Cape Town’s exceptional governance is unmatched in South Africa, thanks to its transparent and accurate management of public funds for delivering services. The city has achieved a clean audit for over 10 years, reflecting its steadfast commitment to accountability, good governance, and careful financial management. However, other municipalities need to follow suit to ensure the responsible use of public funds, and Cape Town’s infrastructure investment plan sets new standards for other cities to follow. Overall, Cape Town’s unwavering pursuit of excellence and progress makes it an engineering marvel of efficiency, accountability, and good governance.
The Western Cape Government has set high standards for good governance with exceptional audit outcomes for the 2022/23 financial year. Both the provincial departments and entities achieved clean audits, an unparalleled achievement in South Africa, signifying financial transparency and accountability. The government’s commitment to clean governance has laid a strong foundation for addressing service delivery needs and has fostered trust among citizens, local, national, and international partners, contributing to the Western Cape’s reputation as a businessfriendly province. Additionally, the province has witnessed remarkable progress in sectors such as crime, education, wellbeing, employment, and economic development.
The Ministry of Transport has announced the removal of Mr. Leonard Ramatlakane from his position as a board member and chairperson of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA). The decision was made following an investigation into the misuse of one of PRASA’s Cape Town properties by the chairperson, who failed to follow proper procedures.
On January 27, 2023, the Electoral Commission marked a significant milestone with the implementation of the Political Party Funding Act. This Act requires political parties to disclose their sources of funding and sets out the framework for public funding of political parties. The Commission tabled a report on political party funding in the National Assembly, which included the AuditorGeneral’s statement. The report pertained to the financial year 20212022.
Starting on Thursday, May 11th, 2023, the Portfolio Committees of Gauteng Legislature will hold public meetings across the province to comprehensively review the budgets of Provincial Government Departments for the 2023/24 financial year. These meetings aim to create an open and transparent platform for Gauteng residents to participate actively, express their opinions, and ask questions, which is a crucial component of the Legislature’s mission to involve the public in legislative processes.
The Minister of Public Enterprises, Mr. Pravin Gordhan, recently addressed the unfounded claims made by the DA. He believes that these claims are intended to mislead the South African public, gain political advantage, and destabilize the ongoing work to rebuild stateowned enterprises (SOEs). Minister Gordhan emphasizes that neither he nor the department will be deterred from their efforts to stabilize SOEs, enhance their governance, provide them with skilled leadership, and enable them to spearhead the government’s developmental and transformation agenda.
Ten years ago, on February 24, 2013, the Peace, Security and Cooperation (PSC) Framework for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes Region was signed, with the aim of bringing peace, security, stability, and development to the region. However, a decade later, the situation remains far from the goals the Framework set out to achieve.