Author: Agency

National Hawks head, Lieutenant General Advocate Godfrey Lebeya, says the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI) will begin to focus its attention on ensuring that the country deals with compliance obligations raised by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) when it greylisted South Africa last month. To achieve this, Lebeya said the Hawks will collaborate with other agencies both at the national and international levels. The Lieutenant General made the commitment on Friday while delivering a public update on the Directorate’s operations in the third quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year. This comes after South Africa was put on a…

A man has been sentenced to 15 years imprisonment by the Musina Regional Court after being found guilty of tampering with essential infrastructure, theft of cable copper relating to essential infrastructure and illegal immigration. National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Limpopo regional spokesperson, Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, said 30-year-old Shepard Munorwa and an accomplice – who managed to escape – were caught stealing cables which disrupted service delivery to a private farm. “During the trial, the accused pleaded not guilty to the offences. In aggravation of sentence, the state prosecutor Jan Krijt submitted that the country is currently experiencing unprecedented levels of cable theft…

South Africa government says it notes S&P Global’s decision to revise South Africa’s credit rating outlook to stable from positive on Wednesday evening. According to S&P, economic growth in South Africa is facing increasing pressure from infrastructure constraints, particularly severe electricity shortages. In reaction, Treasury said, reforms to address infrastructure shortfalls and to improve governance and performance at State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are slow, weighing on growth, while contingent liabilities from SOEs pose continued downside risks to South Africa’s fiscal and debt position. “However, the agency acknowledges that the fiscal position improved in the fiscal year 2022 as revenue rose, thanks…

Africa must be given the space to transition from high carbon usage to low carbon at a pace and cost that it can afford, says Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe. The Minister was speaking at the Africa Energy Indaba held in Cape Town on Tuesday. “Their voice [African people] on the Energy Transition must be heard. That is the voice that says, energy production in Africa must be aligned to Africa’s socio-economic development. This means that there must be a balance between energy demand for socio-economic development and energy supply that is premised on low carbon emissions.…

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as the new Minister in the Presidency for Electricity. The announcement of the newly established position was made by the President during an address to the nation on Monday evening. President Ramaphosa said in his new role, Ramokgopa’s primary goal will be to drive government’s programme of significantly reducing the “severity and frequency of load shedding as a matter of urgency” and to expedite government’s work to ensure the full implementation of the Energy Action Plan. “To effectively oversee the electricity crisis response, the appointed Minister will have political responsibility, authority and…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…