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Minister Blade Nzimande ignored procurement irregularities for a decade, but the new Portfolio Committee on Higher Education won’t allow this to carry on A tender that escalated by more than 1200% (from R6,6m to R89m) awarded to a bidder that should have been disqualified at the functionality stage, a mere five-day window from the placing …
Sanral has revised its financial accounting to depict e-tolls were collected when this was not the case, only to reverse the income though increased impairments. OUTA notes that Sanral has changed its financial reporting practices from the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) to the Generally Recognised Accounting Practices (GRAP) in 2023/24 and, in so doing, …
The South African public have been listening to politicians talking about removing the tax components in order to lower the price of petrol for many years now, but nothing has really come from these not-so-bright suggestions. The only relief the public has seen was a brief reduction in the General Fuel Levy in 2022, when …
OUTA told Minister Creecy how the driving licence card machine tender was manipulated, and now welcomes her announcement of an AG investigation. OUTA welcomes Transport Minister Barbara Creecy’s announcement that the driving licence card machine tender award and contract will be investigated. This follows a meeting that OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage had with Minister Creecy …
This bill is supposed to improve conflict resolution, but CAN has concerns about political overreach The Community Action Network, an initiative of OUTA, will monitor the passage of the so-called Coalition Bill when it goes through parliament, as this bill could fundamentally impact local government. According to CAN Project Manager Jonathan Erasmus, the revised deadline …
OUTA wants mayors and councillors to pay the costs of unlawful municipal manager appointments and fruitless special meetings. The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse’s local government Initiative, the Community Action Network (CAN), believes the proposed amendments to a slew of local government legislation will weaken accountability. The Local Government: General Laws Amendment Bill 2024 introduces more …
The AG’s report shows that municipalities continue to ignore the law, mismanage projects, mess up the paperwork, spend money badly and pass budgets that they don’t have the funds to implement The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) expresses grave concern over the Auditor-General’s report on the 2022/23 audit outcomes for local government, which reveals a …
Appeal to the new Minister of Labour to fix the problems with the fund
The RTMC says it won’t provide OUTA with its research report showing how “communicable diseases” affect its decision, while the Department of Transport says the report doesn’t exist The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has ignored the research it conducted in 2022 which recommended extending the validity of driving licence cards, and justified this by …
Civil society asks new Home Affairs minister for a meeting to raise concerns about the unrepresentative electoral reform panel. OUTA has joined a collective call by civic society to meet with Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber to raise concerns about the inadequacy of the new electoral reform panel. “The process of setting up …
Hundreds protest in Braamfontein
This is OUTA’s take on what came out of the Joburg Crisis Alliance meeting on Thursday 26 July 2024. In Kliptown, Soweto, the birthplace of the Freedom Charter, residents do not have electricity, water, decent roads or economic opportunities. Residents from Naturena have visited City of Johannesburg offices so often with service delivery complaints that …
The Joburg Crisis Alliance (JCA) is making a public call for the resignation of Councillor Kabelo Gwamanda, the Executive Mayor in the City of Johannesburg. This call is made in the wake of the significant decline in citizen confidence and trust in the leadership of the Executive Mayor and his Mayoral Committee. Since its establishment …
OUTA is demanding transparency from Department of Transport and its entities over the unexplained delay in replacing the driver’s licence card machine, the failure to extend the validity of the cards, and the licence transaction fees. “We are concerned that the secrecy is hiding problematic activities,” says Advocate Stefanie Fick, OUTA Executive Director. OUTA wants …
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA), through its initiative JoburgCAN, is raising alarm over the City of Johannesburg’s recent introduction of a prepaid electricity surcharge, describing it as a poorly conceived strategy to address the City’s burgeoning customer debt, with debt older than three months now standing at an alarming R49.650 billion. “The new prepaid …
“This is an unreasonable expense for low-income households, who already pay higher kWh/h charges than those on conventional meters,” says OUTA. The City of Johannesburg’s recent decision to impose a new R200 fixed service charge (R230 including VAT) on the prepaid high-usage electricity tariff, effective from 1 July 2024, has raised widespread concern among residents …
“When new MPs get to grips with their jobs this week, civil society will for the first time be providing formal input on how we hope they will improve Parliament’s record of holding the executive to account,” says OUTA. Imagine South Africa’s Parliament with MPs who listen to the public and civil society, use their …
OUTA has welcomed the clarity on the composition of the cabinet, but are unimpressed with the increased size of what was already a bloated cabinet. “We believe the increase was so the President could accommodate “old friends” such as Blade Nzimande and Gwede Mantashe, who have both not performed well in their previous positions and …
The Community Action Network (CAN) has compiled a submission on the “Coalition Bill” that, if passed, could fundamentally change the way municipalities are governed. CAN is making its submission available to the public to boost community activism and public participation, and allowing those who wish to use the CAN submission as a basis for their …
OUTA says that public squabbling does not improve confidence in this difficult process. OUTA is deeply concerned about the public squabbling over positions in the government of national unity (GNU). We believe this could jeopardise the formation of a stable and lasting GNU, which our country desperately needs. It is essential that the needs, demands, …
As the nation anticipates new cabinet appointments under the current political administration, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) is keenly observing the possibility of change. “These appointments are crucial, as they either introduce new leaders with fresh perspectives or retain current ministers whose past performance will impact future outcomes. We are, however, cognisant of the …
OUTA does not agree with the findings of the Mokhare report, and the attorneys who instructed Mokhare also disagreed with aspects of that report. The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says it stands by its report on the leaked National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) recordings released in January, despite a report compiled by Adv …
OUTA urges the president to return to the drawing board with the various industry experts to design a workable universal health care model. Simply signing the NHI into law won’t ensure it works. The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says that it fully supports the constitutional right of all South Africans to proper healthcare but …
In 2014, National Treasury told municipalities to spend 8% of the value of property, plant and equipment on repairs and maintenance, but Joburg has not managed that once since then and for five years spent only 2% or 3%. JoburgCAN, an initiative of OUTA, is gravely concerned over the budget allocations for the maintenance of …