Budget ‘full of broken promises’

Political reaction to the budget was mixed, but many criticised it for not being what government promised.

Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow minister for finance Geordin Hill-Lewis said, while the party welcomed Mboweni’s commitments to getting debt under control by 2025 and cutting the wage bill by a massive R300 billion, these were not new pledges.

“This was a budget that will raise the cost of living for those South Africans who face the hardest times. It is a budget that kicks South Africans while they’re down.

“As unemployment has spiked to above 42.6%, South Africans who have lost their jobs, as well as the elderly and those living on social grants, will wonder what they have done to deserve this,” Hill-Lewis said.

The increase in the fuel levy “will increase the cost of living for every South African.

“Taxi and bus fares will go up, as will food prices as goods will cost more to move around the country.

“This is a regressive move that burdens the poor unfairly.”

Trade union federation Cosatu said it had called for a budget that was going to focus on speeding up economic development to create jobs, support the rural and township economy and ensure all people have access to basic services.

“It is doing nothing to fix the broken systems. This is a pro-business budget that is divorced from the realities of ordinary South Africans,” Cosatu said.

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said: “The minister [Tito Mboweni], like President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this month, paid lip service to economic reforms, while avoiding the necessary commitments to generate investor confidence through real fiscal reform.”

North-West University economist professor Waldo Krugell said the aim of the budget should be to help get South Africa out of its “low growth trap” without falling into a “debt trap”.

“To my mind, the minister achieved this by sticking to the fiscal consolidation plans, by giving some tax support to households, and by standing by the president’s economic recovery and reconstruction plan and its focus on infrastructure investment,” Krugell said.

This is a pro-business budget that is divorced from the realities of ordinary South Africans.

Cosatu statement