12 November 2025- The Tax Justice SA (TJSA) is urging the government to follow through with criminal prosecutions after the tax authority suspended the licences of three cigarette manufacturers in a long-overdue move against illicit trade. TJSA said the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, announced the move during his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament on Wednesday, saying the government is intensifying its clampdown on criminals looting South Africa of R28 billion a year in tobacco excise taxes alone.
TJSA founder, Yusuf Abramjee welcomed the announcement as a positive development, but said it must be followed by strong enforcement and arrests. Abramjee said this is good news and the government needs to go out in full force and stop the illicit trade that is robbing the nation of revenue and destroying legitimate businesses.
“Revoking these licences is a step in the right direction, but it must be backed by criminal charges and visible action. Godongwana also confirmed that Cabinet has approved a plan for all agencies to work together to combat the criminal networks behind illicit trade.
“Now, we need to see action. It’s critical that this collaboration produces real results. That means the kingpins involved in the illicit trade must be arrested, charged and put behind bars. And the money they’ve stolen must be returned to the South African people, to whom it belongs,” he said.
Abramjee further said, despite the Al Jazeera Gold Mafia exposé almost three years ago, no arrests have been made. He added that any of those implicated in multi-billion-rand money laundering, smuggling and other illegal activities, are still enjoying the fortunes they allegedly made through those crimes.
He said if the government is serious about restoring trust and cleaning up the economy, criminals must face justice.
9 July 2025 – The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration today welcomed the announcement by the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, to institute three critical spending reviews aimed at improving the efficiency, integrity and developmental impact of government expenditure.
The reviews, announced during the Minister’s budget vote debate, will focus on standardising the remuneration of executives and board members of public entities, auditing and eliminating ghost workers and investigating the persistent underspending and delivery failures associated with infrastructure conditional grants at the provincial and municipal levels.
The Chairperson of the Committee, Jan de Villiers said these reviews are not only welcome but long overdue. De Villers said they echo the committee’s consistent calls for a professionalised public service, one that is results-based, provides value for public money, and adopts a zero-tolerance approach to corruption, waste and political patronage.
“We support the development of a standardised remuneration framework for public entity executives and board members. Salaries must be fair, transparent and directly linked to the entity’s mandate, complexity and performance.
“There can be no justification for exorbitant pay packages where service delivery is in crisis or entities are failing. On the issue of ghost workers, we reaffirmed the committee’s view that this is not a minor administrative flaw, but a form of organised, systemic corruption that siphons off public funds and undermines trust in the state,” he said.
De Villiers said these are not invisible names on paper – these are real funds stolen from the public. He said the committee calls for these audits to lead to consequences.
“We want to see prosecutions, dismissals and systemic reform. The committee will continue to monitor this process closely, and a joint oversight meeting with the Treasury and the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) is scheduled for the third quarter of 2025.
“The committee also welcomed broader government efforts to professionalise the state, including the digitisation of human resource and payroll systems, the introduction of lifestyle audits and the rollout of skills audits within departments,” said de Villers.
He said this followed a briefing by the DPSA and the National School of Government this morning on the government’s progress in digitising the public service and aligning training and upskilling with departmental needs. De Villiers said the creation of a professional, merit-based and non-partisan public service is both constitutionally mandated and essential to improving service delivery for all South Africans.
“Skills audits are particularly critical as they allow us to assess whether departments are staffed appropriately and whether officials have the qualifications and competencies needed to fulfil their mandates.
“Responding to this morning’s briefing, the Chairperson said digitisation and upskilling will help empower officials and drive improved service delivery, particularly in under-resourced areas,” he said.
De Villiers said they must know not just who is employed in the public service, but whether they are fit for purpose. He said skills audits, alongside digital transformation and standardised pay, create an opportunity to reconfigure departments to meet the needs of the public better.
“Where upskilling is required, it must be supported. Where restructuring is needed, it must be done responsibly. The committee remains committed to actively overseeing these reviews, focusing on results rather than rhetoric.
“We are planning a joint meeting with the Department of Public Service and Administration and National Treasury in the third quarter of 2025 to obtain further updates, including a detailed progress update on the ghost worker audit, implementation of lifestyle audits and alignment between performance and pay in the public sector, as well as consequence management for those involved in fraud and maladministration,” said de Villiers.
He said they will not allow these reviews to become another policy gesture. De Villiers said they must be executed with urgency, rigour and public accountability.
Picture: The Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana
By BAKANG MOKOTO
1 May 2025- The Speaker of the National Assembly (NA), Thoko Didiza reiterated Parliament’s readiness to process and adopt the revised Budget and Fiscal Framework swiftly and responsibly within the legally prescribed timeframe and in full compliance with its constitutional and legislative obligations.
Chairing the National Assembly’s Programme Committee, Didiza confirmed that the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, will table the revised Budget and Fiscal Framework in the NA on 21 May 2025.
The National Assembly (NA) spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo said the committee agreed that the sitting would be a physical meeting. Mothapo said Didiza reaffirmed the timeframes for budget approval prescribed in the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act and emphasised that every effort will be made to ensure that government operations continue seamlessly and that the principles of accountability and sound financial governance are upheld.
“She assured the public that the process in Parliament will be transparent and in full compliance with the law as the institution fulfils its constitutional mandate,” he said.
Meanwhile, the www.sanews.gov.za reported that Minister Enoch Godongwana will table the new budget proposals on 21 May 2025. The website said this after the National Treasury announced that it has withdrawn the proposed 0.5% Value-Added Tax (VAT) increase which was to be implemented on 1 May 2025.
Godongwana announced the date of the new budget review during a media briefing in Pretoria, on Wednesday. He further described the ensuing debate following the announcement of the budget tabled on 12 March 2025 as “rigorous, as is right in a healthy democracy”.
“Today, there’s a clarity [that] VAT will remain at 15%. This decision was shaped not only by political debates but importantly, by the voices of South Africans. When people speak, we must also listen and I’m encouraged by the passion shown.
“It reflects the seriousness with which we approach the hard choices needed to place our finances on a sustainable path, protect the vulnerable and accelerate growth. I was pleased that, the budget will be balanced “without raising VAT, while protecting vital services like education, health and social grants,” said Godongwana.
He added that going forward, National Treasury’s focus will be threefold starting with balancing the budget by managing costs better. Godongwana said raising other taxes besides VAT was not an option [as] it would harm growth, savings and jobs.
“Borrowing more would worsen our debt crisis. We already spend more than R1 billion servicing debt. We must do more with less, review government spending critically, root out waste, every cent of public money must be spent wisely.
“The second issue, we must strengthen revenue collection. In the [March] budget, we made provisions for SARS [the South African Revenue Service] to collect more particularly for those who still owe SARS and to deal with illicit trading,” he said.
Godongwana said the third area that Treasury will home in on is laying “strong foundations for economic growth”. He said job creation is the number one priority.
“We must remove barriers to investment, unlock private sector capital and expand opportunities for all South Africans. Through Operation Vulindlela, we have already seen what focused collaboration can achieve and we will now accelerate these reforms.
“The challenges ahead are serious but not insurmountable. If we work together, stay focused and persevere, we can chart a better course for our economy and our people. That is my commitment to South Africans and that is what we aim to achieve when we table the new Budget on the 21st of May 2025,” said Godongwana.
Picture: The residents of embattled Ditsobotla Local Municipalityembark on protest over lack of electricity
By OBAKENG MAJE
10 January 2025- The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West said it has today written to the National Minister of Cooperative Governance, Velenkosini Hlabisa, the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, and President Cyril Ramaphosa, requesting them to urgently place the Ditsobotla Local Municipality under Section 139(7) national administration to restore service delivery and good governance.
The DA said despite about 30 Section 139 North West provincial government interventions since 2000, which ultimately led to the dissolvent of the municipal council Ditsobotla in 2022 and the current efforts by the North West Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA) to stabilise the financial situation of the municipality, these efforts have been ineffective largely due to ANC political instability and factionalism within the council and a reluctance to root out corruption.
The DA spokesperson on Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs in North West, Chris Steyl said, repeated engagements by the provincial and national portfolio committees of COGTA and SCOPA, have not yielded any positive impact. Steyl said the Ditsobotla Local Municipality would appear before these committees in parliament and the Provincial Legislature, agree to implement committee recommendations and resolutions, only to discard these commitments the minute these committees adjourn.
“The municipality has collapsed and is completely bankrupt with its liabilities exceeding its assets. Service providers cannot be paid and refuse to respond to job orders.
“Water and electricity infrastructure has completely collapsed, leaving large sections of the municipality without any water and/or electricity supply for weeks on end, never mind the inability of the administration to respond to other service delivery needs,” he said.
Steyl further said residents are desperate and angry. He added that, seeing regular violent protest action take place, leaves other communities to endure the terrible situation created by the inability of the municipality to deliver services.
“They also have to endure the consequences of further damage to infrastructure, which compounds the general misery residents are forced to contend with.
“The DA has requested the President and the Ministers of COGTA and Finance to take control of the situation and conduct an independent financial assessment of the municipality,” said Steyl.
He said they should craft a funded and implementable recovery plan to stabilise the municipality and administer its affairs towards servicing residents, while an independent skills audit of all senior and middle management officials as well as a forensic financial audit is conducted.
Steyl said all municipal officials in senior and middle management who are identified to either lack the necessary skills, qualifications and experience to perform their functions must be removed from office.
“Municipal officials and political office bearers who are identified in any corrupt financial activities must be prosecuted and the necessary asset forfeiture processes initiated.
“These interventions are the only real hope for positive change in Ditsobotla. Dissolving the council yet again will not solve any of the structural issues that continue to persist, any such consideration must be rejected in its entirety,” he said.
Steyl said the time has come for decisive action to end the decades-long rot in Ditsobotla and restore the municipality to its former glory as an economic agri-economic hub in the North West.
The Guardian 