MIL Africa Engine

Source: Government of South Africa

National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Fannie Masemola, has welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to addressing the serious allegations of corruption within SAPS.

“Members of the media, we are ready to brief the President and wish to undoubtably reaffirm the operational independence of the South African Police Service, and the resolve to uphold the Constitution of the Republic and enforce the law, according to Section 205(3) of the South African Constitution, which outlines the core functions of the South African Police Service (SAPS),” said Masemola on Wednesday.

READ | Ramaphosa commits to address KZN police corruption allegations

Speaking at a firearm destruction ceremony in Gauteng’s Vanderbajlpark, the Commissioner said some of these functions include preventing, combating, and investigating crime; maintaining public order; protecting and securing inhabitants and their property, and upholding and enforcing the law.

The Commissioner said additionally, Section 207(2) of the Constitution states that the National Commissioner of the police service must control and manage the police service in accordance with the national policing policy and the directions of the Cabinet member responsible for policing. 

“Ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you today not to dwell on divisions, but to forge unity. I pledge to you, the people of South Africa, and to every dedicated member of this service, that we will strive for unity in the police service. Together, we will root out any force, internal or external, that seeks to fracture us or compromise our sacred duty.

“The SAPS is not factional property. It is the guardian of every South African’s safety and security. Our focus, our unity, and our unwavering commitment must be singular: it is to serve and protect the citizens of this country. That is our covenant, and that is the resolve you see burning brightly here today as we conclude the firearm destruction,” said the Commissioner.

Masemola said the destruction of the firearms was not merely a “symbolic act”. 

“It is a strategic blow against the violence that threatens our nation’s soul.”

In February, 16 049 firearms were destroyed.

“… Including today’s operation, the total number of firearms and parts obliterated by SAPS over the past five years stands at 291 993. Each one represents a potential life saved, a family spared from grief, and a community fortified against chaos.”

With the firearms that we are destroying today, Gauteng brought in the majority of firearms with 5 099, followed by the Western Cape with 2 333, KwaZulu-Natal with 1 574, while 1 432 firearms were from the Eastern Cape and 460 were from the Free State.

Limpopo brought in 343 and Mpumalanga contributed 519. The North West contributed 417 and Northern Cape 322.

From April 2019 to date, a total of 292 092 firearms have been destroyed through firearm destruction operations.

“Firearms remain the most preferred weapon used in serious and violent crime ( murder and attempted murder) and that’s why it’s important to ensure we remove them permanently of our streets,” said the Commissioner. – SAnews.gov.za 

Source: Government of South Africa

Home Affairs to submit ‘Digital ID’ policy to Cabinet for approval

Janine
Wed, 07/09/2025 – 11:25

Source: Government of South Africa

In spite of the ongoing financial constraints which affect the planning and operations of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), government has assured the troops that they will have the resources needed to defend and protect the country.

“This includes ensuring soldiers are properly equipped with the uniforms, boots, protective gear, and habitable facilities catering for the needs of all including women soldiers and persons with disabilities,” the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, said on Wednesday in Parliament.

Selected “Model Units” will receive priority upgrades ensuring safety and security, well- maintained bases, sports and recreation facilities, and training areas.

Soldiers on deployment will also get priority support for all their needs during deployment.

“Efforts are underway to rejuvenate the SANDF’s human resource profile, modernise, maintenance, repair and overhaul of the prime mission equipment, with the South African Defence Industry (SADI) as the key national defence partner,” the Minister said during the debate of the budgets of the Departments of Defence and Military Veterans.

The Department of Defence Human Resources Plan for the 2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework reflects a deliberate and phased approach to sustaining a capable, rejuvenated, and cost-efficient defence workforce within existing budgetary constraints.
The Department of Defence has received a total budget allocation of R57 183 billion for 2025/26.

Of this budget allocation, R36 703 billion has been set as the ceiling for the Compensation of Employees (COE), constituting approximately 64% of the defence allocation.

Furthermore, approximately R8 359 billion is earmarked, which includes, among others:
• R2 773 billion for accommodation charges, leases and municipal services;
• R2 556 billion for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (SAMIDRC);
• R1 464 billion transfer payment to Armscor;
• R487 million for the Republic’s assessed contribution to SADC for the SAMIDRC deployment;
•  R480 million for the repair and maintenance of maritime defence systems;
•  R300 million for day-to-day maintenance and emergency repairs and
•  R200 million-rand for the procurement of vehicles and technology for border safeguarding.

The Defence Force has been allocated R12 billion to meet its constitutional mandate.

Repositioning the South African Defence Industry

The Department of Defence is working on repositioning the SADI to pursue the strategic goal of economic growth and job creation.

“In this regard the SADI must be positioned as a vital economic asset, ready for expansion to drive national development and support government priorities for a capable state and become a strong local defence industry that creates jobs, develops new technologies, and ensures that the SANDF is well-equipped.

“Cooperation between Denel, local companies, and international partners will be expanded to boost exports and attract investment. The centrality of Denel is critical in the maintenance and support of the SANDF,” the Minister said.

She called for the repositioning of Armscor as an entity for SANDF Equipment and Capability Modernisation, to be intensified to make sure that Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) for midlife upgrades and modernisation of PME (air, land, naval domains) guarantees the longevity and mission effectiveness for the SANDF.

Military veterans

The military veterans has been allocated R878 million for the 2025/26 financial year.

“In collaboration with sister departments, we have embarked on a project to repatriate the remains of our fallen heroes and heroines in Zambia and Zimbabwe during 2024. A total number of 35 mortal remains have been repatriated thus far and further work is underway,” the Minister said.

Over the past three audited financial years the Department of Military Veterans Education Support Benefit provided learners and students as follows:
• During the 2021/22 financial year, 3 711 learners and students at a cost of R88 million.
• In the 2022/23 financial year, a total number of 4 114 learners and students at a cost of R126 million.
• 3 690 learners and students cost the department R135 million during the 2023/24 financial year.

The unaudited information for the 2024/25 financial year, shows that 2 738 learners and students were provided with education support to continue with their studies.

To date at least 100 have graduated. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau has welcomed the agreement reached between the merging parties and the Competition Commission in the Vodacom-Maziv merger deal.

“The substantial public interest commitments made by the merging parties will significantly improve access to affordable internet for underserved communities, thus enabling easier participation in economic activity, particularly for young people,” the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic) said on Wednesday.

In October last year, the Minister noted the order issued by the Competition Tribunal prohibiting the proposed merger between Vodacom (Pty) Ltd and Maziv (Business Venture Investments No. 2213 (Pty) Ltd).

The order followed the Competition Commission’s initial recommendation to prohibit the merger, citing significant concerns that it could substantially reduce competition in critical markets, particularly within the 5G Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and fibre infrastructure sectors.

READ | Minister notes Competition Tribunal’s decision on Vodacom, Maziv merger

In a statement on Tuesday, the Competition Commission said it had reached an agreement with the parties on revised conditions that substantially remedy the competition concerns raised by the Commission in its recommendation to the Tribunal that the Vodacom/Maziv merger be prohibited.

This agreement follows constructive engagements between the Commission and the merger parties to remedy the deficiencies in the previous conditions identified by the Tribunal in its prohibition of the merger.

There were three primary competition concerns that were not adequately addressed by the proposed conditions at the time of concluding the Tribunal hearings.

The first of these was the horizontal reduction in competition between Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and Fibre to the Home (FTTH).

According to the Commission, the revised conditions address these shortcomings by improving the capex commitment by Maziv and extending it to a five-year period post-merger to ensure that Maziv remains incentivised to service third party network operators.

The second issue was the horizontal overlap in FTTH infrastructure and potential price increases post-merger.

“The previous conditions were inadequate insofar as they included a ‘weak’ divestiture condition that did not adequately incentivise the merging parties to divest the overlapping infrastructure. The revised conditions put in place a standard divestiture arrangement whereby the failure to sell the assets within a particular period result in a trustee divestiture process to ensure the assets are divested and pre-merger competition is restored,” said the Commission.

It further added that the condition follows the standard formulation used in other merger transactions and requires that a transparent and competitive process be followed to identify a proposed purchaser.
The third issue was over vertical foreclosure concerns with the commission stating that although there were fairly comprehensive conditions in place to address foreclosure, there were notable challenges with monitoring and enforcing the conditions with the resulting concern that action would not be sufficiently timely to prevent foreclosure from occurring and harming competition.

“The revised conditions introduce some structural changes to Maziv’s governance structure that limit the merged entity’s incentives to foreclose competitors. The conditions now also incorporate an enhanced fast-track interim relief process that will address potential foreclosure concerns while the lengthier formal process to investigate any alleged foreclosure is underway. This ensures that any attempt to get a first-mover advantage that will have an enduring effect in the market can be prevented through fast-track interim relief,” it said.

Public interest

The Commission added that there are significant improvements to the public interest commitments which increase the substantiality of these commitments.

These include additional capex spend to roll-out new (Fibre-to-theBusiness (FTTB), FTTH and Fibre-to-the-Site (FTTS) infrastructure, free access to 1Gigabit per second fibre lines for public libraries and clinics passed by FTTH infrastructure, an increase in the number of police stations that Vodacom will provide with FWA products, an additional commitment to enterprise development and an increase in the employee share ownership plan previously agreed.

“Access to reliable, high-speed internet is the cornerstone of a dynamic economy and a democratic society. The Commission is confident that the revised conditions agreed with the merger parties will ensure that South Africa will benefit from the continued competitive prices and product choices in this critical sector,” Commissioner Doris Tshepe said.

This as Minister Tau further welcomed the investment committed by parties.

“This commitment will ensure that South Africa participates meaningfully in the global economy through new sectors like Generative Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things and other ICT related sectors which will propel the world into the future.

“The matter will proceed, unopposed, at the Competition Appeal Court where the agreement will be placed before the Court for its final consideration. The Minister thanks all parties involved for their constructive engagement throughout this process,” said the dtic.

The Commission as one of the the three independent statutory bodies established in terms of the Competition Act to regulate competition between firms in the market, it is the investigating and prosecuting agency in the competition regime while the Tribunal is the court. – SAnews.gov.za

Source: Government of South Africa

With the Southern African region experiencing a growing number of climate-related disasters, government says it will increase its focus on reducing the fiscal and human cost of disasters by planning for them instead of reacting to them.

“When disasters strike, government is forced to reallocate funds from other priorities to respond, often at the cost of long-term development. This cycle of crisis and reallocation is unsustainable,” the Deputy Minister of Finance, Ashor Sarupen, said on Tuesday in Parliament. 

Through the finalisation and publishing of a National Disaster Risk Financing Strategy in the 2025/26 financial year, government’s strategy will shift from reactive funding to proactive, planned disaster risk management.

The strategy will:

• Introduce disaster risk financing instruments, including climate insurance products, to improve response time and predictability of funding;
• Embed disaster risk management in grant frameworks, particularly those for infrastructure and local government, and
• Support line departments and municipalities in mainstreaming climate risk into their financial planning and investment decisions.

“Climate change is not a future threat. It is a present reality, and our budget frameworks must reflect that,” Sarupen said while tabling the National Treasury’s Budget Vote.

Spending for Growth

As part of National Treasury’s broader macroeconomic framework reforms to drive structural economic transformation and attract investment, public infrastructure spending will exceed R1 trillion over three years. 

“This represents the fastest-growing area of government expenditure and is aimed at easing supply-side economic constraints and improving social service access. 

“The Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) is being reconfigured to attract private sector participation through multiple appraisal windows, separated investment and financing decisions, and diversified financing instruments including guarantees, build-operate-transfer structures, and concessional loans,” the Deputy Minister said. 

New public-private partnership (PPP) regulations, effective 1 June 2025, have reduced procedural complexity, with supporting frameworks for unsolicited proposals and fiscal commitments to be published soon, while municipal PPP regulations will be finalised before the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement.

“A single National Treasury-overseen structure will be established this year to systematically crowd-in private sector finance and expertise, consolidating large-scale project preparation, providing PPP technical support, improving data management, and enhancing private sector engagement,” he said.

Rebuilding local government finances

In an effort to address service delivery breakdowns, fiscal mismanagement, and governance failures at municipalities, National Treasury is responding with targeted support and structural financial reforms.

National Treasury’s approach focuses on the following key areas:

• Adoption of Funded Budgets: Municipalities can no longer adopt unfunded budgets based on wishful projections. Treasury is enforcing the requirement for credible, funded budgets as the basis of municipal financial planning.
• Revenue Value Chain Reforms: Treasury is supporting municipalities to improve billing systems, strengthen collection rates, and protect revenue integrity. Without this, no budget can be sustainable.
• Capacity Building: Through direct technical support, Treasury is building the financial management skills of municipal officials, particularly CFOs and budget managers.
• Financial Recovery Plans: For municipalities in financial distress, Municipal Financial Recovery Services (MFRS) provide tailored recovery plans. These are not generic interventions, they are grounded in the real financial position of each municipality.
• mSCOA Implementation: The Municipal Standard Chart of Accounts (mSCOA) brings transparency and uniformity to local government finances. It allows us to compare apples with apples — across municipalities, across provinces, and across time.
• Consequence Management: Treasury is working closely with the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) and the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) to ensure that financial misconduct is addressed swiftly. Public money must be protected. Where there is wrongdoing, there must be consequences.

Reforming the auditing profession

After years of audit failures in both the public and private sectors, National Treasury is currently reviewing the Auditing Profession Act.

The Act provides for the establishment of the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors; the education, training and professional development of registered auditors; the accreditation of professional bodies; the registration of auditors, and the regulation of the conduct of registered auditors.

“The proposed amendments are designed to strengthen the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors (IRBA) and align our regulatory framework with international best practice. These reforms are not just technical changes; they are about fostering trust, integrity, and public confidence in the profession. The auditing profession plays a critical role in financial markets and public accountability,” the Deputy Minister said. – SAnews.gov.za