Make a good plan work, Tito

It was a surprisingly agreeable budget yesterday from Finance Minister Tito Mboweni – at least if you don’t booze or puff too much, or were hoping the government would do away with e-tolls. Given that the country is still in the midst of a grave economic crisis – where the Covid-19 pandemic compounded the already dire effects of government corruption and mismanagement – Mboweni’s “sweet and sour” plan for the immediate and medium-term financial future of South Africa needs to be applauded.

He made no apologies for continuing on a prudent, conservative fiscal course – which means a commitment to containing government spending (and particularly bringing in civil service wage increases at under the inflation rate for the near future) and reducing the country’s enormous national debt. At the same time, the geese which lay the golden tax eggs – personal taxpayers and the corporate sector – were treated with comparative kid gloves.

The moving of tax brackets above the inflation rate means real relief for those on lower pay scales, while the commitment to reduce corporate tax to 27% from next year (and a promise to look at further decreases to make our tax system “more attractive”) is encouraging.

There were also nominal increases in government grants, intended to keep those in the worst circumstances afloat.

Other good news included the commitment of more than R10 billion to finance vaccine purchases, as well as increasing reserves to R12 billion for buying extra jabs and other emergencies.

It was worrying, though, that Mboweni is still sticking to the illogical “user pays” concept when speaking about infrastructure development. Taxpayers already pay for roads, as well as security, education and health services, while many who use government services do not.

Plans are one thing; implementing is something else altogether – and the ANC record on implementation is woeful.