Lerato Mbhiza
Most opposition political parties have rejected Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) delivered in Parliament on Wednesday saying it does nothing to alleviate poverty.
The EFF said they reject with contempt what they called the irrational, reckless, and underwhelming statement.
“We reject the proposed cuts of direct provincial conditional grants of R6.2bn, 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.
“Furthermore, these budget cuts are extended to municipalities wherein the conditional grants budget is cut by R3.4bn.
“It doesn’t respond to the interest and aspirations of the people because if it was about the people, it was going to cut down on austerity measures because if you cut down on conditional grants that are meant for public infrastructure, you must know that you’re going to affect negatively on the living conditions of the people.”
The Red Berets added that the budget statement does not propose any tangible plans to support measures to grow the economy beyond the rhetoric peddled by president Cyril Ramaphosa which is evident in the reference to the national development plan that has now been reduced to a joke.
The DA spokesperson on finance, Dion George, echoed the EFF’s sentiments and criticised Godongwana for saying “absolutely nothing about making life easier for battling South African households.
“What he could easily have done is to cut tax and levies on fuel that would’ve made petrol less expensive and food less expensive. In fact, he never mentioned the cost of living once, and that’s an indictment of a government that simply doesn’t care.”
Meanwhile, the IFP expressed deep concern at the state of the nation and the continued mismanagement of our economy by the ruling party and said there was nothing to celebrate in the budget statement.
“The future of our beloved country is looking bleak, with an economic outlook that offers little hope. The issues of escalating debt, the ever-increasing cost to service this debt, and the alarming debt-to-GDP ratio are alarming signs of a government failing in its fiscal responsibilities,” said the IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa.
Hlabisa said the government recently highlighted that the state continues to borrow money, therefore “digging our country into a debt hole”.
“In his address, Minister Godongwana failed to address one of the most pressing issues facing our nation — job creation. South Africa’s unemployment crisis continues to worsen, and we have heard nothing concrete from the ANC-led government on how they plan to create jobs for our struggling citizens.”
Hlabisa slammed the expansion of the presidential stimulus programme, criticising it for not being a genuine source of job opportunities but merely a political tick-box exercise and simply placing a Band-Aid on a larger problem.
“We are not surprised that the MTBPS appears to be yet another empty promise by a government that has consistently failed to deliver on its commitments.
“South Africans are not lazy to work, they need a hand-up and not a handout. The ANC-led government has lost the trust of the people, and we, the IFP, share in the disappointment felt by millions of South Africans.”
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