Latest news with #Zibi
IOL News
6 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
'We will not be silent': RISE Mzansi marks youth day with bold call to action for SA's youth
RISE Mzansi commemorates Youth Day at the Hector Pieterson Memorial, vowing to continue the fight for dignity, safety, and opportunity for young people. Image: File RISE Mzansi has vowed to continue fighting for the issues that affect South Africa's youth, drawing a direct line between the struggles of 1976 and today's challenges. Speaking at the Hector Pieterson Memorial during a wreath-laying ceremony on June 16, RISE Mzansi National Leader Songezo Zibi MP delivered a scathing indictment of the country's failure to protect and empower young people nearly five decades after the Soweto uprising. 'Today, we stand here, 49 years since Hector Pieterson, Tsietsi Mashinini, and scores more bled and lost their lives for the liberation of this country and its young people. Their fight is far from complete, and the scars of that era still remain,' said Zibi. He said that while legislation like the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act exists, the current school environment remains hostile and dangerous. 'In the last year, there were 42 cases of rape; 96 cases of attempted murder; 1,214 cases of assault GBH; and 376 cases of rape at places of learning,' he stated. Zibi said RISE Mzansi had formally asked the Minister of Basic Education to deliver an Executive Statement in Parliament on June 24 to account for efforts being made to improve school safety and quality. 'The case of little Cwecwe is not an isolated one,' he added, referencing recent tragic incidents involving children. Beyond education, Zibi tackled youth unemployment head-on, condemning the government for presiding over a crisis where 'the youth unemployment rate is close to 50%, or just over 62% if you include young people who have given up on looking for work.' 'These young people are you; the ones gathered here today in the name of Hector Pieterson; they are our family members,' he said, adding that the current R370 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant should be transformed into a R35-billion investment in youth economic development. 'Let us fund the future, rather than plastering over our current problems.' He also raised concerns about a 'silent crisis' ravaging communities: gambling addiction. 'You look left, you look right, you see gambling advertising on TV, during sports matches, on social media, and even at Home Affairs,' said Zibi, warning that the addiction among young people aged 25 to 35 is spiraling. RISE Mzansi also highlighted the growing food insecurity affecting over 20 million South Africans, particularly children. 'Twenty-three percent of children suffer from severe hunger, which results in developmental problems such as stunting,' the party said, emphasizing the role of MEC Vuyiswa Ramokgopa in addressing the issue through food empowerment initiatives. Turning to the upcoming National Dialogue, RISE Mzansi expressed concern about the reported R700-million budget. 'The touted R700-million price-tag appears to be excessive,' Zibi said, saying the party would use its parliamentary oversight to ensure financial accountability. The party insists that the dialogue must 'address issues of justice in all its forms' and not 'escape the issue of ethical leadership across society, political, business, civil society, and academia.' 'RISE Mzansi will continue to fight for the South Africa we all deserve, and this cannot be done without working with and listening to young people,' Zibi said. IOL News
IOL News
02-06-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Driving licence printing machine fixed but huge backlogs remain
The Department of Transport has repaired the driving licence card printing machine after months of downtime, but a significant backlog of unprinted cards remains. Image: File Millions have been spent on repairing and maintaining the driving licence card printing machine. The Department of Transport announced earlier last month that the driving licence printing machine was fixed and operations have resumed. The machine had been inoperative since February 5, resulting in a backlog of 747,748 unprinted cards. To reduce the backlog, the Department of Transport's Driving Licence Card Agency extended the working hours of its staff members. In light of this, in a parliamentary question and reply, Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi asked Transport Minister Barbara Creecy about the number of times the machine broke down and how much it cost to repair it. 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 ✕ Zibi then asked how many employees it takes to operate the machine and how much overtime pay has been paid to employees due to lost printing time because of machine breakdowns. Zibi also asked Creecy if there was progress in acquiring a new card machine. Creecy said the backlog of driving licences as of May 15 was estimated at 733,000 cards. Creecy revealed the machine's major breakdowns in the past financial year are as follows: 2022/23 - 26 working days 2023/24 - 48 working days 2024/25 - 17 working days 2025/26 - 38 working days Over the same period, repairs and maintenance costs: 2022/23 - R9,267,862,33 2023/24 - R1,651,772,57 2024/25 - R544,747,64 2025/26 - R624,988,10 (to date) Overtime payment, over the last few financial years, has been: 2022/23 - R1,435,376,79 2023/24 - R1,608,102,52 2024/25 - R1,351,473,78 2025/26 - R0,00 Creecy said it takes four people to operate the machine. About progress made with the process to acquire a new driving licence card printing machine, Creecy said: 'The Minister has directed that a declaratory order be sought from a competent court on the tender to acquire a new machine, in order to ensure that no further irregular expenditure occurs.'
The Citizen
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
RAF ‘deliberately withholding' information from Scopa
The SIU tells us that one law firm has received an incredibly disproportionate portion of the work allocated by the RAF – Scopa chair. What is the RAF hiding, and why does its R1.2m-a-year chair not think it 'important enough' to make sure Scopa is given the information it asked for? Picture: Moneyweb The Road Accident Fund (RAF) has been accused of deliberately withholding information from Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) about the top 10 law firms to receive briefs and payments from the fund. Scopa chair Songeza Zibi said on Wednesday he has asked for this information twice, the first time on 6 November 2024. He now believes 'this information is being deliberately withheld from the committee for improper reasons'. 'In the intervening period, the SIU [Special Investigating Unit] came to brief the committee and one of the things that they told us is that one of the law firms has received an incredibly disproportionate portion of the work allocated by the RAF. 'We do not know who that law firm is but you can see why that information is pertinent.' He said he cannot understand 'why it is easy to provide the plaintiff information but it seems impossible to provide the corporate legal services information' when the committee has asked for it in writing and in the sitting. Zibi said one of the things he is concerned about is that there are names of law firms that appear on both the lists. ALSO READ: RAF CEO placed on special leave with full pay, as MPs grill fund What does the RAF chair say? RAF chair Lorraine Francois apologised for the information not being provided and assured the committee it will be provided. Zibi said his difficulty is that Francois was in the meeting and knew Scopa asked for this information, which has not been provided. Zibi said it would not be unfair to hold Francois responsible for the failure to provide this information because the board is the accounting authority. Francois said the RAF board secretary takes note of Scopa's requirements but they always assume that it is the responsibility of the RAF CEO and executive to put this information together. Controversial RAF CEO Collins Letsoalo was placed on special leave with full pay and benefits by the board on Tuesday as a precautionary measure, but it was stated that this did not constitute disciplinary action. ALSO READ: R25.5 billion deficit over five years — Can RAF afford to pay out claims? Francois said most of the time, the information requested gets submitted directly to Scopa. 'We are a non-executive board so we don't review everything that comes here directly. 'That is the responsibility of the executive. Now I take full accountability and will ensure this happens. But to respect the request of this committee, I will now get to that level to make sure we will provide this information,' she said. Scopa member Mark Burke of the DA took issue with her answer and asked her what her annual compensation is. Francois said it is about R1.2 million. 'You get paid R1.2 million, which is the equivalent of a parliamentary salary and in your mind it's too operational for you to respond to the [request] for information,' said Burke. 'That [it] is beyond the scope of your work. Does that seem reasonable to you?' Zibi said he would answer this question. 'You [Francois] didn't think it was important enough because I have raised it twice and you simply didn't bother to check. 'We are not asking you to be operational. I am asking you to ensure that the needs of the committee are met by way of information,' he said. ALSO READ: RAF national crisis demands urgent action – expert 'Terminate the board immediately' Scopa member Alan Beesley of ActionSA followed up by stating that he found Francois's response dumbfounding. 'I saw the list that [Zibi] asked for. It's not an extensive list,' said Beesley. He requested that Deputy Minister of Transport Mkhuleko Hlengwa write letters of termination immediately to the RAF board because it is acting with immunity at the moment and treating parliament with disrespect, which is totally unacceptable. Acting RAF CEO Phathutshedzo Lukhwareni said a panel of 43 law firms was appointed by the RAF in December 2023, but only 19 were briefed and paid during the 2023 and 2024 financial years 'at the time of preparing the report'. Lukhwareni said a total R6 million was paid to these law firms in 2023, and around R104 million in 2024. He said it is a panel (of law firms) and obviously the selection takes place depending on the complexity of the matter. ALSO READ: RAF at risk of imploding No state security clearance Scopa was also told that not a single member of the RAF's board or senior executive has a security clearance from the State Security Agency (SSA). Lukhwareni said all the forms have been submitted to the SSA for the vetting process and interviews have been held with some of the executives but 'from here on it's beyond our control from a RAF perspective and SSA is responsible'. Zibi said something does not match because on 16 October 2024 he had an exchange with Francois about the vetting of officials and one official, Letsoalo, was said to be vetted. Zibi pointed out that Letsoalo said in March 2025 that he had been vetted – and the difference between what he said then and the state of affairs now 'means for the second time he lied to the committee'. 'I asked him about the treasurer at the RAF and he [also] lied about that.' Scopa member Patrick Atkinson of the DA said Letsoalo – who was initially acting CEO of the RAF and has now been CEO for five years – has been without a security clearance for seven years. Atkinson said the problem with that is that (without clearance) Letsoalo has not been legally appointed to that position and the question then is how would he have the authority to take the legal action he has against the Auditor-General (AG). ALSO READ: Expert accuses RAF of misrepresenting itself and its purpose The RAF unsuccessfully applied to review and set aside the AG's disclaimer of the fund's 2020/2021 annual financial results and to declare the disclaimer invalid and unlawful. The AG issued the disclaimer because the RAF used an accounting standard it was not permitted to use. 'I understand the court might give him six months to get his security clearance but not seven years,' Atkinson said. 'If he has been operating for seven years without a security clearance, it raises a massive legal issue about a whole variety [of issues] about the accounting principles, not paying out medical aids and foreigners and a whole variety of board minutes which are illegal.' Zibi said he would have to take legal advice on that and would not hold the Department of Transport or RAF responsible for the tardiness of the SSA. He said Scopa will take that up with the responsible minister, but the committee needs to work out if Scopa was misled when the CEO told the committee that he had been vetted. This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
The Citizen
22-05-2025
- Business
- The Citizen
‘We pay too much': Public funds wasted on inflated government costs, says Zibi
The Scopa chair called for stricter financial discipline, and proposed benchmarks to curb excessive spending. Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi has criticised the government for wasting public funds by overpaying for goods and services, and failing to hold officials accountable for wasteful spending. His comments came during a media briefing by parliament's finance cluster on Thursday, a day after South Africa's third national budget was tabled. The latest fiscal plan outlined R68 billion in spending cuts over the next three years. The reductions aim to address revenue losses caused by the government's decision not to increase the value-added tax (VAT) rate. 'Pro-poor' budget During Thursday's briefing, Joe Maswanganyi, chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, described the 2025/2026 budget as 'pro-poor'. 'The budget, we believe, will bring inclusive growth even under constrained conditions,' he said. 'The budget contains hard choices, but it protects the vulnerable and positions our economy for stability and reforms.' ALSO READ: Pressure on Sars to prevent tax increases in 2026 Maswanganyi also praised the R7.5 billion allocated to the South African Revenue Service (Sars), aimed at boosting revenue collection. 'This reinforces fairness in our tax system, ensuring that all citizens and companies, especially the wealthy, pay what they owe.' However, he raised a red flag over the country's debt costs, pointing out that South Africa spends R1.2 billion per day on servicing debt. 'That needs to be addressed.' Watch the briefing below: Budget should prioritise solving real problems Zibi, the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), spoke of the positive elements in the budget process, especially the growing engagement of South Africans. 'Taxpayers finally said, 'No more money. We make do with what we already give you'. 'This is a very good thing because people can now appreciate that the government, and that means taxpayers themselves, do not have limitless resources. READ MORE: Sensible or underwhelming? Economists react to Godongwana's Budget 3.0 'Money does not fall from trees. So you cannot commit to do everything, pay for everything, and not have problems thereafter.' He argued that the controversy over VAT had detracted from the real purpose of a national budget, which is setting expenditure priorities. 'Budgets are meant to solve problems. The debate around budgets is supposed to be about the order of those priorities and whether these allocations are sufficient or to be spent in an efficient manner.' Government wasting money Zibi highlighted flaws in how the government allocates and manages expenditure, pointing out that over R820 billion is spent on salaries, R440 billion on social grants, and R424 billion on debt servicing. The Rise Mzansi leader criticised government inefficiency and overspending, particularly in the procurement of goods and services. 'We pay too much because some of them are poorly conceived, poorly planned, poorly managed and often there is corruption.' READ MORE: Budget 3.0: not austerity budget, but a redistributive budget He called for expenditure reviews to ensure that 'every rent goes as far as possible' and also questioned whether the government remains fit for purpose. 'Do we have the right number of civil servants doing the kind of work that needs to be done? Or are we trying to fit a square into a circle?' Zibi called for stricter financial discipline and proposed the introduction of benchmarks to curb excessive spending. 'We need to set benchmarks where the government does not spend more than 100% of planned project spend, and staff are incentivised for projects that are completed on time and within budget. 'We cannot have civil and construction projects lasting double or triple the time, at double or triple the cost that was initially planned. That is not value for money.' Budget expenditure review Zibi further recommended 'centralising' project management to improve oversight and reduce inefficiencies. 'Consulting engineers, we've learned, are a massive weakness, failing to ensure that the work is of the right quality, payments are only made when the work is done, and when those payments are made, they're in line with what we should be paying. 'Fighting corruption is a priority to the minister reaffirmed yesterday.' Zibi added that both National Treasury and the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) have done work in recent years to better understand public expenditure patterns. He revealed that he has invited Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana for further engagements on the matter. 'We will look at exploring a joint sitting between the finance committees where he will lay out for two days, the areas where the government since 2013-2014 has been spending money, where that expenditure has been efficient, whether that expenditure has not been efficient, and what some of the critical interventions that can be made are.' NOW READ: Godongwana cuts zero-rated food basket in Budget 3.0
IOL News
22-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Scopa chair calls for urgent action to address fiscal leakage in South Africa
Scopa chairperson Songezo Zibi says the work of releasing funds that are stuck in inefficiencies, incompetence, and poor planning should begin so that those funds can go towards investing in things that will fix the economy. Image: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers The Standing Committee on Public Accounts chairperson, Songezo Zibi, said on Thursday there was a need to fix a whole lot of problems to get to a point where fiscal leakage was stopped and public finances began flowing to the right things. 'We have to do the work of releasing funds that are stuck in inefficiencies, incompetence, and poor planning so that those funds can go towards investing in things that will fix the economy,' Zibi said. He made the statement during the post-Budget briefing by chairpersons of finance cluster committees when they were asked about pressure they could make on the relevant portfolio committee and those involved regarding the review of fuel price structure. This is after the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana proposed the increase of fuel levy, which is believed will hit the poor and inevitably lead to an increase in transport costs. 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 ✕ In his response, Zibi noted that there were serious reductions made in the Budget that ranged from education, health, and infrastructure, among others, compared to allocations made in the March Budget. 'The question about VAT, fundamentally, was about how much money we should allocate for those problems. Do you want to give the government more or less money? The view was that the government should get less money – that is the impact. The question, really, is not about the fuel levy, but how much less you want to give the government and which of the things we must continue to cut,' Zibi said. He also said there must be short-term pain as part of resourcing the things the government must do. 'There must also be work on spending reviews,' said Zibi before noting that there was no accountability for those who waste public funds and that the government continued to overpay for goods and services. Mmusi Maimane, chairperson of the Standing Committee on Appropriations, said the process of reviewing the fuel price must be paramount. He also said his take on the Budget was that Godongwana was operating within a very constrained wiggle room, and the one cushion that could be relied on was that inflation was relatively low. 'I think we need to really review how we look at the fuel price, and therefore I will certainly raise the question with the Minister of Finance tomorrow,' Maimane said. He emphasised the importance of strengthening the currency and benefiting from the weakening dollar. 'We have to ensure the trade balance is stronger, and therefore, I can't stress enough the importance of attracting foreign direct investment. Part of that is to have a stronger currency to ensure, actually, your currency is not weak, so that purchasing power on oil is lower and will help with fuel price,' Maimane said. Joe Maswanganyi, Finance Committee chairperson, said citizens and the corporate sector have the responsibility to pay tax to fund public services. Maswanganyi said there should be no promotion of a situation where the public and corporate do not want to pay taxes. 'There is no state that can function without revenue; otherwise, if you run a state on populace, at some stage, that state will collapse. Taxation enables the government to fund essential public goods,' he said. However, Maswanganyi said they understood the implication of the fuel levy increase, but stated that it has been mitigated. 'The minister spoke about putting more money into transport, and in this regard, on the commuter rail system. It is highly subsided and is quite cheaper compared to other modes of transport in South Africa. The more you have commuter trains back on the railway lines, the more the poor, working class, and workers will use that mode of transport.'
