Governance & Politics – 06 May 2024

GOVERNANCE AND POLITICS

• The full-year 2023/24 main budget deficit was confirmed at R324bn (or 4.6% of GDP) by the National Treasury, just R7bn better than the NT’s revised target in the 2024 Budget. (Source)

• Record voter registration abroad. The Electoral Commission of South Africa’s voting station in London has more registered voters than the biggest polling station in SA. The commission says there are 19 518 South Africans registered to vote in the London consulate. In comparison, the biggest voting station in SA is Joubert Park in Johannesburg, with a little over 15, 00 registered voters. There are 58 000 SA citizens living abroad who have registered to vote at the country’s many embassies and consulates across the world. (Source)

• May Day promises. President Cyril Ramaphosa told workers that the country is well on its way towards a universal basic income grant. He addressed thousands of Congress of South African Trade Unions, African National Congress, and South African Communist Party supporters at Cape Town’s Athlone stadium. Ramaphosa assured workers that their rights to collective bargaining and going on strike would be protected, and other policies advocated by unions like the National Health Insurance would soon come into effect. (Source)