Latest news with #R5.7
IOL News
4 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
South Africa moves closer to exiting FATF greylist after significant progress
South African is moving towards being lifted from the greylisting. Image: Independent Media archives KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC Francois Rodgers and head of his department Carol Coetzee have expressed excitement at the news that South Africa was moving towards being lifted from the greylisting. The national Treasury released a statement on June 13 saying that the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had announced that the country had substantially completed all 22 action items that were contained in the Action Plan adopted when South Africa was greylisted in February 2023. The country was placed on the greylist due to its failure to adhere to the FATF's requirements in dealing with anti-money laundering (AML) and combating of financing of terrorism (CFT). The FATF said it would now conduct an onsite inspection on South Africa's compliance with the requirements of being completely removed from greylisting. The FATF noted during its plenary meeting held in France that South Africa had shown political commitment in dealing with what landed it in greylisting. 'If we are removed from the greylisting, it means that the R5.7 trillion that we had borrowed as the National Treasury and incur interest, you can start negotiating better interest rates on the R5.7 trillion,' said Rodgers. He said the national treasury was currently paying R1.2 billion a day on interest to repay its loans. 'Should that be reduced, it will ultimately mean that there is more money at a national level, which can be cascaded down to provinces,' said Rodgers. Coetzee said being removed from greylisting would mean South Africa would now be in a better position to be an investment destination, as it would be considered less risky. 'It means that investors would be very interested to come and invest, and it would mean that the government is settling down, and their (investors) funds are secured,' said Coetzee. The National Treasury commended the country's law enforcement agencies, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), the State Security Agency, and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), for their sustained increase in investigations and prosecutions of serious and complex money laundering and terror financing activities. 'This made it possible for South Africa to secure the upgrades of the last two remaining action items, often considered to be the most difficult, in the current reporting cycle,' read a statement from the National Treasury. The Treasury said FATF had noted that South Africa demonstrated 'a sustained increase in investigations and prosecutions of serious and complex money laundering and the full range of [terror financing] TF activities in line with its risk profile, updating its TF Risk Assessment to inform the implementation of a comprehensive national counter financing of terrorism strategy.' 'The improvements to South Africa's AML/CFT regime are particularly important for South Africa, given the legacy of state capture, one element of which was that law enforcement and prosecuting institutions were deliberately weakened. Improvements in these domains are critical not just for getting off the greylist, but for strengthening the fight against crime and corruption, and for contributing to the integrity of the South African financial system. 'Exiting the FATF greylist is a significant step forward as South Africa continues to improve and strengthen its supervisory and criminal justice systems,' read the treasury. However, the Umkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) called on the country not to jump into celebrating the FATF's move as the ANC continued with its chaotic policies and its failure to deal with the Phala Phala matter. 'This (Phala Phala) controversy raised alarming questions about financial controls, money laundering and the credibility of the President's own financial conduct, fueling international suspicion about South Africa's ability to manage financial crimes,' read MKP's statement. The party said the very fact that the FATF will still have to conduct an on-site assessment to verify South Africa's compliance 'speaks volumes about the fragility and questionable integrity of our financial oversight system.' 'This is not a routine check; it is a clear sign that international bodies have serious doubts about the reliability of South Africa's own reports and reforms. 'It underscores the deep trust deficit the ANC government has created, both at home and abroad. 'Until these doubts are fully dispelled, South Africa's voice on the global financial stage remains weak and contested,' read MKP's statement. ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu described FATF's move as a major milestone for South Africa, both domestically and internationally. 'It strengthens the credibility of our financial system and contributes to the global and national fight against illicit financial flows, terrorism financing, and the legacy of state capture. 'We will continue to support government efforts to fully comply with global standards, ensuring that the country is permanently removed from the greylist and that our financial systems are protected from abuse,' said Bhengu. [email protected]
The Star
12-06-2025
- Business
- The Star
AG still concerned about use of consultants in KZN municipalities
The Auditor General South Africa (AGSA) has seen an improvement in some KwaZulu-Natal municipalities including their reliance on consultants which decreased from R240 million to R220 million spent annually. Image: File The office of the Auditor General South Africa (AGSA) has seen an improvement in some KwaZulu-Natal municipalities, and while consultants are widely used, there has been a reduction in consultancy fees from R240 million to R220 million in the last financial year. Irregular expenditure also decreased from R6.2 billion to R5.7 billion. Nomalungelo Mkhize, AGSA Business Unit Leader in KZN, presented the local government audit outcomes of the Municipal Financial Management Act (MFMA) to the KZN Legislature-Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs(Cogta), on Tuesday. Mkhize said they made a call to action at the end of the financial cycle in 2022 and 2023, requesting leadership to ensure that the key service delivery indicators are being prioritised with adequate funding to fast track infrastructure projects and to ensure that there is adequate budget for repairs and maintenance. Mkhize said that the AGSA has seen an increase or a gradual improvement compared to 2022 and 2023 in terms of the audit outcomes. Mkhize said that this demonstrates that the municipalities and the officials are able to present a credible set of financial statements indicating how the monies have been spent. 'Although we have seen a decrease in the use of consultants there are a number of municipalities that do use consultants for financial reporting. We still find misstatements in the work that the consultants are doing and at times the consultants are taking on work where they can see that they may not be able to conclude the work with quality. "We are also finding that consultants are not being monitored to see whether there is delivery according to what was contracted for." The AGSA said that municipalities are still struggling with action plans not being implemented and that there was a lack of enforcement being taken against officials that are found to have transgressed previously. Mkhize said that this is the root cause for the continued transgressions and the non-performance in some municipalities. "It then creates the culture that non-compliance can go on without the necessary consequence management. Officials are not being held accountable," she said. Mkhize said that poor payment practices are resulting in interest charges and penalties. Mkhize said poor management of electricity and water distribution losses are above the acceptable norms in a number of municipalities. "There is a concern regarding the credibility of share grants received from national and provincial government. If it was any other business they would actually be at a point where they need to be closed. There is also insufficient funds that are available to complete projects," she said. The AGSA said that in municipalities that ended the year in deficit, where expenditure was more than revenue, many of them already started eating into the next year's budget. [email protected]
eNCA
07-06-2025
- Business
- eNCA
Project to extend dam on schedule
JOHANNESBURG - Work is underway to expand the Clanwilliam Dam, with completion set for 2028. Water Minister Pemmy Majodina says her department will seek approval for extended working hours to stay on schedule. The R5.7 billion project will triple the dam's capacity. Construction teams are working on the expansion of the Clanwilliam Dam to ensure they meet the project's 2028 completion deadline. Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina announced that the department will seek permission to extend overtime working hours to achieve their targets. During her visit to the site, Majodina said that she plans to monitor progress by visiting every three months. The R5.7-billion project will triple the dam's water capacity. Located on the Olifants River, the Clanwilliam Dam serves as a vital water source for the region's farmers, municipalities, and businesses. It currently holds 123 million cubic meters of water. The mega project was originally set for completion in 2018, but delays have pushed the date back to 2028. Officials have stressed the importance of meeting this deadline. Local leaders have underscored the crucial role the Clanwilliam Dam plays in the local economy, saying the completion of the upgrades will further accelerate the rollout of hydro-energy projects planned for the west coast corridor and will also bolster the region's agricultural sector.
IOL News
04-06-2025
- Business
- IOL News
KZN Finance MEC highlights says municipalities are paying the price for poor national decisions
KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC Francois Rodgers and provincial treasury's municipal finance chief director Farhad Cassimjee addressing representative of municipalities in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday. Image: Bongani Hans KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC Francois Rodgers, who described himself as a straight talker when it comes to money matters, has blamed the national government's 'bad policy decisions' for the suffering of the municipalities and key provincial government departments. He was addressing mayors, municipal managers, and chief financial officers of seven municipalities who attended a workshop on the implementation of the Cash Management System (CMS) in Pietermaritzburg on Wednesday. The CMS is expected to help the municipalities monitor and control the movement of money in and out of their fiscal system. He said most municipalities were not interested in their financial flow until they ran out of money to deliver services, service debts, and pay salaries. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading He said the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) inherited a process of budgeting that would 'never get us out of trouble.' He said the province was facing a huge crisis in the education, health and social development, and transport departments. 'Lots of what we are facing now is not out of our own making, [but] it is because post-COVID, and by some really bad policy decisions at the national level, like paying R600 million to state-owned entities when that money could have come to our provincial and local governments. 'We now have R5.7 trillion debt and we have to pay R1.2 billion interest on that debt,' said Rodgers. He said bad policy decisions led to the government failing to save money, but instead, inequitable shares had to be cut by R70 billion over four years. He addressed the municipalities a few hours after the provincial cabinet and Premier Thami Ntuli held a meeting about the state of local governments. 'One of the issues that the premier made clear is that both Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, and Treasury, need to ensure that we get clean audits in the entire province,' he said. Rodgers said when it came to money matters, he makes sure that 'there has to be straight talk'. 'There is no grey area when it comes to money, and if you are gonna spend money and you put politics ahead of principles, you are gonna make the wrong decisions. 'But if you put principles ahead of politics, and you implement your Municipal Finance Management Act and Public Finance Management Act, and any other legislations, then you are deciding for the right reasons,' said the DA provincial leader. He said only political will would help the municipalities to transform their pattern of expenditure and patterns of poor fiscal control.
IOL News
30-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Let the Soil Speak: A Decade of African Dignity and Development
When the morning sun gilds the rooftops of Abidjan, it doesn't just mark a new day, it signals another chapter in Africa's quiet but determined rewriting of its destiny. In a continent too often narrated in shadows, Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has, over the past decade, spoken in light. At what may be his final annual gathering with the press in his role as AfDB President, Adesina was not merely closing a chapter; he was bequeathing a manifesto. This was no hollow valedictory, it was a clarion, a drumbeat echoing across the savannahs and capitals alike: Africa's development must be pursued with pride. Pride, not as pomp, but as purpose. The Measure of a Legacy When Adesina took the helm of the AfDB ten years ago, he did not walk into a vacuum. The Bank was a reputable institution, yes, but it lacked teeth in a global financing order that often read Africa as an afterthought. He sharpened those teeth. From a capital base of $93 billion (R1.67 trillion), the Bank under his leadership now commands $318 billion (R5.7 trillion), not as mere digits, but as vessels of life, infrastructure, light, and opportunity. But as any African griot will tell you, you can't measure the rain only by how full the river runs, you must ask the farmer if the harvest came. And so, Adesina pointed not to balance sheets but to the 565 million lives touched by the Bank's "High 5s": to light up and power Africa, feed Africa, industrialize Africa, integrate Africa, and improve the quality of life for the people. From building a Bridge to electrification in forgotten corners of Kenya, the High 5s did more than build. They restored dignity. He recalled a Kenyan woman who was asked what she thought of the Bank. She responded that she did not know the President, nor the Board. Her words were unfiltered truth: 'I don't know the African Development Bank. I just know that we were in darkness, and now we have light.' In that single sentence lies the poetry of true development, when institutions disappear, and transformation becomes a lived reality. The Sweat of Leadership Adesina, charismatic yet grounded, spoke of the grey hairs earned during this journey. Not signs of aging, he insisted, but "battle marks from pushing against the tide of global indifference." There is a tendency in international circles , often housed in glass towers far from dust and poverty, to measure leadership in conferences attended or communiqués issued. Adesina reminded us that African leadership, the kind that makes a dent, is measured in calloused hands, sleepless nights, and the refusal to accept mediocrity cloaked as realism. He did not do it alone. "This is not the story of one man,' he said. 'It is the chorus of a continent refusing to be pitied and choosing instead to be proud.' A New Horizon: The 2025 Elections As the 2025 AfDB Annual Meetings return to Abidjan from May 26 to 30, the institution stands at a new crossroads. With the baton soon to be passed, one of the most closely watched contenders is Swazi Tshabalala, a strategic mind from South Africa whose pitch to BRICS AFRICA CHANNEL earlier this year was clear: 'Lift Africa.' Her agenda is as pragmatic as it is aspirational: transform the Bank into a high-performance, digitally-enabled machine of delivery; unlock large-scale infrastructure as a foundation of continental competitiveness; fuel regional integration through private sector mobilisation and financial innovation. In her vision, the AfDB becomes less a financier of projects and more a conductor of Africa's symphony of progress. Her leadership plan is not one of wishful thinking. It is laced with the hard language of execution, efficiency, and outcomes. Tshabalala is betting on Africa's potential ,not just as a narrative but as capital. And her candidacy may well signal the continued Africanisation of African solutions. Telling Africa's Story - Our Way Adesina ended his remarks not with a conclusion, but with a challenge. 'You, the media, are not bystanders. You are amplifiers. You shape the world's imagination of Africa.' In that statement lies a deeper truth: Africa is not lacking in achievements , it is underserved by storytelling. Too often, the continent is misreported, or underreported, or worst, told through the eyes of those who never smelled the red earth or heard the morning prayers from a Nairobi slum or a Cape Flats mosque. The narrative is not just about changing perceptions. It is about reclaiming ownership. As the old isiZulu proverb goes, 'Until the lion learns to write, every story will glorify the hunter.' The Road Ahead Africa's journey, to paraphrase Achebe, is not a sprint , it is a long walk across dry rivers, with dreams tucked into every blister. And yet, the vision that leaders like Adesina, and perhaps Tshabalala, are planting is one that does not merely dream. It builds. So, when we speak of legacy, let us not mistake it for nostalgia. Let it be active , a verb, not a noun. A call to pick up the tools and shape a continent worthy of its children. The African Development Bank, as it sets sail into its next decade, must remain both shield and spear. It must deflect the cynicism of old powers and pierce through the bureaucratic fog that often slows our stride. For if a woman in a Kenyan village can remember the gift of light, surely the world can remember to look again, not at Africa's problems, but at its progress. With pride. * Ayanda Holo is the President of TV BRICS AFRICA and a writer whose work on development, diplomacy, and dignity has been featured across global media. He was reporting from Abidjan during the 2025 AfDB Annual Meetings ** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
