JOHANNESBURG – The City of Johannesburg has refuted allegations made by the African National Congress in Johannesburg about the city’s financial position.

“The comments are nothing more than the ANC’s attempt at reviving [former mayor] Parks Tau’s political career from the ashes,” mayoral committee member for finance Rabelani Dagada said.

“The truth of the matter is that under ANC administration, the city and its finances were run in an environment of chaos and disorder, all of which allowed a culture of corruption to fester and flourish. Since coming into office, we have learnt that almost 19 percent of the city’s R55-billion budget has, over years, been lost to corruption,” he said.

“The management of the city’s finances is a matter of public interest. We welcome scrutiny into the city’s finances by our residents. However, I would caution that the city’s finances should never be used as an instrument for petty politics.

“Stakeholders such as the Auditor General South Africa (AGSA), National Treasury, and Investors City keep us honest and constantly advise us on how finances can improve. The financial performance for the financial year (FY) 2016/17 is yet to be audited by the AGSA and any proclamation on the figures undermines the role of the Auditor General South Africa,” Dagada said.

Among other things, in terms of revenue collection for 2016/17, the unaudited numbers showed a significant reduction in the variance between the budgeted and actual revenue collected compared to 2015/16. There was an improvement from R3.4-billion negative variance in 2015/16 to R2.7-billion negative variance for 2016/17. In March and June 2017, revenue collected exceeded R3-billion, the first time ever revenue collection exceeded R3-billion for two months.

Total revenue collection in 2015/16 was R34.9-billion versus an improved collection of R35.2-billion in 2016/17.

“We also asses our revenue collection performance through the financial ratios, and our forecasted debt to revenue ratio is 40.7 percent, well within our target. Our main liquidity ration measure, cost coverage ratio is also projected to be a healthy 36 days, well above National Treasury benchmark,” he said.

The city’s 2017/18 budget was assessed by National Treasury and found to be funded.

“There are many customers in the city that we believe were not being billed for the three metered services – electricity, water, and sewerage. The plans that we proclaimed during the state of the city address and the budget speech of collecting more revenue are already being implemented.”

The so-called “billing crisis” was never reduced but rather “swept under the carpet” during the previous ANC administration by way of reduced credit management, which reduced customer complaints; increasing customer indebtedness by the “pay for what you are not disputing model”; and “fake actual readings”, which were called “calculated actuals”.

In terms of the city’s liquidity status, as at June 2017, the closing cash balance was between R3-billion and R4-billion. It should also be noted that liquidity had been deteriorating year-on-year due to the billing problems that went unresolved under the watch of the previous administration. The city’s current cash balances were around R4-billion.

The city paid all its short-term financial obligations as they fell due. The city continued to pay salaries and its creditors. Creditors were paid in compliance with the National Treasury requirement that suppliers should be paid within 30 days of receiving a valid tax invoice.

As for the short-term borrowing in the 2017/18 financial year the city could confirm that council had approved raising up to R3-billion from the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) to manage potential cash flow mismatches that might arise in the future.

“The city’s finances are in a sound position. The DA-led administration has made tremendous progress since taking office to ensure that we run a clean administration following acceptable governance practices. The financial state of affairs will be revealed by the AGSA when he issues his report in November 2017.

“We have increased access to basic services, including electricity, to unprecedented levels, including through our new micro-grids in informal settlements. We have increased investment in roads and traffic signals which are the arteries of life and commerce in this great city, upgrading our key bridges and highways as we go.

“It’s totally inaccurate for the ANC Joburg to purport that under mayor [Herman] Mashaba’s tenure the City of Johannesburg’s financial stability has been in a state of perpetual decline or precarious. This is a characterisation of their time in government. Should the ANC continue on their present path, they will not only expose themselves as failed government but a failed opposition party as well,” Dagada said.

African News Agency

Washington – The United States said Saturday it was “disturbed by irregularities” in Rwanda’s presidential election which saw Paul Kagame celebrate a third consecutive victory with nearly 99% of the vote.

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said the US “congratulates the people of Rwanda on their active and peaceful participation” in the poll but added: “We are disturbed by irregularities observed during voting and reiterate long-standing concerns over the integrity of the vote-tabulation process.”

Kagame, 59, returned to the helm of the east African nation which he has ruled with an iron fist since the end of the 1994 genocide with 98.63% of ballots cast – outdoing his tallies of 95% in 2003 and 93% in 2010.

Frank Habineza of the Democratic Green Party – the only permitted critical opposition party – won just 0.45 percent of votes, beaten into third place by the little-known independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana with 0.72.

New electoral law 

Nauert, who pointedly did not mention Kagame by name in her statement, said a particular concern was the lack of transparency in determining the eligibility criteria.

“We hope the new electoral law to be debated in the next session of Parliament will clarify that process well before the 2018 parliamentary elections,” she said.

Kagame is credited with a remarkable turnaround in the shattered nation, which boasts annual economic growth of about seven percent, is safe, clean and has little corruption. Rwanda also has the highest number of female lawmakers in the world.

However rights groups accuse Kagame of ruling through fear, relying on systematic repression of the opposition, free speech and the media.

Kagame’s critics have ended up jailed, forced into exile or assassinated. Few Rwandans would dare to openly speak against him.

19 July 2017

The majority of opposition parties want the vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma on 8 August 2017 to be conducted via a secret ballot, although the ANC opposes this. Civil society bodies are calling on ANC MPs to vote out the President. Yet, some individuals speaking out in favour of a #secretballot are facing death threats.

Cape Town – Voting in favour of the motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma would be like “throwing a nuclear bomb at the country”, ANC Chief Whip Jackson Mthembu said on Friday.

“The removal of the president will have disastrous consequences that can only have a negative impact on the people of South Africa,” he told reporters at Parliament.

It would result in the entire Cabinet having to resign, and a collapse in government. There would be deep and long-lasting ramifications, political instability, and economic uncertainty.

Removing Zuma and the ANC from power would only benefit the opposition and set the precedent that they could use Parliament to remove a democratically-elected government, he said.

It was “simply not in the best interests of the country”.

The DA’s motion to remove Zuma is scheduled for Tuesday.

Mthembu was resolute that ANC MPs were united. They could not remove their own president at the behest of their nemesis, the opposition.

“We must never allow our current irritations to blind us to act in a manner that destroys everything we have built over the past 23 years as a young democracy.

‘I don’t know where Hanekom got his figures’

Mthembu was asked how removing a president could be equated to removing the government.

“The DA have said removing the president is the first step to removing the ANC government. They have made no bones about that,” he replied.

He said he could not respond to ANC MP Derek Hanekom’s comments on Thursday that more than 50% of ANC MPs were unhappy with what was happening in the country and were worried about the party’s leadership.

“I do not know where he is getting those figures from. What I do know, as head and leader of the ANC caucus, is they will not support the opposition.”

MPs had raised legitimate concerns during caucus meetings, but had never expressed the desire to support an opposition-led motion, he said.

He accused the DA and EFF of being hypocritical, for taking measures against councilors for going against the party line, in the Cape Town metro and Mogale City respectively.

The ANC has made moves in Parliament to address the decline in confidence in the party and government, he said. He mentioned the SABC inquiry, probes into Eskom, and portfolio committee inquiries into state capture.

He repeated the call for a judicial commission of inquiry into the #GuptaLeaks “by yesterday”. Concerns about what had emerged in these emails were valid, but still unproven.

‘MPs in Parliament on party ticket’

Mthembu rejected media reports that the opposition had lobbied 60 ANC MPs to vote with the opposition.

“Who from the ANC would support removing own government? Nobody in his right mind would do so.”

The party’s constitution was clear on what would happen if an MP voted against the party in an open ballot.

National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete still had to announce if the vote would be secret or open. He said they were confident that the motion would be defeated, regardless of what Mbete decided.

Mthembu told News24 afterwards that a secret ballot was uncharted territory. He did not say how the party would determine how its MPs had voted should the vote be secret.

“ANC MPs have no right to remove the president of the organization that has deployed them,” Mthembu said.

He disagreed with the argument that voting with one’s conscience meant ANC MPs had to vote with the opposition to support the motion.

The Constitutional Court, in its ruling on the secret ballot on June 22, did not direct any MP on how to vote, only that they do so in accordance with their conscience and their oath, he said.

CAPE TOWN – The family of late struggle stalwart Dullah Omar has distanced itself from the ANC’s Dullah Omar Region march in support of President Jacob Zuma.

The region — which includes Cape Town — is planning the march for Tuesday.

Party members will protest against the Parliamentary motion of no confidence in President Zuma.

Omar’s family says it doesn’t want the stalwart’s name to be associated with justifying corruption, greed and factionalism.

It has also asked the party’s national executive committee to remove Omar’s name from the ANC Cape Town region.

eNCA