July 3, 2012

From Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Gia Costella.

Making headlines:

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan says that South Africa’s tax base, which comprises citizens and business engaging in taxable activities, not wide enough. This includes activities such as excise tax, personal income tax, value-added tax and corporate tax.

Speaking at the official opening of the 2012 tax season, in Pretoria, he said that, to ensure sustainable economic growth, larger revenues were required. However, the only way to ensure increased revenue is to grow the economy and create tax-paying-level jobs.

The South African Revenue Service is expecting to collect over R827-billion in revenues from the entire South African tax base in the 2012 tax season and R927-billion in 2013.

Korean-American physician Jim Yong Kim took the reins of the poverty-fighting World Bank on Monday and pledged to protect developing countries at a pivotal moment for a world economy that appears to be losing steam rapidly.

Kim, former head of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, takes the presidency at a time when the eurozone debt crisis is beginning to exact a wider global toll.

Kim's predecessor at the World Bank, Robert Zoellick, stepped up lending to developing countries in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis and record food and oil prices that prompted social unrest in parts of Africa.

The Western Cape Congress of South African Trade Unions said on Monday that Cape Town Stadium should be converted into low-cost houses.

Provincial leader Tony Ehrenreich said Cosatu has had discussions with engineers and architects who felt that it was possible to turn the stadium into low-cost housing for people in Cape Town.

The city recently announced it was considering various options to make the R4.5-billion structure in Green Point sustainable. Maintenance amounts to about R44-million a year, with very few hiring activities taking place due to the cost of using the venue.

One proposal was to convert it into a commercial hub, but this had been met with resistance from residents, who didn’t want added noise and activity.

Also making headlines:

Guinea President Alpha Conde says Parliamentary elections will take place before year-end, marking the final step in the West African state's transition from military to civilian rule.

Sars says that it intends unveiling new mobile technology and improved services to enable easier and more convenient ways of submitting tax returns.

And, the Public Protector’s IEC lease investigation is on course.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today.