For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Shomolekae.

Making headlines: National Treasury schedules 21 February as budget day; Ramaphosa calls for business to end need for prior work experience in employing youth; And Govt probe finds fake diesel at 70 garages - even after Mantashe's warning

National Treasury schedules 21 February as budget day

South Africa’s national budget day is currently scheduled for 21 February, according to National Treasury, which added that the date still needed final confirmations.

This year’s event will be closely watched, with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana having said during the medium-term budget presentation in November that significant cost-cutting measures will be undertaken within the government and that the fiscus needed to recoup about R15-billion in taxes.

Promises by various finance ministers in the past to curb government’s spending haven’t amounted to much and analysts have questioned whether or not the state has the stomach for austerity measures, especially in an election year.

The need to raise an extra R15-billion has also been a topic for debate for the past three months, with consumers concerned that the likes of value-added tax could be increased. Economists have, however, said the amount isn’t inordinate and that it could be achieved in a variety of ways, including not adjusting tax brackets so as to allow for bracket creep.

Ramaphosa calls for business to end need for prior work experience in employing youth

President Cyril Ramaphosa noted that education is about more than personal betterment or obtaining a qualification to seek gainful employment, it is a ladder out of poverty.   

In his weekly letter to the nation, Ramaphosa wrote that in a country such as South Africa, universal access to education was by far the most impactful intervention in breaking the cycle of inter-generational poverty.

Last week Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga released the 2023 matric results, which showed an 82.9% pass rate for the cohort of matriculants who sat the National Senior Certificate exam last year.

He said that while government was proud of all matriculants, it was particularly proud of the young people who had succeeded in the face of great hardship and adversity.  

He noted that government had made the call for businesses to invest in the nation’s future by employing more young people, and, where possible, to do away with the requirement of prior work experience. 

Ramaphosa encouraged companies to use the Employee Tax Incentive to hire more young job-seekers, to make more training and mentorship opportunities available, and to sign up with the Youth Employment Service and other initiatives being rolled out in partnership with government.

And Govt probe finds fake diesel at 70 garages - even after Mantashe's warning

An investigation by the Department of Mineral Resource and Energy has uncovered that 70 petrol stations across the country are selling dodgy diesel to customers, a clear sign profiteers are cutting corners as petroleum prices continue to skyrocket.

The watered-down diesel is allegedly contaminated and mixed with illuminated paraffin.

And according to the department, this practice had tax evasion implications. 

Mineral Resource and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, during a parliamentary sitting back in 2022, revealed dodgy diesel was on the rise at petrol stations even though he did not go into details. 

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

Don’t forget to follow us on the X platform, at the handle @PolityZA