Latest news with #R22-million
Daily Maverick
18-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Nelson Mandela Bay seesaws on rates as council battles to pass 2025/26 budget
The Nelson Mandela Bay Council will, again, try to pass the budget on Wednesday and while smaller increases in tariffs for water and sanitation were promised by mayor Babalwa Lobishe last Thursday, it wasn't included in the draft budget. However, by 5pm on Tuesday, a circular indicating that there were conditions to the reduced water and sanitation rates arrived with councillors. The Nelson Mandela Bay metro's council will again try on Wednesday to approve the budget for the 2025/26 financial year. Last Thursday, during the council meeting, Mayor Babalwa Lobishe promised a 0.5% reduction in the proposed increases for water and sewage. But in the draft budget received by councillors on Tuesday, it looked like the increase was again set at 5.5% and not at the promised 5%. But last Thursday night, a circular was signed by Nosipho Xhego, the executive director of corporate services in the metro, stating that the proposed reduced increase can only be put into operation if councillors agreed to scrap the city's scarce skills allowance and also agree to an overtime policy based on regulated thresholds. The circular states that the municipality currently does not have an overtime policy, and also pays more than the regulated thresholds, and implementing these could save R22-million in the current financial year. Other increases remain unchanged, including an increase in property rates by 5%. The proposed increase in electricity prices stands at 12.8%, which is 0.6% higher than the Eskom price. The electricity department is running at a loss of more than a billion and is spending more money on buying electricity than what it makes selling it – because of theft and meter tampering. Allowing this increase, however, is not a decision that can be taken by council though, as it falls within the mandate of the National Energy Regulator. In 2022, the Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber successfully applied for an order from the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Gqeberha, indicating that Nersa must link price increases to a cost of supply and also was not allowed to pass on municipal inefficiencies to the consumer. Werner Senekal from the Democratic Alliance, the official opposition in the metro, said the budget's projections were off and it was based on a 76% collection rate while the average collection rate is 72%. He added that the Integrated Development Plan, setting out ward-based priorities and the budget, also was not in lockstep. By law, the budget must be passed by 1 July, otherwise the metro's council can be dissolved. In the latest circular sent on Tuesday afternoon, officials admitted that there must be better planning and also mechanisms in place to include ward councillors in decision-making around ward budgets. The money allocated to ward budgets in the revised budget, in comparison to last week, has increased by just over R44-million and, in comparison to the first draft budget in April, has increased by R452-million. Ward 1 and 2 in the metro, both in need of critical electrical infrastructure work, both received R4.8-million and R2-million more in their capital budgets. Ward 16, which includes a large section of the metro's manufacturing industry, received a R14-million boost in the new budget.
IOL News
15-05-2025
- Automotive
- IOL News
Unveiling Nampo: Mahindra's innovative presence at South Africa's agricultural show
When the President and Vice President make an effort to go to Bothaville in the Free State to attend on two separate days, then you know it's more than just a casual gathering of commercial farmers. If you've never heard of Nampo, well, then you're missing out on the biggest agricultural show in the Southern Hemisphere. Big in every way Last year, during the four days of the event, more than 200 aeroplanes and 75 helicopters landed at the little airstrip, making it one of the busiest airspaces in the country, and almost 87 000 people passed through the gates. That's just a few thousand short of a full FNB Stadium. Financial institutions and big corporations have permanent structures and there's apparently a waiting list of many hundreds that want to be there. It's more than just an agricultural show with all its ancillary products, it's an impressive gathering of a cross section of all South Africans. Trying to walk the 40 hectares display area in a day is impossible but when you stroll through there are implements the size of a town house selling for R22-million and you have no idea what it does. That's apart from the tractors and other motorised implements that feature some of the most high-tech digital features in the world. It's also a showcase of virtually every vehicle manufacturer in the country, looking to expose their products to a captive audience. Mahindra presence It's no surprise, then, that Mahindra was there with their array of vehicles on display. They've even built a permanent structure on the aptly named Mahindra Lane. While most of us know the marque for their bakkies and SUVs, they are also the world's largest manufacturer of tractors by volume, some of them on display at Nampo. "Mahindra started its journey in South Africa among the farming community, knowing full well that if it could prove its toughness and value for money to this segment, then the rest would follow," said Rajesh Gupta, CEO of Mahindra South Africa.
