Category: Africa

Tourism is a vehicle for creating jobs, destroying poverty and creating inclusive economic growth and sustainability, says Deputy Minister of Tourism Maggie Sotyu.

“The nation has given this Government of National Unity a clear mandate to turn South Africa into a successful tourism nation and to unite all of us – citizens, visitors and tourists alike – in the joy of discovering our country, discovering each other, and in the shared hope of equality for all,” said the Deputy Minister.

She was speaking at the tabling of the department’s Budget Vote in Cape Town on Tuesday.

Sotyu said sustainable SMMEs are key drivers of inclusive growth and poverty eradication; therefore, economic growth without transformation entrenches exclusion and transformation without growth is unsustainable

The department, together with South African Tourism, champions conditions for sustainability. 

“To lower the many barriers that inhibit SMMEs’ entry into the hotel industry, for example, the department has a programme called the Tourism Grading Support Programme (TGSP) which continues to subsidise grading costs. 

“In financial year 2024/25, the TGSP supported 2 970 establishments, encouraging active participation in the TGCSA’s grading system. These efforts contribute to the standardisation of service excellence, helping South Africa to remain competitive in global tourism markets.”

To sustain profits and benefit the local economy, the department will continue to support the tourism industry towards reaching the threshold of local development.

“Some big hotels do not appear in the list of graded establishments on the website of the Tourism Grading Council but still ‘sell’ themselves as 5-star hotels. 

“To ensure that the grading system remains world-class and relevant to our local environment in South Africa, we have initiated the Grading Criteria Review which will be finalised this financial year. 

“Grading of tourist establishments that host international events is a crucial factor in the sustainability of economic growth and job creation. 

“It is for this reason the South African National Conventions Bureau (SANCB), through the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sub-sector, will focus on capitalising on previous successes to accelerate growth through the consolidation of multiple national efforts when bidding for international meetings.”

The secured conferences will also contribute to the regional spread of business events. 

Given that tourism is a highly labour-intensive industry, people will rightfully expect to see significant local employment within these successfully bided international conferences. 

The Deputy Minister said the biggest international conference to be held in South Africa later this year, the G20, will be a catalyst for this yearned-for job creation. 

“The G20 presents an opportunity to showcase the nation’s unparalleled hospitality, world-class infrastructure, quality-assured accommodations, and experiences, as well as its ability to host global events. 

“As the department, we are very committed to ensure that no one is left behind on the knowledge, importance and benefit of this G20,” said Sotyu. – SAnews.gov.za

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The Gauteng Department of Health has announced the temporarily closure of the Rustervaal Clinic for safety reasons emanating from infrastructural challenges.

“During the temporary closure, patients are advised to access health services from neighbouring public health facilities. Furthermore, there will be daily transportation via the Gauteng Scheduled Emergency Transport (G-SET) to and from Rustervaal Clinic to Market Avenue Clinic in Vereeniging between Monday to Friday at 8 am,” said the department.

The clinic, which serves the community of Emfuleni, including Rochnee, Springcol and the Ramaphosa informal settlement closed on Monday.

“The Department of Employment and Labour has issued a prohibition notice preventing the use of the Rustervaal Clinic until the identified infrastructural challenges (such as the dilapidated sections of building, collapsing ceiling in one of the rooms, poor electrical network in another section) are addressed. 

“The Gauteng Department of Health affirms its commitment to addressing the infrastructural challenges at Rustervaal Clinic as part of the broader Infrastructure Revitalisation Plan that is underway across all five health districts in the province,” said the department in a statement on Tuesday.

The plan includes not only rehabilitating existing infrastructure, but also constructing new facilities to meet the increasing demand. 

“It is not yet clear how long the clinic will be closed. This will be subject to a full assessment of the facility and budget reallocation. However, as part of the commitment to expand access to healthcare services for the growing community of Emfuleni, work is already underway to convert Johan Heyns Community Health Centre (CHC) into a district hospital. 

“This will improve access to quality health care by expanding primary health care and specialist services to both in-patients and outpatients, ultimately reducing the volume of referrals to Sebokeng Regional Hospital.”

The provincial department assured the community of Emfuleni that the required infrastructural upgrades at the clinic is receiving urgent attention and appeals for cooperation as patients are diverted to nearby facilities. – SAnews.gov.za

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South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner, Edward Kieswetter, has extended the due date for EMP201 filing and payment to 14 July 2025.

EMP201 is a tax return that is submitted by an employer to SARS on a monthly basis.

The extension was granted following the higher than expected volumes that were experienced on Monday which caused SARS systems to take longer to respond than expected. 

“We recognise that some employers experienced delays in submitting their monthly EMP201’s and as a result we will consider not imposing penalties and interest in relation to employers who would otherwise have been compliant.

“This process of payment is governed by paragraphs 2(1) and 14(2) of the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, which provides for the payment of Pay As You Earn (PAYE), Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) and Skills Development Levy (SDL), and the submission of the EMP201 form within a period of seven days after the end of the month during which the amounts that were withheld from remuneration paid to employees,” SARS said.

In terms of section 3 of the Income Tax Act, the Commissioner for SARS has the discretionary power to extend the respective due dates. 

“In the exercise of that discretionary authority, SARS Commissioner has extended the due date for filing and payment be extended to Monday, 14 July 2025.

“The practical implication of this decision is that SARS will not impose penalties and interest in relation to employers who would otherwise have been compliant. Taxpayers are encouraged to submit their EMP201 returns before 14 July to avoid late penalties,” the revenue service said. – SAnews.gov.za

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National Treasury has been allocated R91.835 billion over the medium-term, with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) receiving the largest component of the transfers.

Tabling National Treasury’s Budget Vote in Parliament, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the department’s budget (excluding direct charges) over the medium-term is R91.835 billion, which is an average growth rate of 6.2% from 2024/25 – 2027/28.

“The largest component is for transfers to SARS, which is allocated R45.760 billion (or 49.8%) of the department’s budget for operations and capital projects over the medium-term.

“This is an increase of R8 billion of the SARS baseline compared to the 2024 Estimate of Expenditure. Part of this increase is to improve effectiveness in revenue collection by enhancing their ability to collect debt through better systems, increasing staff capacity and modernising their processes to establish e-invoicing for VAT, instant payment systems and upgrades of customs infrastructure,” Godongwana said on Tuesday.

Last week, National Treasury published monthly debt collection data from SARS for the first time to monitor progress and improve transparency.

The budget allocation per economic classification over the medium-term is as follows:

• R3.422 billion on compensation of employees;
• R6.983 billion on goods and services;
• R78.554 billion on transfers and subsidies;
• R89 million on payment of capital assets, and
• and R2.786 billion on payment for financial assets.

Sustainable public finances

National Treasury’s Annual Performance Plan 2025/26 sets out clear and ambitious programmes to realise its goals of job creation, lowering poverty and greater inclusion. 

“In terms of restoring sustainability and the impact of our public finances, a review of how the government spends money has been central to our policy efforts. To achieve all of our national priorities we need to realise much greater efficiencies on the spending side,” the Minister said.

As such there are new reviews that government plans to conduct, namely:

• An audit of ghost workers in the public service using a data-driven approach that links administrative and financial databases to identify bogus and non-existent employees and immediately remove them from the system.
• An infrastructure conditional grant review. This will assess why provinces and municipalities underspend, why projects are not delivered on time and within budget, and where relevant, why the quality of the deliverables is poor; and
• A review of the remuneration of executives and board members of public entities. The aim is to develop a standardised framework for all schedule three public entities, based on their mandates, areas of influence, and the complexity of a given organisation.

Financial Action Task Force grey list

With South Africa completing all 22 recommended action items outlined by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the Minister stressed that the country must continue to strengthen the laws to fight illicit and corrupt financing.

“Lastly, I am happy to say that our endeavors, not just the National Treasury’s but the government’s as a whole, to remove South Africa from the Financial Action Task Force grey list, are succeeding,” he said.

South Africa was placed on the FATF grey list due to deficiencies in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing (AML/CFT) regime.

The FATF recently confirmed that South Africa has substantially completed its action plan and warrants an on-site assessment. 

The on-site assessment will be to verify that the implementation of AML/CFT reforms has begun and is being sustained, and that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation in the future.

The on-site visit will take place before the next FATF Plenary, and, if the outcome of the visit is positive, the FATF will delist South Africa from the greylist at its next Plenary in October 2025. Preparations for the on-site visit have commenced.

“A General Laws Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing Bill, to further improve our ability to combat money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing, is being finalised for another round of public comment, and tabling in Parliament in the third quarter of 2025.

“Similarly, the National Treasury has made substantial progress implementing the State Capture Commission recommendations through multiple concrete actions. SARS investigations have recovered R4.8 billion in unpaid taxes, while professional bodies like the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) have imposed consequence management including disbarment,” the Minister said.

The Financial Intelligence Centre launched the ‘Enablers Project’ with law enforcement to trace state capture fund flows, and a 10-year ban was imposed on Bain & Co (currently under litigation).

“Critically, a central register now tracks dismissed officials and those who have resigned during their disciplinary processes across all government spheres,” Godongwana said. – SAnews.gov.za

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