South Africa

Pretoria - Government has allocated R1.1 billion towards drought relief, according to National Treasury.

Cape Town – Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has introduced a Bill that seeks to give effect to the postponement of the annuitisation requirement for provident fund members.

Cape Town – Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has proposed a new tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, as government increases its efforts to tackle obesity.

Cape Town – With tax revenue collection projected to be lower than initially anticipated, National Treasury has proposed numerous changes to the tax regime with the aim of reducing the budget deficit.

Cape Town – Government has allocated R4.5 billion for the National Health Insurance (NHI) over the next three years.

Cape Town – Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan says the Office of the Chief Procurement Officer is implementing procurement reforms with the aim of saving R25 billion over the next three years.

Pretoria - The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has postponed all by-elections which were scheduled to take place today in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West and the Western Cape.

Cape Town – Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan says government is addressing institutional and regulatory barriers that should help preserve the economy’s investment-grade status.

Cape Town – Government has created a new Early Childhood Development conditional grant to help children from poor households to attend ECD centres, National Treasury said on Wednesday.

Cape Town – A government expenditure review has found that government could save 20% on its current property leases over the next three years.

Cape Town – Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has announced that from 1 April, government will freeze appointments to non-critical vacant posts, as part of measures to contain costs.

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma has terminated the employment of members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in Darfur, Sudan.

Pretoria – The board of the South African Post Office (Sapo) will ensure that the Public Protector’s remedial actions, which came after investigations into the parastatal, are fully implemented.

Pretoria - Department of Water and Sanitation Director General Margaret-Ann Diedricks has left for Beijing to participate in a technical working committee of the Joint Working Group (JWG) between China and South Africa.

Pretoria - Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande has called on the management of universities to take decisive action in the face of student protests, which has been tainted by acts of violence and vandalism.