CITIZENS are made to pay for the ANC’s sins.
This is how opposition parties reacted to the mid-term budget policy statement (MTBPS), delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday, 1 November.
Godongwana announced a range of spending cuts and budget reallocations.
The IFP said it was concerned about the state of the nation and the continued mismanagement of the economy by the ruling African National Congress.
“The IFP wishes to underline that there is nothing to celebrate in the MTBPS. The future of our beloved country is looking bleak, with an economic outlook that offers little hope,” said IFP Deputy President Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi.
He said Godongwana failed to address one of the most pressing issues facing the nation, which is job creation.
“Government recently highlighted that the country does not have money, yet we are continuing to borrow money, therefore digging our country into a debt hole that will leave the young people of our nation with nothing when inheriting this economy,” said Buthelezi.
The EFF rejected with contempt “the irrational, reckless, and underwhelming" MTBPS tabled by Godongwana in the National Assembly.
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“The EFF rejects the proposed cuts of direct provincial conditional grants of R6.2 billion, which include the conditional grant of poverty relief and infrastructure development, early childhood development grant, education infrastructure grant, and other grants meant for much-needed social infrastructure,” EFF spokesman Sinawo Thambo said.
He said municipalities in Mzansi, including metropolitan municipalities capable of collecting revenue, are under financial stress.
He claimed that the National Treasury refused to come up with a concrete and permanent solution to address the gap of millions of people who do not have any means to earn an income, including income to survive daily.
“The R350 Covid-19 grant was acceptable during the hard lockdown, but it is now unsustainable as a long-term solution. South Africa needs a comprehensive and sustainable safety net, including a grant for unemployed graduates,” he said.
Build One South Africa (BOSA) spokesman Roger Solomons said Godongwana missed an opportunity to provide financial assistance to those struggling.
“South Africans are in a dire situation. Household debt is increasing as net wealth declines. Inflation is increasing, which directly impacts bond repayments and rental contracts. The cost of the basic food basket is now R5 155,77,” he said.
RISE Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi said spending cuts and budget reallocations would not help address the real crisis.
He said Mzansi's economy was too dependent on Chinese demand for commodities 20 years since the last commodities supercycle began.
“The minister’s own remarks demonstrate this very point."
“As numerous Monetary Policy Statements have repeatedly said, Eskom and Transnet continue to choke all sectors of the economy due to rolling blackouts and an inability to move goods within, into and out of South Africa,” Zibi said.
