Assessment of Contingent Liabilities and Their Impact on Debt Dynamics in South Africa

This article is devoted to the assessment of the conditional liabilities of public-private partnerships (PPPs) and measures to reduce the risks associated with them. First, a quantitative assessment of the contingent liabilities of PPP projects at the federal level is carried out. Contingent liabilities for public-private partnership projects are estimated to amount to 2.3 trillion roubles for the period 2021–52. Second, the experience of creating a system for managing the contingent liabilities of PPPs in Russia and the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) is summarized. This analysis shows that each of the BRICS countries has a legislative and technical framework for managing fiscal liabilities, but does not use it to the fullest extent. Consequently, to improve functioning it is necessary to regularly update, fill in, and expand the number of available financial indicators for PPP projects. Of the BRICS countries, South Africa is characterized by the most complete and transparent system for managing PPP-related contingent liabilities, but Russia could use some of the measures implemented in other BRICS countries to improve its own system, including the creation of a guarantee fund (Brazil), a system for operational project evaluation (India) and the practice of project approval by the fiscal authority (China).

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Financial guarantees and public debt in South Africa

Risk Governance and Control Financial Markets & Institutions ◽

10.22495/rgcv5i3c2art7 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 214-223

Author(s):

Collins Ogutu Miruka ◽

Gisele Mah ◽

Mamello A. Nchake

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Public Debt ◽

Debt Management ◽

Fiscal Sustainability ◽

Pass Rate ◽

Series Data ◽

Present Value ◽

Contingent Liabilities ◽

Loan Debt ◽

The Impact

A few years since the worst of the Euro sovereign debt crisis, many nations, from Cyprus to Ireland, including South Africa are re-visiting their public debt management to avert or lessen the impact of similar such happenings in the future. There are a number of studies on risk assessments of fiscal sustainability; however, few focus on contingent liabilities and even fewer on financial guarantees. In South Africa, financial guarantees have consistently comprised just above or below 50% of all contingent liabilities since the early days of majoritarian rule. In lieu of this, the paper analyses the risks posed by financial guarantees to fiscal sustainability in South Africa. We estimate the effect of financial guarantees on public debt in South Africa via the Engle Granger and causality model with quarterly time series data obtained from the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) as well as the National Treasury. The data covers the April 1997 to December 2011 period. All econometric methods were executed using the statistical software package E-Views 7. We found that no long run relationship exists between national net loan debt and financial guarantees in South Africa. The pass rate of financial guarantees significantly affects its present value. The pass rate of financial guarantees has a predicting ability in determining the present value of national net loan debt. These findings may be contrary to what would be expected in the case of South Africa considering that the country is managing the issuance of financial guarantees prudently and that at present levels, there is no need for a radical policy shift. The study therefore offers a lesson to similar merging economies on the good governance of contingent liabilities.

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Time and Latitude in South Africa

International Astronomical Union Colloquium ◽

10.1017/s0252921100026816 ◽

1972 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 27-38

Author(s):

J. Hers

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Cape Town ◽

Astronomical Observations ◽

Royal Observatory ◽

The Republic ◽

Astronomical Determination ◽

Limited Accuracy ◽

Better Than

In South Africa the modern outlook towards time may be said to have started in 1948. Both the two major observatories, The Royal Observatory in Cape Town and the Union Observatory (now known as the Republic Observatory) in Johannesburg had, of course, been involved in the astronomical determination of time almost from their inception, and the Johannesburg Observatory has been responsible for the official time of South Africa since 1908. However the pendulum clocks then in use could not be relied on to provide an accuracy better than about 1/10 second, which was of the same order as that of the astronomical observations. It is doubtful if much use was made of even this limited accuracy outside the two observatories, and although there may – occasionally have been a demand for more accurate time, it was certainly not voiced.

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Indirect Rule in South Africa

10.1017/upo9781580467421 ◽

2009 ◽

Author(s):

J. C. Myers

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Indirect Rule

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Combining Professional Interests and Travel: People to People Citizen Ambassador Program

Perspectives on Global Issues in Communication Sciences and Related Disorders ◽

10.1044/gics1.2.47 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 47-54

Author(s):

Alex Johnson ◽

Amanda Hitchins

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Health Education ◽

Communication Disorders ◽

Social Conditions ◽

Speech Language Pathologists ◽

Exchange Program

Abstract This article summarizes a series of trips sponsored by People to People, a professional exchange program. The trips described in this report were led by the first author of this article and include trips to South Africa, Russia, Vietnam and Cambodia, and Israel. Each of these trips included delegations of 25 to 50 speech-language pathologists and audiologists who participated in professional visits to learn of the health, education, and social conditions in each country. Additionally, opportunities to meet with communication disorders professionals, students, and persons with speech, language, or hearing disabilities were included. People to People, partnered with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), provides a meaningful and interesting way to learn and travel with colleagues.

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