Radebe budget move a power grab, says DA
The DA has accused Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe of executing a “power grab” that has reduced Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba and the Treasury to mere “bookkeepers” ahead of the finalisation of the budget for the 2018-19 financial year. The DA’s concerns were echoed by Treasury insiders at the weekend.
The DA has accused Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe of executing a “power grab” that has reduced Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba and the Treasury to mere “bookkeepers” ahead of the finalisation of the budget for the 2018-19 financial year.
The DA’s concerns were echoed by Treasury insiders at the weekend.
Last week, Radebe outlined the details contained in the “mandate paper”, which is meant to guide the Treasury on the budgeting process and spending priorities. The mandate paper identified higher education, social security and job creation as priorities.
Radebe said that, given the absence of fiscal space, departments would have to use noncore spending and nonperforming programmes to finance their identified priorities and fund national priorities.
Treasury insiders told Business Day at the weekend that there was concern that the mandate paper could create confusion around the budgeting process, a situation that could prompt another ratings downgrade. Ratings agencies have previously flagged policy uncertainty as a serious risk to SA’s sovereign credit rating.
The Treasury is meant to manage national economic policy and national government finances and preparation of the annual budget.
As minister in the Presidency, Radebe has, for all practical purposes, been viewed by some as the de facto prime minister.
“The fear is that if you take away the budgeting functions from Treasury and give it to a department without capacity, then it might create serious problems for the country,” said one Treasury insider.
“The risk is that the budget will be done in an arbitrary manner…. No department will have the capacity that National Treasury has built over the last few decades.”
DA MP David Maynier said: “I’m concerned that despite a long and detailed press conference on the new budget prioritisation process, the one thing that we do not have is the socalled ‘mandate paper’, which was approved by Cabinet [in] August 2017.”
Maynier said he had submitted a request in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act for access to the mandate paper. “What really concerns me is that Radebe appears to have executed a ‘power grab’ that has reduced Gigaba and National Treasury to mere bookkeepers,” said Maynier.
Last week, Radebe said the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation was working closely with the Treasury and there was no competition between the departments.
Mayihlome Tshwete, Gigaba’s spokesman, said “further engagements” were needed.