April 07, 2025.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines:

Ramaphosa says social wage expenditure can only be sustained with higher levels of economic growth

Vaal’s water levels continue to rise, five sluice gates to remain open

And, Unctad warns of consequences of tariffs on the world’s most vulnerable

Ramaphosa says social wage expenditure can only be sustained with higher levels of economic growth

President Cyril Ramaphosa said today that the country’s expenditure on the social wage can only be sustained if there are higher levels of economic growth, which he said will come through infrastructure development.

In his latest letter to the nation, Ramaphosa pointed out that the 2025 Budget allocated up to R1-trillion for infrastructure over the medium term.

This includes the allocation in this Budget of an additional R62-billion over the next three years for road maintenance, electricity transmission lines, water and sanitation projects, school infrastructure and to support the ongoing recovery of our rail networks, he said.

Once government’s debt repayments have been taken out, 61% of spending over the next three years has been allocated to the social wage, Ramaphosa said.

Vaal’s water levels continue to rise, five sluice gates to remain open

As the water levels of the Vaal dam continue to rise, the Department of Water and Sanitation will keep all the five sluice gates open, with no changes in the dam’s outflow of 760 cubic metres per second.

The DWS opened the fifth sluice gate yesterday, less than 24 hours after opening the fourth sluice gate on Saturday, owing to the heavy inflows into the Vaal dam.

The Vaal dam’s water storage levels increased from 107.82% to 109.39% overnight by Sunday, and increased again to 111.11% by Monday morning, amid the continuous high inflow of water at 1 002.25 cubic metres per second from the upper catchment.

Should there be increased inflows into Vaal dam, additional gates may be opened.

The DWS will continue to monitor Vaal dam and effect changes on the outflow as and when necessary.

Unctad warns of consequences of tariffs on the world’s most vulnerable

With major economies set to impose sweeping new tariffs following those announced by the US last week, intergovernmental organisation UN Trade and Development has cautioned that the global trade system is entering a critical phase, threatening growth, investment and development progress, particularly for the most vulnerable economies.

Unctad secretary-general Rebeca Grynspan said this hurts the vulnerable and the poor. She said trade must not become another source of instability but should rather serve development and global growth.

The organisation said that unpredictability and uncertainty in trade and investment is impeding growth and planning for businesses and policymakers

Just ten of the nearly 200 US trade partners account for almost 90% of its trade deficit, Unctad pointed out; however, least developed countries and small island developing States – responsible for just 1.6% and 0.4% of the deficit, respectively – are being affected.

Tariffs on these partners will neither help balance the trade deficit nor generate significant revenue, Unctad asserted.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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