The State Of Democracy In The World-Adriaan Basson

Letter from the editor: Truth, trust and Trump in a time of AI   ADRIAAN BASSON, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Dear Subscriber, I write this letter from London where I am attending the Thomson Reuters Foundation's annual conference on trust. The conference gives a glimpse into the state of democracy and freedom of speech globally, and the latest developments in technology affecting public trust. This year's conference had a specific focus on the explosion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) – generative AI in particular – and its impact on society. It is clear to me that we are at the beginning of an historic era of change in how society works and interacts, not unlike the beginning years of the internet. It is wise not to make too many hard predictions or bets on how AI will (or won't) change the world, suffice to say it is happening every day, on every connected device and will only intensify for the rest of our lives. AI isn't good or bad – it is both – and I listened to many forces for good talking about the incredible opportunities AI will create to improve the world for millions of people. We all need to stay on top of the developments of AI in our industries and how it will impact the future of work, health, finance and communication. AI will fundamentally shape and influence our relationship with facts and the truth – and this is where journalism and News24 comes in. I leave London with the distinct belief that quality journalism – digging through the garbage (a word used aplenty in relation to the poor use of AI) in search of the magical truth – has an even bigger role and purpose in this brave new world. "AI is having a profound impact on society and democracy. AI is clearly the new battleground for trust," said the foundation's impressive CEO, Antonio Zappulla. What does this mean for the average South African citizen who wants to stay on top of the latest developments in news, business, sport and entertainment? It means that you simply cannot depend on social media platforms like Facebook, Google, X, WhatsApp or TikTok for credible, trusted content. Viral messages forwarded on your community WhatsApp group are likely false. We saw shocking examples of how these platforms are used by agents of disinformation to spread lies, fears and influence agendas. Which brings me to the US presidential election on 5 November. There was a tangible tension in the conference hall that the re-election of former US president Donald Trump could intensify attacks on the truth, democracy and freedom of speech. These fears aren't unfounded. During his first term, Trump illustrated his disdain for the facts when they don't suit his agenda and labelled credible sources of news, critical of his presidency, as "fake". This had a chilling impact globally, also in South Africa. It has become commonplace for South African consumers on social platforms to glibly call articles or publications they don't agree with "fake news". This poses an immediate and immense challenge for those of us who pride ourselves on factual, fair reporting as journalists. Firstly, we have to up our game and ensure that our journalism is top notch. This counts for every single journalist working for News24. Yes, we will make mistakes, but we need to limit this to the absolute minimum, acknowledge when we have erred and uphold the best standards of quality reporting as outlined by the Press Code. Secondly, we have to admit that we cannot compete with the big platforms like Facebook, X and WhatsApp on their terms. They are not interested in the truth; they are owned by a handful of dollar billionaires in Silicon Valley who have little interest in the public good or creating better societies. They will increasingly use AI to feed algorithms for the highest bidder. This means we have to be better, smarter and more innovative on our own platforms. Lastly, when and where we experiment with AI tools in disseminating the journalism we gather, we need to be upfront with you, our readers, that AI was involved and always ensure that a human editor signs off on any piece of content AI has touched. The opportunities for using AI to distribute and enrich our quality journalism are immense and we should not shy away from embracing technology for the good. My promise to you is that we will do this in a way that is ethical and transparent. It remains an enormous pleasure and privilege to work as a journalist in a democratic country that enshrines freedom of speech in its Constitution. As we were congregating in London, 320 journalists globally remain imprisoned while more than 100 have already been killed this year, largely in the Middle East. We cannot do this alone. Your subscription to News24 enables us to stand firm in the face of misinformation and those who abuse technology to divide and destroy democracy. Adriaan

Nigeria Suffers Its 6th Nationwide Power blackout

Nationwide Blackout As National Grid Collapses Sixth Time This Year Like Comment Oct 16, 2024 98 views By: Our Correspondents Source: Daily Independent The national power grid on Monday experienced another collapse, marking the sixth time that the coun­try has being plugged into darkness this year. According to data ob­tained from the Nigerian System Operator’s portal between 7:00p.m and the time of filing this report, the grid recorded an un­precedented zero mega­watts (MW). Data gleaned showed that all 22 generation companies (GenCos) were down. Advertisement This collapse marks the sixth grid disturbance in 2024, adding to challenges that have long plagued Ni­geria’s power sector. Despite the widespread impact of the blackout, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had not stated to confirm the oc­currence, leaving the pub­lic and stakeholders in the dark about the source and resolution of the newest crisis. generation grid international utility business Discussions

South Africa: 28 Million People On Grants With Only 7.4 Million Tax Payers Paying The Bill

South Africa has 28 million people on grants – but only 7.4 million taxpayers Daily Investor • 14 October 2024 Social grants The South African Social Security Agency’s (SASSA) annual report for the 2023/24 financial year revealed that it pays grants to 28 million South Africans. In turn, the National Treasury’s 2024 Budget Review shows that 7.4 million individuals in South Africa pay income tax. SASSA CEO Busisiwe Memela told Parliament on 11 October 2024 that South Africa serves two groups of clients. The first group is their ‘core clients, which are traditional grant recipients, and the second is recipients of the Social Relief Distress (SRD) grant of R350. Memela said 19 million South Africans receive grants, including older people, children, people with disabilities, war veterans, and people in distress. 55% of these grant recipients are from four regions – KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Limpopo, and the Eastern Cape. There are also 9 million SRD grant recipients, which started during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Memela told Portfolio Committee on Social Development members that South Africa has 28 million grant recipients. Put differently, approximately 45% of South Africa’s 64 million population benefits from social transfers. Social development is the third-largest line item in South Africa’s 2024/2025 national budget, with R387 billion planned to be spent this year. This amount includes R107 billion in old-age grants, R89 billion in social security funds, and R86 billion in child support grants. The budget further includes R73 billion for other grants, R22 billion for provincial social development, and R10 billion for Policy oversight and grant administration. National Treasury said R1.17 trillion is allocated for social grants and welfare services over the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) period. Social grants constitute 81.8% of spending in this function over the medium term, including helping women, youth and people with disabilities. Expenditure on social grants, excluding the SRD grant, will increase from R217.1 billion in 2023/24 to R259.3 billion in 2026/27. The SRD distress grant will receive R33.6 billion in 2024/25. Provisional allocations for social protection will be added to the fiscal framework in 2025/26 and 2026/27. Tax revenue to fund social grants Tax revenue to fund South Africa’s budget comes from three main sources: personal income tax, value-added tax (VAT), and corporate income tax. Personal income tax is the largest contributor to tax revenue at R739 billion, followed by VAT at R467 billion and corporate income tax at R303 billion. However, South Africa faces a challenge. It has only 7.4 million personal income taxpayers, while the state supports 28 million people through grants. The National Treasury’s 2024 Budget Review revealed that 7,409,406 people earn a high enough salary to pay income tax. There are 6.8 million registered individuals in South Africa with taxable income below the income‐tax threshold of R95,750 per year. The biggest contributors are people who earn above R1.5 million per year. They contribute R236 billion, or 32%, to personal income tax revenue. What is concerning is that there are only 197,866 people in South Africa who earn over R1.5 million. This means that 2.7% of people who pay personal income tax account for 32% of all collections from this important revenue source. Even more concerning is that South Africa’s expenses, particularly related to social grants, are increasing much faster than tax revenue. For the past decade, the government has consistently outspent its revenue, and it expects to run a deficit of R347 billion in the current financial year. To fund these deficits, the government takes on more debt. South Africa’s debt-to-GDP ratio is around 75%, growing from 2% to 3% annually. This is unlikely to stop. President Cyril Ramaphosa said in July that the government plans to use the SRD grant as the basis for some form of a Basic Income Grant. “We will use this grant to introduce a sustainable form of income support for unemployed people to address the challenge of income poverty,” he said. Creating a permanent basic income grant will add billions to the budget annually, which the country cannot afford. Renowned economist Dawie Roodt said South Africa’s growing debt burden is the biggest threat to the country’s future. “We are heading for a financial crisis in South Africa. The state owes too much money. We cannot afford to spend like we do,” Roodt said. Maybe someone far cleverer has the answer to where the money will come from to repay the debt. Or, is the plan of this government to knowingly default on its debt repayments? Warm regards Cliff photo CLIFF HALL indlovu@axxess.co.za 0827810544