Pravin pulls off balancing act

AMASTER-STROKE of political genius. This is how some commentators described Pravin Gordhan’s decision to go out and meet protesting students outside parliament before giving his mini-budget speech on Wednesday.

It was a display of the kind of leadership that has been hard to come by since the protracted student protests gripped our nation and brought the 2016 academic year to a standstill at several university campuses.

Gordhan went further to perform an extraordinary balancing act, announcing a R17.6-billion investment into higher education in the next three years.

Although seemingly this will not put out the fires burning on our university campuses, it is a realistic step in the right direction.

For this, Gordhan and his team must be applauded.

However, the money has to come from somewhere.

Early indications are that we must brace ourselves for tax increases.

In fact, some experts predict as much as a 1% tax increase from next year, while an increase in VAT could also be on the cards.

Add to this our sluggish economic growth, the rise in food and electricity prices, and it is a no-brainer that the average South African can barely make ends meet.

It is at times like these that the management of the public purse and our political economy particularly become most crucial.

Gordhan’s speech was indeed – as many commentators suggested – presidential in nature.

Not only did he present a frank diagnosis of our finances, he gave a comprehensive picture of the state of our nation, albeit without any groundbreaking plans to grow this economy.

Mindful of South Africa’s rising debt, a hovering threat of a ratings downgrade and overwhelming political uncertainty, Gordhan positioned himself as a man with a firm grasp of the challenges we face.

The issue, though, is that his call for an ethical government and leaders committed to the national cause is unlikely to be heeded.

For his detractors, too much is at stake.

That Gordhan must appear in court next week to answer to politically motivated, trumped-up charges is testament to this.

Regardless of the public outcry and the support for the finance minister, they will not back down.

Instead, they will intensify this fight and, despite the devastating consequences to this nation, they will continue to go all out to get public money for private ends.