MyZA
News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff
South Africans could face substantially higher monthly electricity charges, regardless of how much power they use, if the government’s revised Electricity Pricing Policy is adopted without significant changes. This is one of OUTA’s central concerns in its submission to the Department of Electricity and Energy on the draft Electricity Pricing Policy (EPP 2026), published for …
Treasury’s temporary R10 billion fuel levy relief will ease pressure on consumers, but its own findings on infrastructure failures and municipal overspending show why South Africans need more than short-term fixes. Fuel relief: Petrol levies will be reduced by R1.50 per litre and diesel by R3 per litre from 4 November, with reduced relief continuing …
How does a municipality that cannot reliably provide water and electricity to its residents justify awarding a R69.7 million contract when its own Bid Evaluation Committee recommended a qualifying bidder at R34.9 million? This is the question the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) wants Merafong City Local Municipality to answer following its preliminary investigation into …
OUTA says government’s new water strategy identifies the problems but lacks the clear deadlines, funding commitments, and accountability needed to fix them. South Africans don’t need another plan explaining why their taps are running dry, why sewage flows into their streets, or why municipalities cannot maintain basic water infrastructure. They need to know when these …
The dismissal of Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority (INSETA) CEO Gugu Mkhize by the Accounting Authority marks a significant development and positive example of how Government entity boards should conduct themselves when holding errant executives to account for their mismanagement of State institutions and taxpayers’ money. The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse’s (OUTA) has also …
Ministers and MECs must not be able to escape ethics investigations by resigning, being dismissed or moving to another portfolio, says the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA). In its submission on the Executive Members’ Ethics Amendment Bill, 2026, OUTA calls for an explicit provision allowing investigations into conduct while in office to continue after an …
he Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has noted the signing into law of the new Public Service Commission Act, which strengthens the institutional position and oversight role of the Public Service Commission (PSC) and expands its reach across the state. President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Act into law on 16 September 2026, replacing the Public …
Parliament is doing more oversight work, but South Africans need to be able to see whether that work is actually fixing the problems it identifies. This is one of the central findings of OUTA’s eighth annual Parliamentary Oversight Report, Watching the Watchers: Parliament Through the Eyes of Civil Society, which assesses the second year of …
Earlier this year, Eskom extended its waiver of registration and connection-related charges for qualifying Eskom customer solar systems of up to 50 kVA from 31 March to 30 September 2026. This followed Eskom’s “carrot and stick” approach during 2025 and into 2026, when it offered to waive registration and new meter costs while warning that …
ParliMeter, the civic technology platform developed to make South Africa’s parliamentary processes more transparent, accessible and easier to navigate, is entering a new chapter as the European Union (EU) co-funded phase of the project draws to a close and the Parliamentary Monitoring Group (PMG) taking custodianship of the platform. The transition is marked by “ParliMeter: …
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), in partnership with The Ethics Institute (TEI) and with support from the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS), has launched a new research series examining governance, accountability and board remuneration practices within South Africa’s state-owned enterprises (SOE’s). The research comes at a critical time for South Africa’s SOEs, many of which continue to …
South Africa cannot keep asking people to expose corruption while failing to protect them when they become targets. As government moves to overhaul the country’s whistleblower protection laws, OUTA says the experiences of murdered whistleblowers and the families they leave behind show why protection cannot begin only after retaliation, intimidation or threats have already occurred. …
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says today’s Pretoria High Court ruling on the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) raises serious questions about Higher Education and Training Minister Buti Manamela’s judgement and his handling of one of South Africa’s most important public institutions. The court suspended Prof Hlengani Mathebula’s appointment as NSFAS administrator and …
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has broadened its investigation into the implementation of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) after the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) disclosed information relating to the AARTO Appeals Tribunal that had not previously been provided to OUTA. The information, including the names of Tribunal members and details …
OUTA notes Cabinet’s long-overdue approval of ten-year driving licence cards for light motor vehicles. The decision follows years of calls for reform from OUTA and other civil society organisations. “This decision is almost six years overdue, but it is a victory for motorists and for common sense. Government has finally accepted that forcing motorists through …
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has released the findings of a preliminary investigation into the Insurance Sector Student Fund (ISSF), uncovering what appears to be an extraordinary increase in the fund’s budget from about R20 million a year to more than R442 million during the 2024/25 financial year. The investigation raises serious questions about …
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) welcomes the Department of Water and Sanitation’s (DWS) written confirmation that ordinary households using borehole water for reasonable domestic purposes do not need to register under the current national water-use registration process. The clarification follows OUTA’s formal request to the DWS after Government Notice 54575 and the department’s recent …
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has launched an urgent High Court application to suspend the implementation of Phase 2 of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) system. OUTA argues that government has brought the amended legislation into force before establishing the legal safeguards that motorists are entitled to rely on. The application …
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) is calling on the Department of Transport and the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) to urgently explain whether the next phase of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) will proceed as planned on 1 July 2026. With only days remaining before the proposed rollout, government has yet …
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says the Auditor-General’s 2024/25 local government audit outcomes confirm that South Africa’s municipal crisis remains firmly entrenched, despite modest improvements in some audit indicators. While more municipalities submitted financial statements on time and 61% ultimately received unqualified audit opinions, OUTA cautions that these improvements should not be mistaken for …
Power cut to Johannesburg remains despite reports of CoJ-Eskom deal Eskom confirms its electricity interruption process remains active while no evidence has been provided that a settlement has been reached between Eskom and the City of Johannesburg. The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says that it has instructed its attorneys to provide it with the …
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has welcomed the Auditor-General of South Africa’s decision to conduct a national inspection of NSFAS-funded student accommodation, saying the process could help uncover whether students are being housed in accommodation that fails to meet required standards. According to notices issued to accommodation providers, inspectors will assess compliance with Department …
The development follows years of concerns raised by OUTA regarding governance, procurement practices, transparency, and accountability within the organisation. OUTA says the suspension should mark the beginning, not the end, of efforts to uncover the full extent of any maladministration or wrongdoing at the Insurance Sector Training Authority (Inseta). Inseta manages billions of rands collected …
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) welcomes Cabinet’s decision to write off outstanding Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP) e-toll debt, saying the move finally acknowledges a reality that became clear more than a decade ago: the vast majority of the debt was never going to be recovered. While the e-toll system was officially discontinued in …