPANO GUMBI, ANAIT MIRIDZHANIAN and WENDELL ROELF
South Africa seeks tax boost as higher debt peak forecast

South Africa seeks tax boost as higher debt peak forecast

BUSINESS
SOUTH Africa's finance minister will propose tax changes next year as part of an effort to stabilise public finances that are under strain from a drop in mining revenue, a mid-term budget review showed. The budget document presented to parliament projected wider deficits over the next three years and saw debt peaking at a higher level than in February when the main budget was tabled. Revenue collections in the current 2023/24 fiscal year were forecast to be 56.8 billion rand ($3.04 billion) below estimates in February. The National Treasury said it was committed to spending reductions, moderate tax measures and…
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Mar
18
2023
By The African Mirror
South Africa’s bailout of Eskom won’t end power cuts: splitting up the utility can, as other countries have shown

South Africa’s bailout of Eskom won’t end power cuts: splitting up the utility can, as other countries have shown

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS
THE announcement by the South African finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, of debt relief for the country’s troubled power utility, Eskom, is a step forward. It will fix one problem: Eskom has too much debt. But the plan won’t end power cuts which have worsened in recent years. The international experience is that one way to end electricity shortages is to allow competitively-priced privately-funded generation at scale. This requires a reorganisation of South Africa’s electricity market along the lines announced by the Department of Public Enterprises nearly four years ago. The crux of the plan was to split Eskom into three…
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Feb
23
2023
By The African Mirror
South Africa govt to take on half of struggling Eskom’s debt

South Africa govt to take on half of struggling Eskom’s debt

NEWS
OLIVIA KUMWENDA-MTAMBO, WENDELL ROELF and KOPANO GUMBI SOUTH Africa's government plans to take on more than half of struggling state power company Eskom's debt over the next three years to help strengthen its balance sheet and operations and enable it to restructure, National Treasury said on Wednesday. Treasury said the government would take on 254 billion rands ($14 billion) of Eskom's 423 billion rand debt that was at risk of default, to enable the utility to pay down the debt and interest obligations. The move will free up money for spending on maintenance and the transmission and distribution parts of…
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Mar
18
2023
By The African Mirror
<strong>South Africa’s bailout of Eskom won’t end power cuts: splitting up the utility can, as other countries have shown</strong>

South Africa’s bailout of Eskom won’t end power cuts: splitting up the utility can, as other countries have shown

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS
THE announcement by the South African finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, of debt relief for the country’s troubled power utility, Eskom, is a step forward. It will fix one problem: Eskom has too much debt. But the plan won’t end power cuts which have worsened in recent years. The international experience is that one way to end electricity shortages is to allow competitively-priced privately-funded generation at scale. This requires a reorganisation of South Africa’s electricity market along the lines announced by the Department of Public Enterprises nearly four years ago. The crux of the plan was to split Eskom into three…
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Jan
27
2023
By The African Mirror
Yellen welcomes South Africa’s energy transition, steers clear of Russia mention

Yellen welcomes South Africa’s energy transition, steers clear of Russia mention

NEWS
ANDREA SHALAL and KOPANO GUMBI U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen lauded South Africa's "bold" participation in an energy transition partnership backed by the United States and other Western nations but steered clear of mentioning U.S. concerns about Pretoria's planned military drills with China and Russia. She welcomed Godongwana's "cooperation and insightful views" in their previous discussions and said she would raise several issues, including Zambia's stalled sovereign debt restructuring effort, given South Africa's key role on the country's creditor committee. "The United States strongly values our relationship with South Africa," Yellen said in remarks that included no mention of Russia…
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Jan
19
2023
By The African Mirror
Davos 2023: South Africa plans to end load-shedding in 12-18 months

Davos 2023: South Africa plans to end load-shedding in 12-18 months

NEWS
SOUTH Africa has a plan to improve energy provision that will end the need for any power cuts within the next 12-18 months, ITS Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said. "Eventually in the next 12-18 months, we will be able to say load-shedding is a thing of the past. That is the target," Godongwana, told Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Swiss resort of Davos. Godongwana said so-called "stage 6" power cuts - which mean at least six hours a day without power for most South Africans - would no longer be needed within about…
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Apr
16
2022
By The African Mirror
SA releases emergency funds for floods relief

SA releases emergency funds for floods relief

NEWS
ROGAN WARD SOUTH AFRICANS were searching for survivors of floods that killed almost 400 people, according to the latest tally, washing away homes and roads and leaving thousands without shelter, water and power. The floods in Kwazulu-Natal province have knocked out power lines, shut down water services and disrupted operations at one of Africa's busiest ports. The death toll rose to 395 on Friday from an earlier estimate of 341. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told TV station Newsroom Afrika that an initial 1 billion rand ($68.3 million) for emergency relief was available for immediate use after the province was declared…
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