
Parliament ready for third budget 2025
It follows the setting aside of the Fiscal Framework approved in Parliament.
WATCH: Discussion | Budget 3.0 to be tabled in May
It included a 0.5-point VAT increase. without the tax hike, Godongwana warns there is a R75-billion shortfall.
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The Citizen
4 hours ago
- The Citizen
‘Barrelling towards collapse': Concerns mount as Godongwana puts pressure on Morero to fix Joburg's finances
The finance minister's intervention should not be taken lightly, according to the DA. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has given Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero a two-week deadline to address the city's escalating financial troubles. The City of Joburg continues to struggle financially, despite an increased budget of R89 billion for the 2025/2026 financial year. Adding to the crisis, the metropolitan municipality has been without a Finance MMC since African Independent Congress (AIC) councillor Margaret Arnolds vacated the position a month ago following her re-election as council speaker. Godongwana demands action from Morero over City of Joburg's finances The situation has become so dire that Godongwana sent a strongly worded letter to Morero on 30 July, reprimanding the mayor for failure to address unnecessary spending and repeated non-compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA). The municipality incurred R1.4 billion in unauthorised expenditure, R22 billion in irregular expenditure, and R705 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure in the last fiscal year. ALSO READ: Joburg mayor Dada Morero survives motion of no confidence According to the Sunday Times, Godongwana has set a 14 day deadline for Morero to propose a plan addressing the financial issues and to hold accountable those responsible for the mismanagement. The letter warns that failure to act may lead to National Treasury invoking Section 216(2) of the Constitution, which would allow the department to withhold grant funding from the city. DA warns of collapse The Democratic Alliance (DA) has expressed concern over the developments, emphasising that the minister's warning was 'no empty threat' and should not be taken lightly. 'Johannesburg's R89 billion budget is funded through a mix of grants, loans, revenue collection and conditional grants. 'Conditional grants, which form a significant portion of the city's funding, can only be spent on what they are intended for. 'If Treasury pulls back or suspends these funds, as the minister warns in his letter, the city's ability to deliver the little basic services it is currently able to deliver, will collapse entirely,' DA Joburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku said in a statement on Sunday. READ MORE: ActionSA-ANC slams Zille's plans for Joburg: 'They do not believe in black excellence' Kayser-Echeozonjoku claimed that the DA had consistently warned both Morero and the national about the 'financial rot' in Joburg. 'The DA has sent letters to the National Treasury, outlining that those heading up key departments were not doing their jobs, and warning of a total lack of consequence management in Joburg. 'Leaving the ANC in Joburg to do as they please will now come back to bite residents. We are pleased, however, to see that the minister of finance agreed with the DA's summation of what's been going on,' she said. She also warned that the city is 'barrelling towards collapse under the ANC, faster than ever before'. 'The ANC has proven, time and again, that it cannot govern Johannesburg responsibly. 'The city's finances are in freefall, service delivery is grinding to a halt, and now the very funding that keeps Johannesburg afloat is under threat.' Auditor-General flags long-standing issues Earlier this year, the Auditor-General raised red flags over Johannesburg's ongoing failure to improve its audit processes. The official from the Auditor-General's Gauteng office revealed in Parliament that the city has faced long-standing issues related to financial health, including poor debt collection, declining revenue, and recurring compliance problems. In addition, the Auditor-General expressed concern over inadequate investment in infrastructure, pointing out that the lack of funding for both maintenance and new projects has had a negative impact on service delivery. City of Joburg's 'bomb squad' Morero in June appointed a special 'bomb squad' team to address the city's ongoing service delivery issues. The 12-member team, led by ANC veteran Snuki Zikalala, will serve for the next two years. The unit's objectives include deployig rapid response teams to areas experiencing service delivery crises and provide oversight for the mayor. NOW READ: Morero's vision to make Johannesburg a world-class African city


Eyewitness News
4 hours ago
- Eyewitness News
Treasury threatens to stop funding Joburg municipality if it doesn't get its finances in order
JOHANNESBURG - National Treasury has threatened to stop grant funding to the Johannesburg municipality if it doesn't get its finances in order. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has written to the Joburg Mayor Dada Morero, saying he needs to do more to curb the city's wasteful, irregular and unauthorised expenditure. The letter, dated the 30th of July, has sounded alarm bells among the opposition in the city. Like most municipalities, the City of Johannesburg receives grant funding from the National Treasury. This funding goes towards capital projects like roads, water and electricity infrastructure. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said he's unhappy how some of these funds are being spent by the city. The Minister highlights the fact that in the 2023/24 financial year, the city racked up over 22 billion in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure. Democratic Alliance (DA) Johannesburg caucus leader Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku said the city cannot afford to lose any funding. 'Funding that keeps our Johannesburg's finances and services running. Without it, our R89billion budget will collapse and residents will pay the ultimate price.' The DA said Mayor Dada Morero is not the right man to lead Johannesburg.

IOL News
a day ago
- IOL News
Why Parliament is hesitant to spend R39m on the dome's furnishing
Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson has put his foot down on spending too much on the internal fittings for the dome tent. Image: File The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) has requested more time to finalise the designs for the internal fitting of the dome that is used as an alternative venue for the sitting of Parliament. This comes after the department and Parliament officials met last month to review the scope and cost of internal fitting to be installed in the dome. 'The review includes omission of three committee rooms with their fittings, omission of the suspended ceilings, reduction of dry walling and the raised floor area among other things,' reads the report containing responses prepared for the Joint Standing Committee on Financial Management of Parliament. The dome, erected earlier this year, has not been in use since May to allow installation of internal fittings that are scheduled to be completed in September. 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 ✕ The department has estimated the scope and specifications for the internal fit-out of the dome at R39 822 957. The dome is situated on a parking lot across Parliament on the corner of Roeland and Plein Streets in Cape Town. The report said once the fitting were completed, the dome will boast a 500-seater chamber and a 280-seater public gallery. There will be a reduced raised floor to cover the chamber and public gallery footprint only, three holding rooms and ablution facilities as well as reliable power supply, internal lighting and plug points for the AV and Broadcasting equipment. Public Works and Infrastructure minister Dan Macpherson said his department has spent R6 277 480 on the transportation and set up of the dome. Macpherson has put his foot down on spending too much on the internal fittings for the dome tent. 'The estimate cost for the upgrading and furnishing of the dome for it to be functional for Parliament's business was R39 822 957.81, which is something that I completely reject. 'While this figure includes the purchasing of conference tables, chairs and covers, HVAC, lighting, partitions, generators and an electrical sub-station, we cannot expect South Africans to foot the bill of such proportions.' Macpherson said he was cognisant of the issues MPs raised in relation to the first iteration of the dome, particularly the sound system and acoustics. 'However, due to the dome essentially being a tent, it will never be as perfect as a brick-and-mortar structure. As such, there comes a point where additions to the structure will only yield marginal improvement,' he said. Macpherson said he has met national Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza and agreed that officials should meet in order to discuss the bare minimum needed in order for the dome to function properly without inflating the costs to exorbitant levels. While Parliament is battling to find a venue for physical sittings, the City of Cape Town deemed it expensive and uncomfortable, Parliament has proposed three options to sittings for special events. One of the options is hybrid meetings that will not incur additional costs as MPs have allowance for data. 'The downside of this option is that some members may face connectivity challenges, and it does not cater for special events such as State of the Nation Address and the Budget Speech.' The second option is hybrid meetings with the hiring of venues for special events. The report to joint committee states that hybrid meetings with planned venue hire for special events was projected to cost R33.8 m for venues, and R 14.2m for AV and broadcasting equipment. 'This option has predictability, but the downside is that it has high expenditure on hiring and will not yield any assets for long-term ownership and usage,' read the reports. The third option is the use of the dome after completion of internal fit-out. 'The advantage of this option is that DPWI will own the equipment in the long term.' The report said while the completion date of January 2026 was presented by DPWI, the contractual completion date will only be known once the tender was awarded. Parliament stated that the department will advise on the feasibility of the use of the dome after the rebuilding project is complete and that the AV and Broadcasting equipment will be used in Parliament buildings once the dome is decommissioned.