Gordhan: let’s work together
“LIONS who fail to work together as a team will fail to even bring down a limping buffalo.”
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan used this Sesotho proverb in his Medium-term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament yesterday, continuously urging members of the government to work together.
“Ditau tsa hloka seboka di shwita ke nare e hlotsa,” said Gordhan, reminiscent of Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa’s words a few weeks ago when the government was “at war with itself”.
But such a “war” was later denied by President Jacob Zuma in Parliament.
Gordhan cut expenditure by R26 billion and raised taxes by R43bn in a slow growth period.
He said the government had little room to manoeuvre and had to do more with less.
In a speech punctuated by inclusive growth and fiscal discipline, Gordhan said he was aware of the plight of students.
He said the Treasury would allocate R8bn towards zero fee increases for next year.
This happened as students had running battles with police outside Parliament, where the police fired stun grenades and tear gas at them.
Gordhan reminded Parliament that the government had a responsibility to cut waste and maintain financial prudence.
The government will speed up its infrastructure investment programme over the next three years, with R987bn to be invested in these projects.
Since 2009 the government has spent R1.6 trillion on infrastructure development projects across the country.
He said the tough economic climate continued as South Africa faced revised growth from 0.9 to 0.5 percent.
The government was now projecting to raise R23bn less in revenue than it had projected in February.
Gordhan earlier told the media in a pre-budget briefing that he would not talk about his court case with the National Prosecuting Authority.
The finance minister is due to appear in court on Wednesday.
He has received massive support across sectors of society, including from 80 chief executives of top companies.
In his speech, Gordhan said inclusive growth was the priority of the government and that efforts were being made to attract investments.
He said R17bn had been unlocked in the oceans economy, but insisted on structural reforms in the economy to get it out of the woods.
The minister also said the war against corruption must continue.
“Those who are called upon to serve in public institutions have an added responsibility to work with integrity, honesty and accountability, and to ensure that their efforts are directed towards the shared interests of all South Africans,” he said, without mentioning anyone by name.
“Put simply, this means that public funds must not be diverted to private ends.
“All citizens are entitled to demand accountability and integrity from those who serve them,” he added, to loud applause from the House.
Gordhan also reined in stateowned entities (SOEs) and said the Treasury would keep a close eye on their performance.
However, he warned that there were key principles that needed to be met before the government could in future intervene when the SOEs are in financial trouble.