Gordhan’s grand entry and standing ovation shows his budget is in sync
FINANCE Minister Pravin Gordhan entered the National Assembly yesterday to rousing applause from all political parties, and finished his 2017 budget speech with a standing ovation that had almost everyone on their feet.
Following a speech in which he introduced a new tax bracket for people earning in excess of R1.5million per year, allocated more money to higher education and focused heavily on inclusive growth and growing opportunities for the poor.
Opposition parties agreed that the budget was the best Gordhan could do, in a very tight space.
DA spokesman on finance David Maynier welcomed Gordhan’s efforts to raise R28-billion in taxes and his attempts to balance the budget in a difficult fiscal space.
Maynier, however, called for a comprehensive review on spending saying there was still a lot of room to cut spending in the R14.3-billion spent on a “bloated executives and legislatures” in government.
EFF leader Julius Malema said: “I think it was a well balanced budget, well thought of and within the restraints that he finds himself in of low growth. The fact that we are in a very difficult period and we have seen Pravin crying to give the poor more, even with limited resources.”
Malema said he was hoping Gordhan would “go hard” on the issue of banks’ collusion but said despite Gordhan making a statement, it was “not hard hitting”.
Malema said he and the EFF had come to the house despite the presence of President Jacob Zuma.
“Pravin represents such a unifying figure during this difficult moment in our country. We may not agree with him on everything but he gives that sense of hope in a situation of hopelessness, where there is poverty of leadership in government. When he started speaking, the country was united, when he finished speaking, the country was united, and to our surprise, some from his benches were reluctant to stand up.”
Among those who did not stand for were ministers Bathabile Dlamini, Faith Muthambi, David Mahlobo and Des van Rooyen.
The IFP’s Mkhuleko Hlengwa said Gordhan’s budget “tried to strike a very healthy balance where he tempered justice with financial cruelty: ‘dire economic straits’.” Of the rumours surrounding Gordhan’s possible replacement, he said: “Unfortunately, he is a presidential appointee, but we do not believe that at this point in time our economy can afford another upset, particularly another reckless one, such as the one we saw in 2015.”
Trade union Cosatu said it appreciated many of the key “progressive” government commitments highlighted in the budget.
“Cosatu welcomes government’s commitment to allocate increased funds towards establishing the National Health Insurance and providing funding for working and middle class university and college students ...”
The union, however, expressed concern about the proposed sugar tax, saying it threatened jobs in rural sugar producing areas.
The SA Sugar Association said they were pleased the tax would not be implemented in April as previously expected, and was likely to undergo public comment.