POLITICAL WEEK AHEAD: Ramaphosa to host German chancellor in Tshwane

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula and the board of SA National Roads Agency (Sanral) will on Monday hold a media briefing to give an update on the cancellation of Sanral contracts worth R17.4bn.

The briefing is expected to cover issues such as  “lapses” in the tendering process, noncompliance with a board resolution, and conflict of interest.

On Tuesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa will host German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on an official visit to the capital city, Tshwane.

The ANC’s subcommittees are expected to hold media briefings on discussion documents released ahead of the governing party’s policy conference in July, a few months before its national elective conference in December, where Ramaphosa is seeking re-election as ANC leader.

On the same day, Johannesburg finance MMC Julie Suddaby will deliver her budget speech in the council chamber in Braamfontein.

The department of employment & labour will this week embark on a series of public hearings on the draft National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) and the Employment Services Bill in the North West’s Mahikeng, Klerksdorp and Rustenburg on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Human settlements minister and head of the cabinet economic cluster Mmamoloko Kubayi will lead Team SA to the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, from Sunday to Thursday.

Kubayi’s spokesperson, Hlengiwe Nhlabathi-Mokota, said in a statement that some of the key messages Team SA will focus on at the WEF include unpacking government’s priorities for supporting higher levels of economic growth through areas such as infrastructure and industrial growth; and outlining commitments to higher economic growth through faster implementation of structural reforms through Operation Vulindlela.

Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative of the presidency and National Treasury aimed at fast-tracking implementation of structural reforms in key sectors such as energy and telecommunication.

Team SA, which includes more than 35 SA business representatives, will also focus on the commitment to deepening economic co-operation within the continent and globally, stimulating trade, and implementing reforms that will support the ease of doing business initiative, such as reducing data costs and establishing one-stop shops for setting up businesses. 

The National Council of Province’s select committee on finance will be briefed by the Development Bank of Southern Africa on Tuesday on their quarterly report and challenges in executing their mandate.

The interministerial committee on land reform will convene the national communal land tenure summit in Boksburg on Friday and Saturday.

Cosatu, a key labour ally of the governing ANC, will convene its ordinary three-day central executive committee meeting from Monday to Wednesday to discuss organisational, political and socioeconomic issues affecting workers. A media briefing will be held on Thursday to communicate the meeting’s outcome.

mkentanel@businesslive.co.za