Charles Wait News Today

With finance MEC Mlungisi Mvoko revealing that the province is dipping into its reserves again, withdrawing R800m to offset a budget deficit, concerns have emerged regarding a potential cash shortage in the Eastern Cape.

A towering figure in Nelson Mandela Bay’s legal fraternity and a survivor of one of SA’s worst river rafting disasters, Pieter Cilliers, died on Friday.

With Rebosis Property Fund’s debt ballooning to R9.5bn, and after protracted business rescue attempts, the major property group has been left with no option but to sell some of its assets, including Baywest Mall, worth a total R1.6bn.

With the walls closing in and load-shedding playing havoc with the economy, finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced measures that will not only absorb more than half of Eskom’s R423bn debt but also grant tax breaks for businesses and homes investing in renewable energy.

Strong growth in certain sectors managed to hold a downward trend in the unemployment rate in Nelson Mandela Bay.

Godongwana endorsed the government’s decision to unilaterally implement a 3% wage increase for all public servants, plus a R1,000 monthly gratuity.

There was finally some good news for Nelson Mandela Bay this week when it emerged that the city’s economy had received a slight boost because of increased activity in the construction sector.

Unemployment has dipped slightly in the Eastern Cape but — in a country with one of the worst and still rising joblessness rates in the world — it remains the province that is faring worst.

The plan to use private sector investment to transform the Port of Ngqura into a world-class facility is forging ahead, with President Cyril Ramaphosa announcing a deal will be signed by October.

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