
DA welcomes R1TN for infrastructure
According to Willem Aucamp of the DA this is what the party has been fighting for.
"We have a budget that will that will have no VAT increases, no personal tax increases nor corporate VAT increase and that is what the democratic alliance has been advocating for. We do not have an income problem in this country but rather a expenditure problem," he says.
Aucamp further welcomed the minister decision to conduct a spending review.
He says this will allow for the government to review ghost workers within various departments but also look into projects that do not yield results.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced the allocation during his Budget speech on Wednesday.
He said going forward, underperforming programmes will be closed as the 2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) budget process undergoes redesign.
New reforms will target infrastructure planning and implementation across provinces and municipalities, the minister explained.
"A data-driven approach to detecting payroll irregularities will replace the more costly method of using censuses.
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eNCA
2 hours ago
- eNCA
DA accuses ANC of double standards
JOHANNESBURG- Political drama is heating up in the Government of National Unity (GNU). The DA says the ANC is playing favourites by firing Deputy Minister, Andrew Whitfield but letting Minister Nobuhle Nkabane off the hook despite serious allegations. On Tuesday, the DA hit back by laying charges against Nkabane for allegedly spinning a web of lies about an independent panel that greenlit political appointments to SETA boards. With budget votes on the horizon, the DA is gearing up to call out corruption where they see it. Political analyst, Ntsikelelo Breakfast says the DA wants to expose how President Cyril Ramaphosa according to them was applying double standards. "On the one hand the President dismisses on of [DA's own] for not getting approval for a trip he was not ment to undertake, but on the other hand turns a blind eye to some of the members of the executive who have been at fault," he said. While Breakfast says he sympathies with the DA, he disagrees with the party on how they have responded to this matter in terms of their announcements of pulling out from the National Dialogue.

IOL News
4 hours ago
- IOL News
DA backtracks on motion of no confidence, commits to GNU
DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille says her party will abandon tabling the motion of no confidence against President Cyril Ramaphosa "for now". Image: Cindy Waxa / Independent Newspapers The DA has backtracked on its threat to implement a motion of no confidence against President Cyril Ramaphosa, despite tensions between the two parties. DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille confirmed on Tuesday that her party would not be proceeding with the motion "for now", but emphasised that they would not be bullied by the ANC within the Government of National Unity (GNU). Experts have viewed the move by the DA leader as "grandstanding" and "seeking attention" because the party knows that they can't afford to leave the GNU. The DA and the ANC have been at loggerheads since the axing of Trade and Industry deputy minister Andrew Whitfield last week, resulting in the DA announcing that it would be withdrawing from the National Dialogue. Video Player is loading. 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Next Stay Close ✕ The party has since accused Ramaphosa of double standards, saying that he condoned corruption after he became mum following the DA's calls to fire Higher Education Minister Nobuhle Nkabane. Nkabane is embroiled in the appointment of boards for Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs). Political analysts have weighed the situation, with some suggesting that the DA is grandstanding with their threats. Professor Sipho Seepe said that the DA is grandstanding and that the market would quickly self-correct if the rand were to crash. "The DA likes grandstanding. Yes, the rand may crash, but the market will quickly self-correct. "Having said this, the ANC is unlikely to kick the DA out of the GNU. The GNU is big business. The very big business had funded Ramaphosa's presidency. Ramaphosa is unlikely to bite the hand that feeds him," Seepe said. He said the DA hated the idea of the ANC, EFF, and the MK Party government so much that it would rather stick it out. "Besides, the decision to walk out of the GNU will be dictated by big business, not Helen Zille…The same applies to the idea of tabling the motion of no confidence… Such a step would leave the ANC with no option but to kick the DA out of this marriage of inconvenience. It is a gamble that many in the DA would frown upon," Seepe said. Another analyst, Sandile Swana, said Zille's reasons for staying in the GNU were arbitrary and not scientifically grounded. "The DA has not been able to grow the economy by more than 2% in the Western Cape. They have lingered around 2% but it was required to grow at 5.4%. The DA has governed the Western Cape and Cape Town for some time. There is increased unemployment in the province and the metro, more than in any other province in the country. "The DA and big business are using the GNU to prevent the MKP and the EFF from being part of the government," Swana said. He said if an opportunity would present itself, the EFF would take up a place in the GNU and continue working with Ramaphosa as they did not agree that Ramaphosa handled the Phala Phala matter correctly. Zille said that while the DA has the numbers to potentially outvote the president, they would instead take intermediate steps to address their concerns. "The president can fire us from the GNU, and there are many people from the ANC wishing that he would fire us. But here is the thing, if he fires us the rand will crash, the economy will go into a tailspin, investors will withdraw, unemployment will increase, and we will probably be pushed out of AGOA and tariffs will go up." Zille, however, said that it did not mean that her party would be bullied by the ANC within the GNU and that they had a plan if Ramaphosa booted out the DA from the GNU.


The South African
4 hours ago
- The South African
Here's who donated to SA's political parties in Q4
South Africa's political parties declared nearly R231 million in private donations during the 2024/25 financial year, according to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). However, new legislation threatens to dilute transparency just as the country approaches the 2026 local government elections. The IEC's latest quarterly disclosure report shows that R14.19 million was declared in the fourth quarter (January-March 2025), a notable dip reflecting ongoing trends of lower contributions outside election periods. Only three parties – the ANC, Democratic Alliance (DA), and ActionSA – made disclosures during this period. ANC : R7 million R4 million from Chancellor House Trust R3 million from Naspers Limited (Chancellor House has donated R11 million in 2024/25 — still under the R15 million legal cap) : DA : R6.19 million R3 million from Naspers R1.04 million (in-kind) from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) for internal training and strategy R743,687 from Main Street 1564 Smaller contributions from Polyoak Packaging, DKS Cleaners, and private individuals : ActionSA : R1 million From African Equity Corporation (Pty) Ltd : The Political Party Funding Act (PPFA), enacted in 2018 and enforced from 2021, was a landmark law meant to regulate and increase transparency in party financing. It: Required donations above R100 000 to be disclosed to be disclosed Capped annual donations from a single source at R15 million Banned funding from foreign governments and state-owned entities Introduced public funding via the Represented Political Parties Fund and Multi-Party Democracy Fund (MPDF) However, this framework is now under threat. Earlier this year, Parliament passed a resolution – not yet enacted – to double both: The minimum disclosure threshold to R200 000 to The maximum annual private donation limit to R30 million per donor This is despite criticism from civil society and findings by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) that South Africa's R15 million cap already made it an international outlier in donation limits. Civil society watchdog My Vote Counts (MVC) has fiercely criticised the proposal and has filed legal action to block it. The group said the changes are 'a step backwards for democracy' and undermine the public's right to access information on political funding. 'If the president signs off on this, it will lead to greater secrecy just as South Africa prepares for another heated election cycle,' MVC said. 'It's a fruit of the poisoned tree.' While parties like the ANC and DA consistently report large donations, the EFF and MK Party – both major players in the 2024 elections – declared R3.2 million and just R380 555, respectively, in the entire 2023/24 cycle. These low figures raise red flags about undeclared funding and enforcement loopholes. With municipal elections looming in 2026 and campaign activity ramping up, political donations are expected to increase – but transparency may decrease if the president enacts the Parliamentary resolution. Despite tight finances, no increase in public party funding has been approved for 2025/26, making parties more dependent on private backers. Yet, without robust regulation, civil society fears the system is becoming more opaque and vulnerable to undue influence. Total 2024/25 declared donations : R231 million : R231 million Top Q4 donor : Naspers (R6 million combined to ANC and DA) : Naspers (R6 million combined to ANC and DA) Donation threshold (pending change) : R100 000 → R200 000 : R100 000 → Annual cap (pending change): R15 million → R30 million Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.