Latest news with #overspending
Zawya
11-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Correctional Services Committee Raises Concern About Department's Projected R1.4 Billion Over-Expenditure
The Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services has raised its concerns about the Department of Correctional Services' (DCS) over-expenditure, which is projected to reach R1.4 billion. Yesterday, the committee heard that the department's year-to-date expenditure for the period ending 31 December 2024 is R21,6 billion (78%), while projected annual expenditure is R29,2 billion against the adjusted budget of R27,8 billion, which will result in projected overspending of R1,4 billion. The committee was briefed by the DCS on its second and third quarter performance report for the 2024/25 financial year. The projected overspending is due to a cost-of-living adjustment, effected in April 2024. In addition, the capital budget is underfunded by R222 million, constraining infrastructure upgrades and maintenance. Food costs have also surged, driven not only by inflation and a growing inmate population, but also by the rising number of foreign nationals housed in correctional facilities. The current budget is overspent due to rising municipal tariffs for electricity, water and sanitation, which have escalated above the consumer price index, creating further strain on the already stretched Goods and Services budget. The DCS also indicated that it faces fixed, inflexible costs for public–private partnership facilities, limiting room for reprioritisation. Additionally, the devolution of maintenance responsibilities from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to DCS without a corresponding increase in the accommodation charges allocation has left a funding gap of R154 million. The information and technology branch's budget in the DCS is also severely constrained, hampering efforts to modernise digital infrastructure and cybersecurity, the committee was informed. Committee Chairperson Ms Kgomotso Anthea Ramolobeng said: 'Of course, we raised concerns about this trend. It is worrying although the factors for such overspending have been placed before us. We urged the department to tighten its belt, like using for example offender labour wherever possible in order to cut cost and that will result in a transfer of skills.' The committee heard that the DCS has implemented measures to curb projected over-expenditure of its budget vote by appointing a committee that is responsible for monitoring expenditure on a weekly basis. 'We noted these interventions and hope that the corrective measures will bear fruit. We will need a report detailing progress regarding those measures,' emphasised Ms Ramolobeng. The DCS also reported that it has had 29 unnatural deaths in its facilities out of an inmate population of 160 353. Ms Ramolobeng said the committee has on numerous occasions raised concerns about inconsistencies in reporting between the DCS and Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services on the number of unnatural deaths. 'Both parties need to sit down and come up with a way forward of how to address this reporting deficit. We want the DCS to submit a report to us following that sit-down meeting,' she said. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
BBC News
11-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Peterborough City Council 'not out of the woods' after overspend
A council that overspent by £5m last year said it would be "crucial" to avoid a repeat occurrence this time City Council said it exceeded its £220m net revenue budget in the 2024 to 2025 financial year due to challenges such as high interest rates and delays in selling off a report being presented to councillors on 17 June, the authority said the coming financial year was going to be "difficult and challenging".It said: "Despite the improvements made, the council isn't out of the woods yet." The authority is currently in the process of selling assets to pay off debts, having already sold a football stadium, shopping centre and farmland in recent expected to bring in £23.7m from asset sales last year but only received £10.3m after a delay involving the sale of a "large asset". The report said the council had been working to reduce spending last year by reviewing how it used agency staff and only spending where highlighted "significant pressures" in some areas, including in children's social care, where a £3.2m overspend was put down to a significant rise in the number and cost of said there had been a rise in the number of homeless people needing temporary accommodation, costing £1.7m more than expected, with 117 people in B&Bs in December services contributed to a £1.7m overspend and high interest rates, coupled with delays in selling off assets, added £1.9m to borrowing costs. 'Financial shocks' These areas were partially offset by other areas where the council underspent or made savings, but still left a £5m council warned that its reserves were lower than required as a result, meaning it would be less able to respond to "financial shocks or an emergency".Reserves have dropped from £70m at the end of 2023 to £20.6m at the end of council said it had made improvements in a number of areas including in-sourcing services and reviewing or closing council-owned have been asked to note the council's financial position at the meeting on 17 June. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
11-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Young Aussie woman exposes the brutal reality of using Afterpay
A young Aussie has exposed the dark reality of 'buy now, pay later' services after she spent an eye-watering $19,000 using Afterpay in just two years. Hobart woman Shyneka Long, 21, was so horrified by her Afterpay 'addiction' she made a TikTok video urging others to check what they were spending. 'This is your sign to literally delete Afterpay or go and look at your bank statements and see how much you've spent on Afterpay in the last two years,' she said. 'I could've bought a car... I'm really about to expose myself but in the last two years I have spent $19,000 on Afterpay. What the f***. 'I could have had a f***ing car. Is there an addiction anonymous for Afterpay? Because where do I sign my whole family up. This is bad, this is so bad.' Afterpay is a popular buy now, pay later (BNPL) service that allows customers to pay for items in four interest-free installments over six weeks. But Ms Long wasn't the only one guilty of overspending using BNPL services with others quick to confess their Afterpay sins in the comments of her video. 'I'm going to hold your hand when I tell you, mine since 2023 is $62,815,' one said. 'I think I might take the cake - $122,502,' a second commented. 'My mum had to get Centrelink loans to pay hers back,' a third said. '45k in 2 years, but I've had it since like 2018.. I'm actually ashamed,' a fourth wrote. 'Omg I just checked mine and thought I'd be the same but it's only at $5,885. I'll keep the app,' another shared. 'I got banned from Afterpay when I bought too much and couldn't pay it all off on time, eventually paid it all just way later than they wanted,' a woman commented. Others shared their advice for keeping BNPL spending at a minimum. 'I have a rule for Afterpay: only one at a time, and always wait a month before buying something new/starting a new one,' one person wrote. 'Afterpay can be a really good tool for getting things you want. I've been investing in slow fashion with Afterpay + stuff I've needed like quality luggage etc,' a second said. Data collected in late 2024 found (BNPL) services like Afterpay, Klarna or Zip Pay were used by two in five Australians in the last six months. They are the most popular credit product in Australia, behind credit cards and home loans. Research found Millennials make up 38 per cent of users of BNPL services followed by Gen Z at 13 per cent. Up to 15 per cent of Gen Z BNPL customers didn't believe lenders would check their credit score as part of eligibility for loans. New laws to shift the regulations of BNPL services in line with credit cards came into effect on Tuesday. The new laws require BNPL providers to hold an Australian credit licence, perform mandatory checks on customers' credit scores and financial status, and enforce stricter spending limits. Customers with existing BNPL accounts will not be required to undergo a credit check, only new customers. BNPL loans will also have a larger impact on credit scores, a status used to check eligibility for credit cards, personal loans and mortgages. Moving forward, late and skipped repayments will lower customers' credit scores and outstanding repayments will be considered as debt.
Fox News
05-06-2025
- Business
- Fox News
'KILL BILL': Elon Musk's conservative evolution puts him at odds with Trump on key legislation
Tech tycoon and former DOGE chief Elon Musk's political evolution has shifted to the right after he jumped into the election fray as a staunch ally of President Donald Trump on the campaign trail and ultimately as the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk's conservative genesis on the public stage has put him at odds with the president as he rails against the One Big Beautiful Bill, which Trump has touted as legislation that would translate into big tax breaks for Americans across the pay brackets and subsequently called on Republican lawmakers to swiftly pass it. Musk, who is considered America's wealthiest resident, is publicly criticizing the sweeping legislation just days after his departure from DOGE and the federal government. The "big beautiful bill" is currently making its way through the Senate and would fund Trump's agenda, including strengthening border policies and ending taxes on overtime and tips. "I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore," Musk posted to X Tuesday. "This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it." He added the next day that the bill's "immense level of overspending will drive America into debt slavery!" This was followed by a stream of X posts calling on Americans to encourage their lawmakers to "kill the bill" as well as a "KILL BILL" meme of the 2003 movie with the same name. Musk has found himself aligned with members of the House Freedom Caucus, which is considered the most conservative voting bloc within the lower chamber, as well as staunch fiscal conservatives in the Senate, such as Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and Wisconsin Sen. Ron. Johnson, who have publicly rebuked the legislation. Paul said Monday that its potential passage would increase the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, calling the bill a "terrible idea" that bucks conservative ideas. The national debt currently stands at about $36 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office, an independent government agency, published a June report that the bill would increase the deficit by $2.4 trillion throughout the next decade. "I want the tax cuts to be permanent. But at the same time, I don't wanna raise the debt ceiling five trillion," Paul told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. "The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this." Trump has admonished the criticism from fiscally conservative Republicans, arguing that Paul, for example, was on the verge of siding with the "Radical Left Democrats" and encouraging a 68% tax hike on Americans if he votes against the legislation. "Rand will be playing right into the hands of the Democrats, and the GREAT people of Kentucky will never forgive him! The GROWTH we are experiencing, plus some cost cutting later on, will solve ALL problems. America will be greater than ever before!" Trump posted to Truth Social Saturday of Paul. Musk, in an earlier public rebuke of the bill, remarked that he was "disappointed" it passed the House in May as it "undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that Trump is aware of Musk's views on the bill, but that the legislation still has the president's full endorsement, when asked by Fox News' Peter Doocy about Musk's X post claiming the bill was a "disgusting abomination." "The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill," Leavitt said. "It doesn't change the president's opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill and he's sticking to it." Leavitt also pushed back in the briefing Tuesday that the Congressional Budget Office's prognostication for the bill is likely wrong, citing a history of missing the mark on budget predictions. "The Congressional Budget Office has been historically wrong," Leavitt said. "In fact, they predicted the Trump tax cuts from the president's first term in 2017. Their prediction was wrong by half a trillion. Those tax cuts had nearly a half trillion dollars more of revenue than the Congressional Budget Office scored. And I would also point out, I don't think many people know this, there hasn't been a single staffer in the entire Congressional Budget Office that has contributed to a Republican since the year 2000. But guess what? There have been many staffers within the Congressional Budget Office who have contributed to Democrat candidates and politicians every single cycle." House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., also slammed the report for employing static scoring as opposed to dynamic scoring, which in "layman's terms is they don't give us any credit for the extraordinary economic growth that will be spurred along by this bill." Static scoring evaluates the fiscal impact of a policy change without considering how the change will affect the economy overall, while dynamic scoring broadens the scope of a study to include how a policy change would affect the economy. A White House official told Fox News Digital that Musk and Trump have historically seen eye-to-eye on political issues more than they differ, adding they continue to share many political views when asked if Musk has gone further to the right than Trump since his work within the administration. Trump spoke publicly about Musk's criticisms Thursday from the Oval Office during a meeting with the chancellor of Germany, remarking he was "disappointed" with Musk's rebukes. "I'm very disappointed, because Elon knew the inner workings of this bill better than almost anybody sitting here, better than you people," Trump said in the Oval Office. "He knew everything about it. He had no problem with it. All of a sudden he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out that we're going to have to cut the EV mandate, because that's billions and billions of dollars, and it really is unfair." "Elon and I had a great relationship," Trump added. "I don't know if we will anymore." Musk's leadership of DOGE came to an official end May 28 as his time as a special government employee ran dry of its 130 predetermined days. While in the role, Musk became a common target of liberal ire as he led efforts to remove fraud, corruption and overspending from federal departments and agencies across the government, which included cutting government programs and mass layoffs. All in, the Department of Government Efficiency touts that it has saved an estimated $180 billion through initiatives such as grant or contract cancellations, workforce reductions or stamping out fraud. Musk's efforts on DOGE have been celebrated by conservatives and Republicans, who frequently campaign on cutting government fat. "It is time to cut red tape, hold the unchecked federal workforce accountable, ensure programs are efficient, & work with @DOGE to tackle waste, fraud, & abuse," House Oversight Chair James Comer, R-Ky., Comer posted on X in December 2024 ahead of DOGE's official launch. "Iowans elected me with a mandate to cut Washington's pork!" Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said in December 2024. "From billion-dollar boondoggles to welfare for politicians and trillion-dollar slush funds, my decade-long investigations have exposed levels of abuse that are almost too insane to believe." The tech billionaire behind Tesla and Space X previously described himself as a Democrat and centrist before making a public political shift to the right amid Trump's run for the presidency and inauguration – including repeatedly taking stances that fall in line with conservative ideology. Musk endorsed Trump for the presidency in July 2024, after Trump faced his first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. He later joined the political fray through campaign events promoting Trump's candidacy in key battleground states. Before Trump's win, Musk railed from the campaign trail that the federal government had become bloated with overspending and red tape that he said hampers private sector innovation. "Tomorrow, I will tell the story of how SpaceX was forced by the government to kidnap seals, put earphones on them and play sonic boom sounds to see if they seemed upset," Musk posted to X in October 2024, teasing he would elaborate on his government overregulation experiences from a campaign event. Trump touted during the election cycle that Musk would likely serve as his "Secretary of Cost-Cutting" if he won re-election, teeing up fanfare around Musk's anticipated efforts to take a hatchet to the federal government's budget. Musk's political evolution, most notably when it comes to fiscal issues, followed the tech tycoon touting in 2018 on X, "True socialism seeks greatest good for all." He added in 2020 that "socially," he is "very liberal," continuing that he is "economically right of center, maybe, or center," the New York Times previously reported. In addition to slamming the "big beautiful bill" in recent days, Musk has posted a handful of X messages celebrating free market champion Milton Friedman and beloved conservative economist Thomas Sowell. As Trump's tariff policies were rolled out in April, Musk posted a video clip of Friedman explaining that an item as simple as a pencil is the result of free market economics and supply chains across the world. Musk shared the video with no caption. "Literally thousands of people cooperated to make this pencil," Friedman, who died in 2006, was seen saying in the video. "People who don't speak the same language, who practice different religions, who might hate one another if they ever met. When you go down the store and buy this pencil, you are, in effect, trading a few minutes of your time for a few seconds of the time of all those thousands of people." "The operation of the free market is so essential, not only to promote productive efficiency, but even more to foster harmony and peace among the peoples of the world," he said. Musk also recently shared a quote from Sowell on the history of slavery in the U.S. "It's one of many evils that the Left tries to localize when it's a universal evil,'" Sowell was seen saying in a video post on X that was reshared by Musk on Jan. 11 with the caption "True." Musk also doubled down on strong endorsements of the Second Amendment while on the campaign trail, posting on X in October 2024 that "tyrannical government" works to take guns from citizens in an effort to snuff out free speech. "The right to bear arms is there to protect free speech and stop a tyrannical government from taking your rights away! That's why the first thing that all tyrants do is disarm the people, just like Chavez did when he was first elected. After that, no more real elections in Venezuela," Musk posted to his X account in October 2024. Musk had previously praised America's Second Amendment, including in 2022 when he said he "strongly (believes) that the right to bear arms is an important safeguard against potential tyranny of government." His comments while on the campaign trail rallying support for Trump, however, found renewed praise among conservatives in 2024 as they found additional common ground with the tech billionaire. DOGE is still operating following Musk's departure. The temporary cross-departmental organization will be dissolved on July 4, 2026, according to Trump's executive order that established the organization in January.
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Elon Musk accuses Trump of driving America into 'debt slavery'
Elon Musk is going all-in on his war with President Donald Trump over his massive spending proposal. The billionaire tech giant and former 'first buddy' once glued to Trump's side bombastically claimed overnight that Trump is plunging the U.S. into 'debt slavery' in an escalation of his war with the president. 'This immense level of overspending will drive America into debt slavery!' he insisted. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed the House last month but is now held up in the Senate where some Republicans agree with Musk's criticism of the legislation. While Musk opened up the pathway for criticism earlier this month, he really began tearing into his former best friend with a series of posts on X Tuesday and Wednesday. He slammed pro-MAGA lawmakers in Congress who voted for the 'disgusting abomination' legislation. He said enough was enough in another Tuesday post where he claimed: 'Mammoth spending bills are bankrupting America!' Around 2 a.m. on Wednesday morning, Musk continued his tirade on his social media platform. He also reposted a series of tweets where Musk aligned himself with Republican Sen. Ran Paul of Kentucky, who has been vocal about his opposition to the Big Beautiful Bill. 'I've been pretty consistent in my time in the Senate: I oppose deficit spending—no matter which party is in charge. If we don't get serious about reigning in the debt, the next generation will pay the price,' Paul wrote in an X post that Musk reposted to his page. 'Interest payments already consume 25% of all government revenue,' Musk wrote on X around 2:30 a.m. EST on Wednesday. The Tesla and SpaceX boss continued: If the massive deficit spending continues, there will only be money for interest payments and nothing else! No social security, no medical, no defense … nothing.'
