Category: Africa

After considering options for an appropriate fiscal anchor, the government has opted for a principles-based framework that will legally require governing administrations to outline a detailed fiscal plan to ensure debt remains on a sustainable path throughout their term of office.

“This framework is better suited to South Africa’s institutional and economic context and provides the flexibility needed to respond to economic shocks while maintaining fiscal discipline,” National Treasury said in a statement on Thursday.

The National Treasury has been conducting a multi-year process of research to develop proposals for a fiscal anchor for South Africa. 

In this regard, a Macro-Economic Policy Review was published in 2024, outlining the value of committing to a fiscal anchor or rule to ensure fiscal sustainability in a transparent and accountable way. 

“Follow-on from that, a consultation paper was published at the time of the 2025 Budget, which detailed various options for a credible fiscal anchor. 

“Numerous stakeholders have already made submissions in response to this consultation, which form a critical part of the decision-making process going forward,” National Treasury said.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also conducted an assessment of South Africa’s fiscal framework and considered options for the design of a fiscal anchor. 

An IMF mission took place from 9 – 20 September 2024. Following this engagement, a report has now been published, including a detailed technical analysis.

“National Treasury welcomes the IMF’s endorsement of South Africa’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its fiscal framework. The report provides technical guidance on strengthening fiscal risk management, improving public financial management and articulating a clear fiscal strategy. This will inform the government’s work as consultations on strengthening the fiscal framework continue.” –SAnews.gov.za

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The Portfolio Committee on Water and Sanitation has welcomed improvements in the performance of water boards, Lepelle Northern Water and Overberg Water, while warning that persistent misalignment across the water value chain continues to leave some communities without reliable access to water.

The committee is currently reviewing the annual reports of all water boards and this week received briefings from Lepelle Northern Water and Overberg Water.

While the committee commended the governance and operational improvements reported by the two entities, they warned that the positive results are not always reflected in the lived experiences of communities served by the water boards.

Committee Chairperson Leon Basson said the good performance by the water boards is a direct representation of a fractured system, where improvements in the performance of the water boards do not translate into direct positive outcomes for communities.

“In a fully functional system, improvements in the performance of the water boards would lead to a tangible improvement in water access for the people,” Basson said.

Basson said municipalities, which play a key role in the water value chain, continue to place pressure on the system due to high levels of non-revenue water in municipal reticulation systems and persistent non-payment for bulk water services supplied by water boards.

“These challenges pose a significant risk to the financial sustainability of water boards,” he said.

The committee reiterated its call for stronger collaboration between the Department of Water and Sanitation and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) to ensure comprehensive alignment across the water value chain and safeguard access to water as a foundation for socio-economic development.

Lepelle Northern Water performance

The committee welcomed improvements in governance and operational performance at Lepelle Northern Water, which achieved an overall 90% performance rate against its planned targets.

Given the governance and operational challenges the entity faced in previous financial years, the committee encouraged the board and senior management to continue prioritising liquidity and the overall financial health of the entity.

While revenue collection improved by 11%, the committee raised concerns about the growing level of municipal debt owed to the entity, which has increased to R1.36 billion.

The committee reiterated that municipal debt to water boards requires urgent attention to ensure the long-term sustainability of both water boards and the broader water supply system.

Overberg Water urged to expand revenue base

Regarding Overberg Water, the committee emphasised the need for the entity to develop a clear growth strategy to expand its revenue base and ensure long-term sustainability.

The committee welcomed several initiatives aimed at improving revenue generation, including plans to secure additional industrial customers and farmers, as well as proposals for the entity to manage wastewater treatment works on behalf of municipalities and commercial clients.

The committee also noted positively the clean audit outcome achieved by Overberg Water.

“It remains the committee’s view that sound governance and strong financial management form a critical foundation for institutional effectiveness and service delivery,” Basson said.

NEDLAC’s comment on Water Services Amendment Bill

Meanwhile, the committee has resolved to give the National Economic Development and Labour Council (NEDLAC) 14 days to make a submission on the Water Services Amendment Bill [B24–2025].

The decision follows a request by NEDLAC for more time to allow engagement with the Department of Water and Sanitation on the proposed legislation.

However, the committee said the three-month extension requested by NEDLAC is not practical and would unreasonably delay the parliamentary consideration of the Bill. – SAnews.gov.za
 

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The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is intensifying the fight against organised crime by moving beyond prosecuting “foot soldiers” to targeting kingpins, syndicate leaders and those who control criminal networks.

This according to National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Advocate Andy Mothibi who on Thursday briefed the media for the first time since taking office earlier this month.

“Organised crime remains a grave threat to our democracy and economy, especially when it targets essential infrastructure in sectors such as energy, rail, water and telecommunications.

“We are determined not to spend all our time prosecuting foot-soldiers; we are increasingly using financial investigation, digital forensics and intelligence-driven operations to identify and pursue the kingpins who direct these networks,” he emphasised.

Mothibi outlined the NPA strategy to dismantle organised crime operations and warned that state-embedded actors remain the government’s “Achilles’ heel” in combating organised crime and corruption.

“The NPA’s Strategy against organised crime was signed off on 13 August 2024 and we are now in the process of intensifying implementation that will increasingly show impactful interventions and outcomes, through meaningful collaborations and more effective use of legislation,” he said.

The NDPP highlighted some of the successes the NPA has had in prosecuting organised crime syndicates, including:

• Sustaining the conviction rate of around 93 to 94% in organised crime prosecutions nationally, even while the number of these cases has grown.
• Conviction rates for essential infrastructure-related prosecutions remain in the mid-to-high 70s, at 77.4% in 2025/26, reflecting both the difficulty of dismantling complex supply chains and the progress being made with intelligence-driven investigations.

“Using racketeering provisions under POCA [Prevention of Organised Crime Act 121 of 1998], the NPA focuses on kingpins, syndicates, money laundering networks and enablers – accountants, lawyers and intermediaries,” he explained.

Other steps the NPA has taken to bolster the fight against organised crime include:

• Contributing to the development of the Transnational Organised Crime Strategy which is intended to be the country’s strategy against organised crime.
• NPA and SAPS developed a Stabilisation Plan which is a multi-dimensional interdepartmental organised crime approach to address the gang violence in the Western Cape. This plan is now being rolled out in other provinces.
• Establishing the Organised Crime Component (OCC)’s Firearm Desk.

“Firearms are central to organised crime in South Africa, and are primary instruments in gang violence, cash-in-transit heists, extortion networks, etc. A dedicated Firearms’ Desk would improve and strengthen coordination in addressing illegal firearms. If you remove the illegal firearm, you remove the instrument of organised violence.

“We have met with the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service [SAPS] to align the NPA and SAPS Strategies. Aligned strategy will, amongst others, enable collaboration between SAPS and NPA, identification of cases, Prosecutor-Guided Investigations, Asset Recoveries, Enrolment of cases and effective prosecution,” Mothibi said.

Pay back the money

Mothibi vowed that the NPA will not relent in “pursuing South African assets and fugitives from the law”.

In this regard, the prosecutorial body’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) has stepped up its work – obtaining some 2 397 freezing orders to the value of R13.8 billion, 3 220 confiscation and forfeiture orders to the value of R13 billion and has recovered some R6.5 billion since the conclusion of the previous Mutual Evaluation process of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in November 2019.

“We will not relent in pursuing South African assets and fugitives from the law. At an international level, while utilising the Interpol Red Notice, South Africa will participate in the Interpol Silver Notice Pilot which offers enhanced international search, trace and track mechanisms,” he said.

Other achievements include:

• R15 billion of funds frozen in the last five years, compared to the R16.2 billion frozen over the first 20 years. 
• R8 billion confiscated and forfeited in the first 20 years and R5.4 billion in the last five years. 
• R6.6 billion was recovered in the first 20 years and R6.6 billion in the last five years. 
• R13 billion frozen in State Capture matters. 
• The AFU has already exceeded five of the six annual targets in the current financial year. 

“Asset recovery processes are critical as part of the fight against crime and corruption, by taking back the proceeds of crime. Further, asset forfeiture is one of the strongest indicators of Anti Money Laundering effectiveness under FATF standards.

“The NPA’s AFU is therefore central to FATF compliance,” the NDPP highlighted.

The NPA is also ramping up money laundering prosecution with at least 292 cases on court rolls involving more than 400 money laundering counts and a further 97 new prosecutions instituted between April 2025 and January 2026.

“The verdicts for the current financial year from April 2025 to January 2026 resulted in 91 verdicts, compared to 122 and 87 in the previous two financial years.

“The focus is on moving beyond ‘predicate offences’ and proving financial flows, concealment, and benefit from crime,” Mothibi said.

State Capture prosecutions

Prosecutions related to State Capture and the recommendations of the Zondo Commission are also gathering pace.

According to Mothibi, the AFU has restrained and preserved more than R14 billion in state-capture-related assets and recovered about R6.26 billion to date, “demonstrating that crime does not pay”. 

The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) is also dealing with some 134 out of the 218 recommendations with 39 cases arising from the 134 recommendations.

The conviction and sentencing of former Parliamentarian Vincent Smith last week, in relation to the Bosasa matter is a “significant outcome that will culminate with the orange overalls that the public calls for in state capture related cases”.

“South Africa is one of the few countries in the world that is prosecuting former ministers, senior officials, chief executives and multinational companies for serious corruption – and we are seeing tangible financial returns through asset recovery and corporate settlements,” the NDPP noted.

On the IDAC’s state capture work, the Digital Evidence Unit (DEU) is a game changer for work related to recommendations and beyond.

“The DEU is one of the most important capacity and capability-building initiatives that is designed to support the work of the IDAC, arising especially out of the very large volumes of electronic data from the State Capture Commission.

“This is an aspect of work that continues to hold investigations back within law enforcement and having this capability is a game changer in the fight against complex corruption.

“Having this kind of capacity provides IDAC with the ability to move faster and smarter in digital forensics. The IDAC is currently dealing with 13 matters in the DEU,” the NDPP revealed.

Without fear or favour

Mothibi acknowledged that South Africans are “rightly impatient for more visible accountability, especially for corruption and violent crime”.

However, he noted that the NPA is an institution that has been “fundamentally rebuilt” following years of being blunted during the state capture years.

“The figures we present today show an institution that has not only survived the state-capture decade but has been fundamentally rebuilt: conviction rates remain high, high-impact prosecutions are being pursued, and billions are being recovered for the public. But we know this is not enough.

“We therefore renew our pledge to prosecute without fear, favour or prejudice, to protect the vulnerable, to safeguard our critical infrastructure and economy, and to do so in a way that honours the Constitution, strengthens the rule of law and meets public expectations.

“We also commit to holding more regular briefings to the public to provide updates on the organisation’s strategy and performance information, through traditional media but also increasingly, through our digital communication platforms,” he concluded. – SAnews.gov.za

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Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi has raised concern over the “obscene legal costs” paid by municipalities, which affects the ability to deliver services to communities.

The Minister delivered a keynote address at the opening of the 6th National Municipal Legal Practitioners’ Forum (NMLPF), hosted by the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), in Cape Town.

Kubayi acknowledged that municipalities are facing skills shortages in key areas, including financial management and supply chain management, leading to governance failures and wasteful expenditure – leaving municipalities vulnerable to corruption and wasteful expenditure

“Governance failures at local government manifest directly in declining service delivery, including water interruptions, power outages, sewer blockages, waste management breakdowns, and deteriorating road networks. 

“These failures have become a source of litigation against municipalities, which leads to an increase in litigation budgets at municipalities. The lack of skills, which also affects the legal capacity of municipalities, poses a serious challenge in that municipalities are unable to respond adequately to these litigations with limited inhouse capacity,” she noted.

The domino effect of these failures eventually leads to municipalities having to “largely rely on external legal expertise”.

Kubayi noted that the one area that “has been a source of obscene legal costs” is on employer/employee dispute resolution”. 

“Clear arbitration awards are ignored. Instead of complying, municipalities stall and force employees to launch enforcement and contempt proceedings. Disciplinary processes become high-risk legal battles, with municipalities outsourcing the entire process to external lawyers. What should really be an internal process becomes an expensive and time-consuming legal exercise.

“This is just but one area of litigation that municipalities have been poorly managing but it serves to demonstrate that we need to strengthen ethical leadership, compliance and service delivery excellence.

“The process of strengthening begins with the capacitation of municipalities with adequate skills. With effective in-house legal skills, the ability to monitor and manage litigations will enable legal teams to be able to withstand internal political pressure when it pushes toward litigation that may not serve the municipality’s long-term interests.

“With the right skills, municipalities will be able to develop litigation strategies that are cost effective and in the interest of the municipality,” Kubayi stated.

She reminded legal practitioners of their duty, under the code of conduct of the Legal Practice Council, to provide unbiased advice and avoid generating unnecessary work.

“Legal practitioners within State organs have to be held accountable to this the LPC code of ethics. As limited as the instruments of enforcement may be, we must still sharpen the instruments for accountability on matters of unethical conduct.

“As part of strengthening litigation management, we must find a way of clearly defining wasteful legal spending in State organs, wherein we are able to assess if people are pursuing high-cost cases with poor prospects, litigating against well-established legal precedent, persisting after multiple adverse rulings and rejecting reasonable settlement offers that offer practical solutions,” Kubayi said.

Furthermore, successfully strengthening of State legal capacity must be done in tandem with addressing the “lack of strong internal legal capacity to critically assess risks, weigh costs, and identify alternative solutions”.

“Let’s utilise the Intergovernmental National Litigation Forum to enhance collaboration and consistency in managing State litigation. I am pleased to hear that SALGA will participate in the upcoming Intergovernmental National Litigation Forum that is set for 24 March 2026. 

“I believe that working together, we can make State litigation capacity more effective and in time, we will start to reduce State litigation contingent liability,” Kubayi said. – SAnews.gov.za

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A shipment of 100 000 doses of Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) vaccine has arrived at Cape Town International Airport, strengthening the Western Cape Government’s efforts to contain the disease and protect the province’s livestock sector.

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said the vaccines will be distributed across the West Coast, Cape Winelands and Garden Route districts. The rollout will be coordinated by a provincial “war room” that meets regularly to monitor progress and coordinate response measures.

Winde said the ongoing vaccination drive will be steadily scaled up as the province works towards fully immunising its livestock population.

According to the Premier, 48 612 animals have been vaccinated so far across the province, with 276 vaccination sites established. 

A total of 29 private veterinarians are assisting State Veterinarians in the campaign, while the province has received 162 120 vaccine doses to date.

As part of broader containment measures, warning road signs have been erected along major highways linking the Western Cape with neighbouring provinces, while checkpoints have been established along key routes to monitor livestock movement.

Winde said the provincial government has intensified its response since the first FMD cases were confirmed, working closely with key agricultural stakeholders.

“This effort has been supported by organisations including the Milk Producers Organisation, Red Meat Producers, Milk SA, Agri Western Cape, and Shoprite. All affected districts are reporting encouraging progress in implementing the 21-point FMD response plan led by the Western Cape Government and its partners,” the Premier said.

The plan includes movement control measures, including 24/7 border monitoring; strengthening surveillance and traceability systems through rapid response by provincial veterinary services on the ground; and enhanced communication by law enforcement and contingency planning.

It also outlines recovery measures, including cleaning operations and the monitoring of quarantine areas.

Winde commended the collaboration efforts of all stakeholders involved in managing the outbreak.

“All of this progress is made possible through collaboration. We will continue to intensify the response plan to protect this critical sector of our economy.

“I personally chair a weekly joint operations meeting with all stakeholders, including municipalities, to ensure that everything is being done to manage this crisis. In everything we do, we aim to protect growth, livelihoods and jobs,” the Premier said.

Western Cape Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism MEC, Dr Ivan Meyer, also welcomed the arrival of the additional vaccine doses.

Meyer also expressed gratitude to every role player who has worked tirelessly to bring this outbreak under control.

“Your dedication is the backbone of our collective progress. The arrival of the 100 000 additional vaccine doses in the Western Cape marks a significant turning point. It means we can now accelerate vaccinations across the province, ensuring that we protect our livestock, support our farmers and strengthen this vital sector of our economy,” Meyer said.

Winde added that he remains in regular contact with Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen to ensure the implementation of a livestock movement permitting system, which will further strengthen the province’s containment strategy. – SAnews.gov.za

 

 

 

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