August 17, 2023.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines:

'Maximum deployment' of law enforcement for Brics summit

Provinces on track to overspend by R25-billion as new wage bill kicks in

And, Santaco takes City to court after weekend impoundments

'Maximum deployment' of law enforcement for Brics summit

Next week's Brics summit will see "maximum deployment" of law enforcement personnel in and around the Sandton Convention Centre.

But just how many law enforcement officers will be deployed National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure co-chairperson Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili would not say, due to security reasons, as is the practice.

She emphasised that only people who have valid accreditation will be allowed near the venue and restricted areas.

From 8am on Sunday until midnight on Thursday, there will be road closures on the corner of Maude and West Streets, the corner of West Street and Alice Lane, and the corner of Alice Lane and 5th Street.

Provinces on track to overspend by R25-billion as new wage bill kicks in

All nine provincial governments are projected to overspend by a total of R24.8-billion this year, mainly due to higher wage costs for employees that kicked in on 1 April.

The wage increase for 2023/24 was not factored into the February budget as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana did not want to pre-empt the wage settlement. On 31 March, unions and government signed a 7.5% increase that will cost the government R37.4-billion that has not been budgeted.

In a statement on the trends in first-quarter provincial spending, the Treasury said that both provinces and the largest service delivery departments were projected to overspend.

All provinces are projecting to overspend their 2023/24 main budgets by R24.8-billion, mainly due to the implementation of the wage agreement. The projected overspending emanates from current payments with compensation of employees and goods and services projecting budget pressures of R18.9-billion and R3.5-billion, respectively.

Santaco takes City to court after weekend impoundments

The South African National Taxi Council has lodged an urgent application in the Western Cape High Court for an interdict against the City of Cape Town in which it says taxis were impounded just days after the parties reached an agreement.

Eight taxis were impounded on Friday and six on Saturday. Another minibus was taken in but later released because the offence it was seized for wasn't listed as a violation that warrants impoundment in terms of the National Land Transport Act.

Santaco argues in its papers that the 14 taxis were taken in for the "wrong reasons", and it is seeking the taxis' release.

It is seeking an interim order, directing the City and Mobility MEC Ricardo Mackenzie to abide by the provisions of the agreement they had signed last week after a tense standoff with the metro over impoundments.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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