Category Archives: Government finances

Infographic: Government’s spending priorities

Infographic: Government’s spending priorities

Stats SA recently released a complete overview of total government spending for 2015/16, providing insight into where your tax contributions have gone. Did you know that more money was spent on the police than on primary education, and more on defence than on environmental protection? Have a look at this infographic for more. According to   read more »


The SA business sector: turnover and profit

The SA business sector: turnover and profit

The formal business sector, excluding agriculture and financial intermediation, generated R2,3 trillion in turnover during the second quarter of 2017, i.e. the months of April, May and June. Who was responsible for generating this amount? Stats SA’s Quarterly Financial Statistics (QFS) report, which provides regular updates on the financial state and makeup of South Africa’s   read more »


Government spending: how much goes to environment protection?

Government spending: how much goes to environment protection?

It goes without saying that the natural environment is extremely important to our well-being. Take our rivers and wetlands, for example. The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), together with Stats SA and other departments, published a document in 2015 outlining the health of the country’s river and wetland systems. The data do not provide   read more »


The indigent net widens, but gaps remain

The indigent net widens, but gaps remain

Stats SA’s most recent release of its Non-financial census of municipalities (NFCM)1 report shows an increase in the number of indigent households across the country. South Africa’s 278 municipalities registered 3,56 million indigent households in 2016, the highest number on record since figures were first published by Stats SA in 2004. To put it into   read more »


Electricity: big business for municipalities

Electricity: big business for municipalities

The recent power blackout in Msunduzi municipality again highlights the importance of electricity supply. Large parts of Pietermaritzburg were plunged into darkness for about a week when saboteurs, suspected to be striking workers, disrupted the city’s power grid2. It might be common knowledge that municipalities are involved in power distribution in South Africa, but many   read more »


Municipalities: Which are most in debt?

Municipalities: Which are most in debt?

The answer might surprise you. Stats SA’s recently released Financial census of municipalities report, for 2016, provides in-depth detail on the financial state of South Africa’s municipalities, including levels of debt. How solvent are South African municipalities? To answer that question, we turn to a financial ratio called the debt ratio. The debt ratio is   read more »


Which national government departments pay the highest average salaries?

Which national government departments pay the highest average salaries?

South Africa’s 47 national government departments spent R137 billion on compensation of employees during the 2015/16 fiscal year. Which departments paid their employees the most in terms of compensation? Stats SA breaks it down for you. According to the data, sourced from the latest Financial statistics of national government report1, 70% of the R137 billion   read more »


GDP in the first quarter of 2017 contracted by 0,7%

  Press statement                         Embargo: Tuesday 6 June 2017, 11:30   GDP in the first quarter of 2017 contracted by 0,7%   Gross domestic product (measured by production)   South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate was -0,7% in the first quarter of 2017.1 The largest negative contributor to growth in GDP in the first   read more »


Non-financial census of municipalities, 2016

Media Release                                                                                                                                                          31 May 2017 Non-financial census of municipalities, 2016  The results of the latest Non-financial census of municipalities (NFCM) released   read more »


Media invite: Non-financial census of municipalities, 2016

Media Invite                                                                                                                                                                           26 May 2017     read more »