Author: Agency

Government has introduced a R9 billion tax relief programme to support South Africa’s clean energy transition, increase electricity supply and limit the impact of consistently high fuel prices. The programme was on Wednesday unveiled by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana while delivering the 2023 Budget Speech at the Cape Town City Hall. In addition, the budget provides inflation-related adjustments to the personal income tax tables, the retirement tax tables, transfer duties and excise duties for alcohol and tobacco. The 2023 Budget Review report indicates that while R4 billion in relief was provided for households that install solar panels, R5 billion was…

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Government spending on infrastructure is expected to reach some R903 billion over the next three years with state owned companies contributing the lion’s share to this investment. This was announced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana when he delivered the Budget Speech at the Cape Town City Hall on Wednesday. The Minister said at least R448 billion of this will be spent by state owned companies and entities through public partnerships. “Infrastructure investments lay the foundation for inclusive and sustainable growth; they address supply-side constraints; and expand access to basic services. “Overall, the public sector is projected to spend R903 billion…

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While South Africa’s economy grew by an estimated 2.5% in 2022, the growth outlook has deteriorated to a predicted 1.4% growth over the next three years. This was compared with the 1.6% prediction in the 2022 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). The crystal glazing was on Wednesday outlined by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana while delivering the 2023 Budget Speech, at the Cape Town City Hall. In real terms, the Treasury anticipates that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow by a fractional 0.9% in 2023. The Minister said: “At R4.6 trillion, the size of the economy in 2022 was bigger…

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For the second successive year, government will not increase the general fuel and the Road Accident Fund (RAF) levies, in a bid to reduce pressure on households and businesses. This will see government forego R4 billion in revenue. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana made this announcement in his 2023 Budget Speech,  delivered on Wednesday at the Cape Town City Hall. Last year saw fuel prices soar driven by international crude oil prices, supply-demand balances and the rand-dollar exchange rate. This was as a result of steep increases in world market prices. During this period, inland unleaded petrol mostly remained above R20…

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Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has announced that social grants will increase by at least 5% in the next financial year. “R66 billion is allocated to Social Development over the medium term, with R36 billion to fund the extension of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress [SRD] grant until 31 March 2024. R30 billion will be used for inflation-linked increases for other social grants,” Godongwana said. The Minister presented the 2023 National Budget in Cape Town on Wednesday, The increases to social grants are as follows: The old age grant will go up from R1985 to R2085 The old age grants…

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Government’s gross debt stock is projected to increase from R4.73 trillion in 2022/23 to R5.84 trillion in 2025/26, says Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. “And because debt is high, our debt-service costs are also high,” Godongwana said while delivering the 2023 Budget at the Cape Town City Hall on Wednesday. Government, he said, must consider its consolidated position, which includes debt-service costs. South Africa’s consolidated fiscal deficit is projected at 4.2% of GDP for 2022/23, and this will reach 3.2% in 2025/26. The figures include the impact of the partial take-over of Eskom debt, with Godongwana saying that government debt will…

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National Treasury has proposed to provide the country’s embattled power utility, Eskom, with R254 billion in debt relief over the next three years. This was on Wednesday confirmed by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana while delivering the 2023 Budget Speech at the Cape Town City Hall. Of the R254 billion debt relief, R168 billion will be in capital while R86 billion will be in interest, said the the National Treasury in its 2023 Budget Review document. “Because of the structure of the debt relief, Eskom will not need further borrowing during the relief period. Government will finance the arrangement through the…

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A National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) assistant director and her son (28), have been convicted by the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court for unlawfully being in possession of top-secret information. Jacobeth Lepinka (52) and her son, Kedifentse (28), were convicted on Friday and will be sentenced on 16 May. National Hawks spokesperson Thandi Mbambo said: “In 2014, NPA discovered that Lepinka took the laptop with classified information to her place of residence without authorisation. “A case of theft was registered and the incident reported to the Hawks’ Head Office based Serious Corruption Investigation team for further handling. The investigation commenced and led the…

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Eskom board member, Mteto Nyati, says the power utility and its board is working intently on five key priorities to improve the performance of power stations and ease load shedding as swiftly as possible. He was speaking on Thursday during a media briefing to update South Africans on the challenges facing the power utility. Nyati said there are priorities that require day-to-day focus, whilst others require the power utility to be “slightly more strategic”. The five priorities include the 24-month generation recovery plan, which has two key elements. “The first [element] is to make sure that we have and we…

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President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on all South Africans to pay for the electricity they use, as the country works towards overcoming the energy crisis. “As we work together to overcome the energy crisis, I call on all South Africans to pay for the electricity they use. We can only improve and expand the provision of electricity and other basic services if government and municipalities in particular have the means to do so. “Non-payment and illegal connections make electricity provision more expensive and less reliable,” the President said. Addressing the nation through his weekly newsletter, President Ramaphosa said the global…

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