SsnippetsSERVE AND
SsnippetsSERVE AND DELIVERHEAD SA’S GROUP OF G20 PRESIDENCYDuring the recent G20 Rio Leaders‘ Summit in Brazil, President Ramaphosaofficially accepted South Africa‘s responsibility for the G20 presidency for2025. This will be the first time an African economy leads the G20 for arotational, one-year term. Brazil held the G20 presidency during 2024, andSouth Africa will at the end of its term hand over the G20 presidency to theUnited States.The G20 is a forum of the largest economies in the world who meetregularly to discuss the most pressing issues facing the global economy.Under its G20 presidency, South Africa seeks to provide strategic directionin establishing a more equitable, representative and fit-for-purposeinternational order, in-line with the main multilateral processes under theUnited Nations.MINISTER GEORGE ON THE OUTCOMES OF COP29The Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, haswelcomed the outcomes of the United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change (UNFCCC) 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) that wasconcluded in November 2024, in Baku, Azerbaijan.“Following an intense two weeks of consultations and negotiations,parties adopted the Baku Climate Unity Pact consisting of a New CollectiveQuantified Goal (NCQG) on climate finance, a Global Goal on Adaptation anda Sharm el-Sheikh Mitigation Ambition and Implementation Work Programmeas well as the key decisions on implementing the Paris Agreement‘s Article6.2 and 6.4. The adoption of Article 6.2 and 6.4 decision on carbon marketswill allow South Africa and other developing economy countries to initiatenew carbon market projects which will facilitate investments in greentechnologies and economic opportunities.“There have been complaints from other parties about the leadership ofthe COP29 presidency and that the decisions were not reached through fullconsensus. However, for South Africa, the decisions that were adopted area win. While we understand the frustration expressed by some parties, wedo see the outcomes as a significant step in the right direction as it is morethan what we had going into the negotiations and we can now build on that,especially given that South Africa will be the next president of the G20,” saidMinister George.Regarding the new finance goal, the developed economy countrieshave committed to mobilising at least USD300-billion per year by 2035for developing economy countries for climate action. The agreement alsoprovides signals to private sectorand multilateral developmentbanks to scale up financing todeveloping economy countries toUSD1.3-trillion per year by 2035.“The decision underscoresthe importance of reforming themultilateral financial architecture,to make it fit-for-purpose toaddress the climate crisis. It alsocalls for scaled-up support forclimate action from multilateralfinancial institutions throughgrant-based and concessionalfinancing,” said Maesela Kekana,chief negotiator, deputy directorgeneral for climate change andair quality management at theDepartment of Forestry, Fisheriesand the Environment (DFFE).Team South Africa believesthat COP29 was a huge success,which has inspired hope that wewill be able to do more in future.MEC ANTON BREDELL ON PROPOSED ESKOM PRICE INCREASES“The impact of Eskom’s drastic application for a 43.5% price increase tomunicipalities will go far beyond just making electricity unaffordable for manypeople. It would also destroy the ability to provide basic services by the fewremaining functioning municipalities in South Africa,” Anton Bredell, WesternCape Minister for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and DevelopmentPlanning said.Minister Bredell said Eskom needs to focus on improving its operationalcapacity, and it should not be allowed to make the public pay for itsinefficiencies. “Eskom’s mismanagement has directly led to the skyrocketingelectricity prices in South Africa in recent years. Examples of wasteful andreckless spending, such as paying R238 000 for a mop, or R26 for a roll ofsingle-ply toilet paper, were uncovered in recent years. Eskom at one stagepaid R51 for a single black refuse bag that costs R2.99 at retail stores.“Currently the utility is functioning by the grace of the Eskom Debt ReliefAct of 2023, which aims to provide R254-billion in debt relief over severalyears. Eskom received R21.9-billion in support from the fiscus in 2023,which allowed it to improve its maintenance efforts, but we do not know ifit is still overspending on items such as toilet paper and mops. Now Eskomwants overstretched South Africans to pay for its own inefficiencies.“A 43.5% increase in electricity prices will be a death blow for manymunicipalities in terms of basic municipal services, especially to indigentresidents. Eskom’s proposed increase will affect the poorest of the poorthe most.“Currently, indigent households are entitled to 50kWh of electricity permonth, six kilolitres of water per month and free weekly waste removal.Research commissioned by the Western Cape Department of LocalGovernment and conducted by the University of Stellenbosch in 2023 foundthat the current 50kWh of free electricity is not enough to secure a dignifiedexistence, and it should be 150kWh per month.“As starting point could be to ask whether indigent households should payVAT on electricity. If we do not readjust our focus towards the dire needs ofour poor and vulnerable communities, we are risking the very essence of ourdemocracy and social stability, which is already at a breaking point due tounacceptably high levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality.”6 | Service magazine
SSERVE AND DELIVERMETHODOLOGY FOR ASSESSING PROCUREMENT SYSTEMS (MAPS)The assessment of the public procurement system was initiated by theNational Treasury in 2023. The aim was to identify how the public procurementsystem can generate greater value for money for government, become moretransparent and drive accountability.The MAPS tool allows for benchmarking of our procurement systemsagainst international practices and uses the outcomes to improve andstrengthen the overall system.The improvements in our procurement system are the core of enablingthe public sector to deliver services economically, effectively and efficiently.Unfortunately, the current system is fraught with inefficiencies that make ituneconomical, cumbersome and open to abuse.The MAPS assessment will contribute to the government’s efforts toreform and modernise the public procurement system. The findings andrecommendations will specifically be considered in the development ofregulations to the Public Procurement Act as confirmed by the Minister in hisrecent Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement.Now that the Public Procurement Act has been assented to law, this willresolve some of the current procurement challenges. For example, the singlenational regulatory framework for procurement sets the stage for betterintegration of public sector procurement.However, the Act on its own is insufficient to resolve procurementchallenges. The assessment, while acknowledging the significantadvancements brought about by the Act, identifies several areas with gapsthat we need to respond to.The gaps are broad-based, covering legal and institutional frameworks,operations and integrity areas. The gaps largely confirm what the NationalTreasury has known, what civil society organisations and others have beenraising and reporting and what the public has been experiencing.This evidence-based process therefore provides South Africa withindependent insights for strengthening its procurement system.Speech made by Director-General Duncan Pieterse on the launch ofthe report on 25 November 2024.PRESIDENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE COORDINATING COMMISSION COUNCILPresident Ramaphosa has concluded the inaugural Presidential InfrastructureCommission Council under the seventh administration. The Council convenedto discuss, among others, a plan on dealing with crime and extortion atconstruction sites, the level of implementation of priority infrastructure projectsand programmes as well as strategic initiatives that are being developed toaccelerate the pace and quality of infrastructure investments in the country.The Council is constituted by the president, deputy president, ministersdesignated by the president, premiers of provinces, executive mayorsof metropolitan councils and the chairperson of the South African LocalGovernment Association. Per the Infrastructure Development Act, the Councilis tasked with, inter alia:• Coordinating the development, maintenance, implementation andmonitoring of the national infrastructure plan.• Coordinating the determination of priorities for development.• Ensuring that infrastructure development for any strategic integratedproject has priority in planning, approval and implementation.• Ensuring cooperation between organs of state in projects undertaken.• Promoting investment and identifying and develop strategies to causethe removal of impediments to investment.“This administration has prioritised scaling up investment in infrastructureas we seek to grow the economy, create more jobs, improve access tobasic services and improve the quality of life of our citizens. Continuingthe work of the sixth administration, we are working to involve the privatesector in achieving our infrastructure development goals. It is encouragingthat after a period of declining infrastructure spend, public sector capitalexpenditure is on the rise for the second straight year. According toStatistics SA, last year public sector institutions had a combined capitalexpenditure of R233-billion. This is an 11% increase on the previous year,”said President Ramaphosa.emphasises project preparation using the five-case model: planning andprioritisation, development of business cases, mobilisation of funds fromprivate and public sectors, implementation of innovative solutions andeffective monitoring. This model will be piloted in four local municipalities andleverage external resources and technical capacity stemming from local andinternational partners.The following four municipalities will benefit from the “adopt a municipality”pilot initiative: Govan Mbeki Local Municipality in Mpumalanga, Kagisano-MolopoLocal Municipality in the North West, uMngeni Municipality in KwaZulu-Nataland Metsimaholo Local Municipality in the Free State.This initiative, spearheaded by ISA, will address critical service deliverychallenges including persistent incomplete projects and infrastructureissues. ISA aims to drive urgent improvements over the next 24 months, withsome projects being completed during this timeframe. ISA will hold furtherconsultations on the next cohort of municipalities to be added to the initiative.Aiding municipalitiesThe Council agreed that there is a need to enhance the municipal infrastructureservice delivery model using Infrastructure SA’s (ISA) methodology, whichService magazine | 7
