Latest news with #R410
The South African
9 hours ago
- The South African
These are the top scams travellers should be aware of
A recent study by Compare the Market has revealed the most common tourist scams worldwide – and how much money travellers typically lose. According to the Daily Mail and the study, these scams range from dodgy taxis or fake booking sites. Here's what to look out for when travelling abroad this year… Topping the list are overpriced taxi fares, with nearly a third (32%) of travellers reporting they've been overcharged. The average loss per trip is around £17 or R400. The best way to avoid this? Book your ride in advance, preferably through your hotel or a trusted ride-hailing app, and agree on the fare before setting off. Coming in second place are street sellers who claim items are free, until they demand payment once you accept. Others sell counterfeit goods advertised as genuine leather, silk, or other luxury materials. Around 20% of travellers fall for this, the study found, losing an average of £17.39 or R410 each time. The rule of thumb? If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Restaurants abroad have been known to inflate final bills, adding hidden charges or outright overpricing items. Almost one in five (18%) travellers surveyed say they've been hit with an inflated bill. A quarter contested it and paid less, but over half paid in full, losing an average of £22.58 or R530 per incident. Always check the bill carefully and don't hesitate to question suspicious charges. Online booking fraud is a growing problem. Around 12% of holidaymakers admit to falling victim to fake accommodation or travel websites, losing an average of £113.30 or R2 700 each time. Always double-check the website URL, read reviews, and use secure payment methods. 5. Phishing emails pretending to be hotels Phishing scams rank fifth, with 11% of travellers clicking on fake emails designed to steal money or personal information. Typically, scammers pose as hotels and request upfront payments. Victims lose an average of £75 or R1 800. When in doubt, contact the hotel directly via official channels before paying. Lastly, money exchange scams remain a risk. Tourists who use unofficial exchange services or unverified ATMs can be short-changed, offered terrible rates, or even have their cards skimmed. About 10% of travellers admitted falling victim, losing an average of £28 or R680. 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.
Eyewitness News
5 days ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
National Assembly passes several dept budgets despite objections from most opposition parties
CAPE TOWN - The National Assembly has managed to pass several department budgets despite objections from most opposition parties. On Wednesday, the National Assembly was voting on each of the 42 departmental budgets as it tries to get the Appropriation Bill over the line at another marathon House sitting at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The bill is the law that gives the government the green light to apportion public funds for departments and government services. ALSO READ • BOSA's Maimane wants Ramaphosa to mandate SIU to probe corruption claims within SAPS • Failure to finalise budget will hurt SA's vulnerable members of society the most - Masondo The first vote to come before members was for the Presidency, which was supported by most parties, who also noted how the Presidency was not an implementing department. Patriotic Alliance (PA) Member of Parliament (MP), Marlon Daniels, urged parties to vote in favour of all budgets to ensure the smooth running of government. "Why must we support all these votes? Simply because the appetite to turn things around in South Africa does not rely on one department only, but cuts across all different departments." Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs committee chairperson, Zweli Mkhize, reminded members of the need to support the R410 billion budget, which supports municipalities. "We have to ensure that there's accountability, consequence management, as well as the turnaround of these municipalities." The voting continues and will wrap up once the final vote for land reform and rural development has been passed.
Daily Maverick
11-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Gauteng schools face utility crisis as department transfers debt burden amid funding shortfalls
Gauteng's no-fee schools face water and electricity cutoffs after the provincial education department abruptly shifted responsibility for unpaid utility bills, leaving already-struggling communities to cover a staggering R300-million debt. Many non-fee-paying schools across Gauteng are facing the threat of having their electricity and water cut off, as the Gauteng Department of Education abruptly reversed its 2024 decision to cover utility bills — offloading more than R300-million in historical municipal debt onto already under-resourced school communities. Earlier this year, the department had committed to paying utility costs for non-fee-paying schools. But after failing to keep up with payments and racking up a massive arrears backlog, the department issued a directive in March stating that, from April 1, all schools would be solely responsible for managing and settling their own municipal accounts. The result: schools have been saddled with old debts they had no role in incurring, with some receiving disconnection warnings for bills dating back more than 90 days — long before the policy shift took effect. In Eldorado Park alone, 34 schools have already been affected. Across the province, in areas like Tshwane, Soweto, and Sedibeng, schools are reporting similar challenges as the scale of the crisis becomes clear. Schools left in crisis Charis Pistorius, a school governing body (SGB) member at Eldomaine Secondary School in Eldorado Park, described the situation as critical. She said some schools hadn't seen a single utility payment from the department for nearly two years, yet were now expected to shoulder full responsibility — including paying off arrears running into hundreds of thousands of rand. She noted that schools had received only about 25% of their annual funding allocations so far. At her school, the math didn't add up: with a government allocation of R410,000 per year and a utility bill of R1-million, they were left with a R690,000 shortfall — with no way to close the gap. Fundraising, she added, was nearly impossible in a community where unemployment hovered at 45%, and families were struggling to survive, let alone support school finances. At Noordgesig High School, SGB member Ravern Martin said they had been ordered to pay more than R500,000 in overdue utility bills. While they managed to pay R27,000 last month, the expected bill for this month could exceed R700,000. Parts of the school remained without electricity, and the administration block had not been fully rehabilitated. Martin stressed that this wasn't just about one school — it was about entire communities being left behind. He argued that if schools were being forced to take over utility responsibilities, the department should write off historical debt to give them a fair starting point. Schools like Cosmo City Junior 1 and Heerengracht Primary had also received disconnection threats. Some were already operating without electricity or water — affecting teaching, hygiene, and safety. A widening problem According to DA Shadow MEC for Education, Sergio Isa Dos Santos, the problem was far more widespread than initially acknowledged. He said he began receiving complaints from schools across Tshwane, Soweto, and Sedibeng — all facing similar issues — prompting his office to submit urgent parliamentary questions to determine the full scale of the crisis. Dos Santos said the Gauteng Education Department improperly invoked Section 21(1)(d) of the South African Schools Act to transfer financial responsibilities to schools without following legal procedures. The act requires that schools undergo a capacity assessment, receive training, and give informed consent before such a transfer can take place. He said none of the affected schools reported receiving such support. 'The department seems to have simply offloaded this burden without due process,' he said. Dos Santos painted a dire picture of the financial toll. Some schools now owed as much as R4.7-million. Many of the outstanding bills were marked '90+ days overdue', reflecting more than three months of non-payment before the schools were even made responsible. 'The reality is that under-resourced schools are being forced to take on massive debts they didn't create,' he said. 'It's completely unjust.' Impact on learners The consequences are already being felt in the classroom. Some schools lack running water and electricity, which is especially disruptive during exam periods. Learners are sitting in dark classrooms, unable to use smartboards, flush toilets, or even see what they're writing. Dos Santos warned that the breakdown of basic services directly undermined education, particularly in communities that were already disadvantaged. He added that the department had not explained why utility bills went unpaid in the first place. In some cases, schools reported abnormally high charges during school holidays, raising concerns about incorrect meter readings or billing errors. Yet, Dos Santos said there was no evidence the department had engaged municipalities to dispute charges or request corrections. No clear answers from the department Gauteng Education MEC Matome Chiloane acknowledged ongoing issues with municipal payments across the province, and that they had made a commitment to clear outstanding municipal accounts for schools. He said the department was working to assist non-fee-paying schools with clearing arrears at a head office level, but insisted that fee-paying schools must cover their own municipal costs. Chiloane emphasised that there was no intention to harm schools, and that the fee-paying designation was a joint decision between school management and SGBs. Once classified as such, these schools were expected to use school fees to supplement government funding. In response to questions from Daily Maverick, the department issued a generic press statement on 28 May 2025 — making no mention of the utilities crisis. Instead, it focused on the delayed opening of Tanganani Primary School in Diepsloot, citing community protests and construction delays. The statement detailed interim solutions at that school, including mobile toilets and water tankers — but offered nothing on the broader issue of disconnections, unpaid bills, or the fate of schools now expected to operate without basic services. DM
TimesLIVE
06-06-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
GNU ministers spent R200m of taxpayers' money on travelling since taking office
Ministers in the government of national unity (GNU) have spent more than R200m on travel expenses since July last year. This was revealed by ActionSA through its GNU performance tracker after receiving replies to parliamentary questions sent to ministers. This week, the party said Deputy President Paul Mashatile and his staff splurged more than R2m on travel expenses for transport and accommodation since last year. In a written reply, Mashatile said he has been on four international trips - to Ireland, Botswana, Zimbabwe and, recently, Japan. A total of R613,214 was spent on flights, R1,235,569 on accommodation and R410,926 for ground transport for all trips. Other costs included laundry services at R8,033 and R51,393 for restaurant services. ActionSA MP Alan Beesley criticised the spending, calling it 'executive indulgence' and 'wasteful expenditure'. 'This sort of wasteful expenditure, an extension of ANC excess now rebranded under the GNU, has become business as usual for the world's most bloated executive,' Beesley said. 'South Africans deserve leadership that puts people before perks and not a R200m travel spree by the world's largest cabinet.' The sport, arts and culture department's travel expenses have also raised concern. Minister Gayton McKenzie said he and his staff undertook 11 international trips costing more than R2m. R164,556 was paid for a trip to Burkina Faso that never took place. 'Not only is this spending exorbitant, but it is riddled with red flags, gaps and inconsistencies. The public paid for flights and accommodation for an event that was abandoned, a textbook case of wasteful expenditure, as defined by the Public Finance Management Act. 'Unless the minister can demonstrate that this loss was unavoidable and efforts were made to recover the funds, this reflects a serious failure of financial oversight and internal control.' ActionSA has introduced the Enhanced Cut Cabinet Perks Bill to address unchecked government spending. 'This bill seeks to slash ministerial perks and restore much-needed fiscal discipline.'
Stuff.tv
05-06-2025
- Stuff.tv
My favourite Ruark Bluetooth speakers just got a huge upgrade
If you'd asked me yesterday what the best Bluetooth bookshelf speakers were, I'd have pointed straight at my MR1 Mk2 setup without blinking. In proper money-where-mouth-is fashion, I've got a set in front of me as I type (which replaced an amp/speaker combo) and another hooked up to the living room telly. But today? Ruark's shattered my pointy certainty by unveiling the shiny new Ruark MR1 Mk3, which will set you back $579/£399 when it rocks up in early July. At a glance, this revamped Ruark system looks reassuringly familiar, with the same friendly vibe and compact footprint. Rather than screaming LOOK AT ME, the Mk3 is all subtle, soft curves that should fit into any office or living room. But there have been some changes. The grilles are now slate grey and charcoal ousts soft grey as a finish, joining walnut. Bevelled edges reduce the design's boxiness. And the speakers have grown a bit, although that's hardly noticeable unless you moonlight as a ruler. (Oh, fine: they're 5mm wider and 10mm deeper, making them H185mm x W135mm x D155mm.) That extra space isn't for show, note – Ruark's used it to pack in some serious upgrades. Amp it up Crack open a Ruark MR1 Mk3 speaker and, well, you'd probably invalidate your warranty. But you would be able to gawp at the Class D amp tech adopted from Ruark's R410, paired with new NS+ bass/mid units and custom 20mm silk dome tweeters. The result, according to Ruark, is more power, more controlled bass, a lucid midrange, exceptional detail, and an audio experience that defies the size of these speakers. But then, Ruark would say that. Still, as someone who, remember, owns two pairs of the Mk2s, I can confirm they punch well above their weight. So unless Ruark's forgotten how to make speakers, you can expect these will be great as well. And Ruark's savvy is surely confirmed when you flip the Mk3 around and spot the connectivity options. There's combined line-in/optical, a dedicated turntable input for vinyl fetishists, subwoofer output (for which Ruark, natch, recommends its own RS1), and a very welcome new USB audio input. Hate cables? AptX HD Bluetooth in the Mk3 handles high-quality, low-latency wireless audio and lets you adjust the volume using your TV remote. So no more fiddling with the tiny zapper that came with the Mk2 and was so small it could conceivably be lost down the back of an atom. Just one more reason, then, to hover over that buy button come July.
