They did what?! - Five talked about political moments this year

President Cyril Ramaphosa has scrapped the changes made to the ministerial handbook. File photo.
Image: GCIS.

This year started hopeful with fewer Covid-19 cases and the lifting of the state of disaster, but quickly proved to be a challenging one as South Africa was plunged into load-shedding. 

While trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel, politicians had the country doing a double-take over what made headlines. 

Here are some of the talked about political moments. 

No load-shedding for ministers

The country was up in arms that homes of ministers in Bryntirion Estate, Pretoria, were exempt from power cuts. 

This is because of legislation keeping the lights on at the Union Buildings which shares a substation with the estate. Not all ministers live on the estate.

According to the department of public works and infrastructure, in the City of Cape Town only the president and deputy president’s houses remain lit during load-shedding. 

“As for ministerial houses, they experience the effects of load-shedding like everybody else in the neighbourhood as per the municipal load-shedding schedule.”

Free electricity and water 

Government drew criticism over the reported free electricity and water for ministers and their deputies. This was after the ministerial handbook was amended to remove a cap on municipal utilities for ministers and deputy ministers. 

The amendment sparked backlash from opposition parties, civil society and citizens on social media.

Government spokesperson Phumla Williams said the public works department was responsible for providing water and electricity to state-owned residences.

“Those properties used [by ministers and deputy ministers] remain the property of the state. Their upkeep is overseen by the department. This includes paying for water and electricity. We would like to assure South Africans that the private properties of members of the executive remain their responsibility, their upkeep, including water and electricity,” said Williams. 

Scrapping the handbook amendments 

President Cyril Ramaphosa withdrew the amendments after the backlash. 

Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said: “President Ramaphosa has ordered the withdrawal of the presidential minute on the executive members’ guide, commonly known as the ministerial handbook, for 2022. The withdrawal will give effect to the 2019 version of the guide, pending a review.

“President Ramaphosa acknowledges and appreciates the public sentiments on the matter. However, the impression created that the amendments were conducted in secrecy and to avoid public scrutiny is false,” Magwenya said.

3% salary increase for government officials

Ministers salary increases also caused a buzz, with the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) saying they were unfair to struggling public service workers.

Ramaphosa accepted recommendations by the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers to increase salaries of politicians and other government officials by 3%.

Cosatu parliamentary co-ordinator Matthew Parks said this would widen the wage gap.

“We should be asking if we want this huge wage gap where ministers earn R200,000 a month whereas a cleaner, if they are lucky, will earn that in a year,” he said. 

Productivity and output of public office bearers and public servants could not be compared.

“Have politicians been productive? Under their watch government is being run into the ground. State capture and corruption is ballooning; state-owned enterprises [are] collapsing and municipalities are being destroyed by mismanagement and corruption. Society is paying the price of the state,” he said. 

Fuel increases

Runaway oil prices and steep fuel levies had South Africans paying more than R26/l for petrol this year.

Government announced a temporary suspension of the general fuel levy in the middle of the year, but as a cost of living crisis enveloped the nation we asked if government should do more to protect citizens from fuel price increases.

“To mitigate the impact of escalating fuel prices I hereby table the following proposal which will be included in the 2022 Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendments of [the] Revenue Laws Bill for consideration by this house [National Assembly],” finance minister Enoch Godongwana told parliament. 

“A temporary reduction in the general fuel levy of R1.50/l  from April 6 to May 31. This will reduce the levy for petrol from R3.85/l  to R2.35. The levy on diesel will be reduced from R3.70/l  to R2.20,” he said. 

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