Category: South Africa Government

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Justice Dunstan Mlambo as Deputy Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa, with effect from Friday, 1 August 2025.

The appointment is with accordance with section 174(3) of the Constitution.

“Judge Mlambo has since November 2012 served as Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court of South Africa. 
“President Ramaphosa has in writing informed Chief Justice Mandisa Maya that in appointing Justice Mlambo, the President has considered the views of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and the views of political parties represented in the National Assembly,” the Presidency said in statement on Thursday night.

The President also expressed to the Chief Justice his appreciation for the transparent, inclusive and robust process undertaken by the JSC. 

“This process exemplified the Commission’s commitment to upholding the nation’s constitutional values,” said the Presidency.

The Presidency added that the Commission had enhanced the nation’s confidence that the appointment of the Deputy Chief Justice was firmly grounded on merit, fidelity to the Constitution and a vision for the continued transformation and strengthening of the Judiciary.

“President Ramaphosa similarly thanks the incoming Deputy Chief Justice Mlambo for stepping forward to assume a new responsibility of critical national importance, and wishes Justice Mlambo well in strengthening the rule of law, enriching jurisprudence and asserting the rights of all citizens.”

The position of Deputy Chief Justice had been vacant since then Deputy Chief Justice, Mandisa Maya, became Chief Justice following the retirement of Chief Justice Raymond Zondo last year.

Earlier this month, the JSC announced that it would recommend Justice Mlambo for the position of Deputy Chief Justice.

READ | Judge President Mlambo recommended for Deputy Chief Justice

This as interviews for the position were held.

In April this year, President Ramaphosa nominated four candidates for the position including Justice Mlambo. –SAnews.gov.za

Government has welcomed the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) decision to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points  to 7%.

“Government welcomes the decision by the South African Reserve Bank to reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points to 7%. The move provides much-needed relief for South African households, many of whom continue to face financial pressure due to the rising cost of living,” Acting Government Spokesperson, Nomonde Mnukwa, said on Thursday.

Addressing a media briefing on the MPC’s decision on the repo rate, SARB Governor Lesetja Kganyago said the decision to reduce the policy rate was unanimous.

READ | Reserve Bank cuts repo rate by 25 basis points

Mnukwa said the rate cut is expected to ease the burden on consumers by lowering the cost of borrowing, while also creating conditions more conducive to stimulating investment, supporting businesses, and driving economic activity.

“The decision reaffirms the soundness of South Africa’s monetary policy framework and the importance of coordinated efforts to support inclusive growth. Government continues to implement structural reforms and improving the ease of doing business to unlock the full potential of the economy and create jobs,” Mnukwa explained. – SAnews.gov.za

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Employment and Labour Deputy Minister Jomo Sibiya has called for the dismantling of the misconception that competitiveness and fairness cannot co-exist in the global labour market.

The Deputy Minister was delivering remarks at the Labour 20 (L20) South Africa 2025 Summit. 

“Let us be clear: fair wages, decent work and strong social protection are not barriers to growth, but they are the foundations of resilient , future ready economies. The anticipated Employment Working Group declaration lays groundwork for these efforts.

“It recognises that full and productive employment, adequacy and sustainability of social protection systems, wage settings mechanisms, grounded in rights and fairness, are essential to build a just and inclusive societies. It calls on all of us to expand formalisation and reverse decoupling of wages from productivity,” Sibiya said on Tuesday.

The summit was held under the theme: ‘Fostering solidarity, equality and sustainability through a new social compact”.

The L20 represents workers’ interests at the G20 level, bringing together trade union representatives from G20 countries and international trade union federations. It is coordinated by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 

The G20 labour component has also been active since the global financial crisis in 2008.

Through its existence, L20 aims to ensure that the voices of workers are heard in discussions on issues of economic policies and labour rights. South Africa’s labour federations – Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu),  Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa), National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu) and the South African Federation of Trade Unions Saftu – attended the summit.

Sibiya commended the L20’s commitment to tackling major labour market challenges, including inequality, declining real wages, and the shrinking labour income share of gross domestic product (GDP). 

“The issues strike at the very heart of our societies and also manifest in growing hardship for working families, the erosion of social cohesion as well as pervasive sense among workers that growth is no longer working for them.

“For the global south, the value of labour has been steadily diminishing. Productivity had risen but workers, particularly those at the lower end of the wage distribution, have not benefitted. The disconnect between the creation of wealth and its distribution is not only unjust, but also unsustainable.”

Priorities 

Sibiya said South Africa’s employment track has been anchored in four key priorities:
•    Promoting inclusive growth and youth employment to ensure that every young person has access to a decent job.
•    Accelerating gender equality in the workforce by addressing systemic barriers to women’s full and equal participation.
•    Reversing the decline in labour income share, so that workers regain the dignified and fair share of the value they help to generate.
•    Harnessing digitalisation to create an inclusive future of work rather than deepening the digital divide.

“Genuine economic growth is closely tied to decent work. This calls for us to actively shape policies and institutions to achieve fair labour market results, necessitates establishing wage systems whether through legislation or collective bargaining that assure a living wage, alongside investment and social protection for life-long income, security and strengthen social dialogue to empower both workers and employers,” he said. 

The importance of financial literacy among workers was also emphasised with the Deputy Minister saying there is a need to “capacitate workers of the world on how to take responsibility of their livelihood, making sure that they use their hard-earned salaries properly.” 

He added that South Africa’s own experiences offered valuable lessons in addressing inequality and unemployment.
According to Sibiya, social partners continue to play a vital role in shaping labour market reforms – this amidst structural constraints. 

“We strongly believe that when working together as government with social partners that is where solutions can be found. Our work is far from over. We must recommend social justice in our economic strategies,” he said. 

The L20 component engagements were also held alongside the 4th G20 Employment Working Group meeting held at Fancourt in George earlier this week. 

The aim of the L20 session was to have a dialogue between trade unions and certain G20 labour and employment Ministers to discuss joint approaches to tackling inequality, fostering wage increases, and increasing the labour income share, as a key priority of this year’s employment track. – SAnews.gov.za

 

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As part of ongoing efforts to unlock infrastructure investments and strengthen the energy sector, government is calling on investors to invest in the country’s transmission infrastructure through the Independent Transmission Projects (ITPs) Programme.

This initiative marks the first time private investment will be allowed in South Africa’s transmission infrastructure, paving the way for a faster rollout of new high-voltage power lines across the country.

“This will support the efforts already underway by the National Transmission Company of South Africa to implement the Transmission Development Plan, which calls for more than 14 000 km of new lines to be built over the next decade.

“The introduction of ITPs is a key objective of Operation Vulindlela Phase II and will play an important role in the broader reform of the energy system. This reform includes the introduction of a competitive electricity market, which will allow multiple generators and traders to compete to provide electricity to consumers at the lowest cost and with the greatest efficiency,” Deputy Minister of Finance Dr David Masondo said on Thursday.

Addressing the launch of the Request for Pre-Qualifications for Independent Transmission Projects (ITPs) in Johannesburg, the Deputy Minister said the reform of the energy system is advancing rapidly, and its commitment remains unwavering. 

“We will not allow any vested interests to delay or obstruct this reform process, including Eskom itself. Indeed, today’s release of the Request for Quotation (RFQ) demonstrates that government, led by [Electricity] Minister Dr [Kgosientsho] Ramokgopa and his team, is working hard to implement the reforms that are needed to ensure long-term energy security and expand access to affordable electricity for all South Africans.

“National Treasury has supported this process through the design of a Credit Guarantee Vehicle, as an innovative mechanism to unlock private capital and complement public financing for infrastructure while minimising contingent liabilities,” he said.

South Africa is faced with a significant infrastructure financing need. 

It is estimated that South Africa’s infrastructure gap is around R3.5 to R4 trillion by 2025, or around R400 billion per annum. 

“This substantial need calls for scaling up of public financing for infrastructure as well as crowding in private capital through public-private partnerships (PPP). The objective of the Credit Guarantee Vehicle is to mobilise and leverage private capital to address South Africa’s infrastructure financing gap by mitigating offtake risk for private investors. 

“This vehicle will also support the efficient deployment of development partner funding under the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) and the achievement of the country’s decarbonisation commitments,” the Deputy Minister said.

While the Credit Guarantee Vehicle will focus on the initial phase on enabling investments in transmission infrastructure, it will be expanded into other areas such as logistics and water over time. 

“The vehicle will be incorporated as a private company in South Africa, regulated by the Prudential Authority. It will operate as a standalone entity with an independent balance sheet and will target a minimum credit rating of AAA.

“A professional executive management team and board of directors with relevant experience and expertise will be appointed to operate and manage the fund,” he said.

The Credit Guarantee Vehicle will issue a combination of payment and termination guarantees to a Special Purpose Vehicle established for the project. 

This will substantially derisk early investments in ITPs until the model has been proven and established.

“We are targeting an initial capital raise of US$500 million for the vehicle, spread across a range of development partners. National Treasury has committed to providing first loss capital of 20%, which will be an initial US$100 million increasing to US$500 million (R9 billion) if needed.

“In February 2025, the Minister of Finance [Enoch Godongwana] wrote to a range of development partners asking them to submit an expression of interest to invest in the vehicle. The responses received have been overwhelmingly positive, with 32 development partners engaged thus far,” the Deputy Minister said.

Formal engagements with participating partners are continuing and will lead to the delivery of conditional equity participation commitment letters in the third quarter of 2025.

This will enable the Credit Guarantee Vehicle to be operationalized by July 2026 to align with the first phase of ITP projects.

“South Africa’s ITP programme, backed by credit guarantees, represents a globally innovative model which has been designed with our own context and needs in mind. 

“It will not only result in massive new investment in infrastructure but will enable thousands of megawatts of new renewable energy capacity to be connected in areas where grid capacity is limited. This will support economic growth, create jobs, and power our economy into the future,” Masondo said. –SAnews.gov.za

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The success of South Africa’s energy transition depends, in part, on deepening and stronger collaboration between government and the renewable energy industry to fill out policy implementation gaps and drive investment.

This according to Chief Executive Officer of the South African Wind Energy Association (SAWEA), Niveshen Govender, who participated in a panel discussion on the sidelines of the third G20 Energy Transitions Working Group (ETWG) meeting held in the North West.

“From an industry perspective… there are a number of requirements that we have to work on with government to ensure that we implement. I think we are doing a good job… We have the energy one stop shop that is now a single point of access to all permitting. You have the Department of Energy and Electricity with a minister [Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa] who is very active in unblocking [challenges]. 

“We have seen government’s readiness of market and allowing for business to come in, invest [and] implement on cost, on time – as quickly as possible – to get those electrons into place,” Govender said.

He noted that the industry and government stand at the same point with a “lot of commonalities” between the two.

“[This is] in terms of ensuring that we have access to energy per country, we have affordable energy to actually use, we have security of supply so we don’t go back to load shedding and we have sustainability in the long-term for reducing our carbon emissions.

“The Minister [Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa] very succinctly articulated… the importance of the energy mix and the importance of renewable energy being central to the decarbonisation of that energy mix,” Govender said.

However, despite these commonalities, misalignments still remain.

“We have very good policies in South Africa, top tier policies. They give good direction and good guidance. It takes everything into consideration… for the people of South Africa to make sure that we’re leaving no one behind.

“Where we do struggle is implementation of these policies. I think the biggest one of those is investor readiness. If you are not engaging industries, your readiness is going to [be impacted] as to what does the investor need to make that policy a reality,” the industry expert said.

He described the current developmental pace of the industry as an “evolution of the energy landscape”.

“We’ve moved from, essentially, the monopoly that Eskom was into public procurement of renewable energy and IPPs [Independent Power Producers]. Now we’re moving into bilateral agreements between these IPPs and… users. We’re even moving one step further into a liberalised energy market where you have traders and aggregators playing a role.

“We see this evolution of the electricity space that’s changing how we do business. It’s changing how we look at the landscape and energy planning,” Govender said. – SAnews.gov.za

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