The Week Ahead: All about the budget and some legislating

Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene's budget speech on Wednesday will dominate the headlines this week. The Minister has a tough job to do as he seeks to address significant social challenges and reassure investors about the country’s growth prospects.

During his 2014 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement Speech, the Minister ...

LiveMagSA: SONA 2015 - Parliament collapses

By Rofhiwa Maneta

This year’s State of the Nation Address was a carnival of unmitigated disgrace. There’s just no other way to describe it. It will be remembered mostly for the ruling party’s silencing of the media and the opposition while the president threw his head back and giggled throughout ...

Read President Jacob Zuma's 2015 State of the Nation speech here:

State of the Nation Address by His Excellency Jacob G Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa on the occasion of the Joint Sitting Of Parliament Cape Town,

The Speaker of the National Assembly, The Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and ...

Black Sash poses questions to President before 2015 SONA

President Jacob Zuma, tonight you will present the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) to a joint sitting of Parliament. Below are some questions we wish to pose to you.

Honorable President Zuma, you told us this time last year that government’s monitoring and evaluation efforts indicate “an improvement in ...

LiveMagSA: Should the child support grant age be extended?

By Ayanda Charlie

The news that government plans to extend the child grant age has been met with an array of opinions. While some experts say this would help the youth, others are apprehensive. The voice sorely lacking from this discussion, however, is that of the youth itself. A report ...

Infographic: The Economic Development Department on SA’s growth and unemployment

Earlier this week, the Department of Economic Development (EDD) briefed the Select Committee on Economic and Business Development on progress made on the implementation of the New Growth Path (NGP), which according to the EDD, was “developed to address the legacy of inequality with regard to access to resources, skills, ...

Local Government getting back to basics, says Minister

In his Budget Vote address yesterday, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Pravin Gordhan, told MPs “the test of change is when citizens themselves attest that they have a decent living environment, they enjoy safety for themselves and their children, they can easily access educational and health facilities, they are ...

Public Works Department stable, but much more work to do says Minister

Yesterday's meeting with the Select Committee on Economic and Business Development saw the Department of Public Works (DPW) brief MPs on its Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan. However, the discussion between the Committee and the DPW revealed more than just the targets and budget expenditure for the year ahead. ...

In the spotlight this week

With only two weeks left before Parliament rises, it is not a surprise that the National Assembly has planned two plenary sessions for Tuesday and the scheduled sittings for Wednesday and Thursday are expected to finish late in the day.

On Wednesday, the Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe will provide oral ...

Breaking down the budget: Your Minister on job creation and social spending

On Wednesday, 26 February, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan tabled the Budget in Parliament. The national budget is essentially the announcement of government’s estimated spending (dividing state coffers between the three ties of the state), borrowing and tax plans for the forthcoming three years.

Nene-Gordhan Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has a word ...