Tag: Public Finance Management Act (PFMA)

As South Africa faces an intensifying water crisis, government is placing the spotlight on the water and sanitation sector by shifting from the "business as usual" approach to unlock innovative funding for increased water infrastructure development. On Tuesday, 27 August 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa approved the South African National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency SOC Limited Bill (the bill).

President Ramaphosa has promulgated the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act. The NHI, in its bill form, has been controversial since its introduction and has attracted significant critique from various stakeholders. It is therefore likely that the Act will be the subject of fierce litigation, sooner or later.

After years of sustained pressure especially from organisations like Sakeliga, the government relented in November last year and promulgated regulations stating that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) no longer have to comply with Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE), requirements when awarding government contracts.

In April 2012, the Accounting Standards Board approved the adoption of Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP) Standards to replace the Modified Cash Basis of Accounting (MCB) in the public sector. For over a decade, despite South African Revenue Service (SARS) noting its intention ‘to expedite the migration of SARS’ revenue accounting practices to [GRAP] to ensure legislative compliance’, there still has been no implementation. Or has there been?

Democratic Alliance Member of Parliament, Ghaleb Cachalia, who also serves as the party’s spokesman on public enterprises and serves on the Ethics Committee in Parliament, introduced the Public Finance Management Amendment Bill to the National Assembly.

The Supplementary Budget 2020 was tabled to Parliament on 24 June 2020 by South African Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.

The 26th week of 2020 will prove decisive in the South African political sphere. The business rescue practitioners appointed to try and resurrect South African Airways (SAA), after three extensions and extensive (and perhaps unlawful) interference by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), published the proposed business rescue plan on 16 June. The plan, however, is more of a pipe dream than anything else. The political drama about to unfold would be majestic to behold if it were playing out on television. Unfortunately, this is all but fiction.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact. The South African government has been applauded by the World Health Organisation for its quick response to curb the spread of the COVID-19 in its early stages, and prepare its health care system to better respond to the pandemic.

On Tuesday 29 October 2019, the South African Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan, released, and held a media briefing on, a special paper entitled 'Roadmap for Eskom in a Reformed Electricity Supply Industry, 2019' (the Roadmap). The Roadmap highlights the issues that Eskom is currently facing and then sets out the government's plan to address them.

A lack of consequences to civil servants involved in auditing the public finances has necessitated wide-ranging legislative changes to the Public Audit Act (PAA). This is according to the Auditor-General, Kimi Makwetu. In addition, Makwetu has said that the Public Audit Amendment Bill, which is soon to be debated in parliament, proposes 11 changes to the PAA.