South Africa’s National Treasury warned the country can’t afford to extend welfare grants to the poor, citing an over-stretched budget and spending pressures including additional funding requests from state-owned firms totaling 12.8 billion rand ($730 ...
A temporary 350 rand monthly stipend was introduced in 2020 to help shield the poor from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, and the Department of Social Development and civil rights groups have been pushing for the payments to be made permanent. The Treasury has repeatedly questioned where the money would come from. Africa’s most-industrialized economy already spends the equivalent of almost 4% of its gross domestic product on welfare.
“There should be no substantial change to the current fiscal strategy,” the document reads. “Restoring fiscal sustainability over the medium term remains the key focus.”Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is set to deliver the budget update on Oct. 26, and it’s unclear whether the Treasury’s views will prevail. The Treasury declined to comment on the document.
The document contains details of the additional funding being sought by state companies. They include:Arms company Denel SOC Ltd., which has asked for 3.4 billion rand.The South African Post Office, which says it needs 2.4 billion rand.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
South Africa: Amazon Web Services and Google to Extend Their Footprint in South AfricaDue to strong investment incentives, Africa's internet access is growing at one of the fastest paces in the world. Africa's youthful population and rapid urbanization are strong drivers of digitalisation demand.
Read more »
South Africa: UCT Vice-Chancellor Wins Africa Education Medal - South African News Briefs, September 8, 2022
Read more »
Big changes proposed for R350 grant in South AfricaThe Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) has rejected proposals from National Treasury to replace the R350 social distress relief grant (SRD) in South Africa with one or more new grants, which it says will exclude the poor and vulnerable from collecting it.
Read more »
Rights Violations in South Sudan Committed With 'Impunity' - UNA new UN report has documented 173 civilian deaths over a four-month period along with widespread human rights violations committed without repercussion. Published jointly by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the document reports gross abuses of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law in Unity state. A total of 131 cases of rape and gang rape have been documented, including the case of a nine-year-old girl who died after being gang-raped. UNMISS identified joint government forces and allied militias/groups reportedly operating under the command of officials of Koch and Mayendit counties as the main perpetrators of the human rights violations and abuses.
Read more »
South Africa’s favourite business technology talk showWhat’s Next with Aki Anastasiou is South Africa’s most popular technology talk show, and the ideal platform to position your business as a leader in the ICT market.
Read more »