Tracking in right direction
GAFTER THOUGHTS GUESSTIWBRIYITAER
IVEN the dispensation on the current new, I will discuss the finance and next week I will delve into the technical analysis on the impact of the planned expenditure on our economy. In the other week I will focus on transparency, accountability, political will and enforcement and the role civil society and interest groups can play at the different stages of the budgeting cycle. I will begin by commending the Ministry of Finance for preparing and presenting a stellar budget. If the minister was an entertainer, this would have been ‘a mike drop moment’, you deserve it; indeed the fruits of the hard work that this administration has put in are beginning to show. I give this budget 90 per cent and I reserve the 10 per cent because it is scanty on the youth. Like the previous budget, the youth gets a song without a substantial allocation.
You can have it all, just not at once
In my view the current allocations will catalyse the economy and spur growth and create jobs in the short to medium term. The 500 per cent increase in the budget for the Ministry of Natural Resources sets the country on the right path towards energy sufficiency and sustainability in light of the uncertainty on the renewal of our electricity supply agreement with Eskom in 2025. Improving domestic power generation is key to ensuring smooth operations in commerce. We can have it all, but just not at once because one would expect bumper increases in social protection expenditures in light of the contemporary challenges facing the country. However, dealing with an ailing economy that has not posited lacklustre growth below five per cent over the past three decades, it is important to prioritise expenditures and focus on addressing biding constraints on growth. I neglect the seven per cent growth attained during the COVID-19 years, these were just base effects from contraction in 2020.
Growth accounting urges that focus should be on the binding growth constraints, following which maximum increases in growth can be attained. Consistent economic growth above five per cent results in increases in the tax base allowing for a sustainable increase in social expenditures, social safety nets and salaries within the civil service. SACU receipts are very volatile and cannot be depended upon for long term planning and recurring expenditure, hence it is imperative to be tactical on spending the windfall.
Song on the youth
I lament how the youth always gets a song from the Finance minister. Last year it was the bees and starting small. This year it was a youth analysis of the budget and a gender analysis of the current budget; the minister did well in finding the human component in his allocations, this is insufficient and unacceptable. The youth needs jobs and livelihoods not a song. While the human development component is crucial, we need to solve emerging immediate problems, lest we risk creating a dead generation.
The youth is better placed to grow the economy, only requiring deliberate action from government to deal with bottlenecks in their access to finance. Efforts on the employment aspect and the partnerships
background and family background as a means to gauge the potential’s standing. While both methods were not the best, however, they have simply sinked into the pit of empty relationships. How does a well-paying job, a nice car and even a beautiful flat determine how well a man will treat you? These things do not, in any way, expose a man’s character and being; they are mere things he has accumulated and yes, maybe they are also the things that reflect on his hard work and interests but we cannot equate these things to a man’s character as any material thing is not a guarantee of goodness.
Security
This speaks to the fact that women are taught to prioritise security and while it is important, it is also true that security is important in any relationship – especially for women. However it should not be so important that it overlooks more critical parts of a relationship; that being what type of a man are you engaging yourself with outside of what they have? Is that man kind, respectful and caring? Security is one of the pillars in relationships that tie women to disastrous relationships. In many abusive relationships, women are likely to stay because of the security that the relationship gives them.
Leaving a partner who does everything for you is difficult; before leaving such a man you are likely to question yourself, where will you go, what you will eat and how you will even survive with nothing. Let alone a partner who has given you a specific lifestyle and acquitted you with specific things and luxury so much so that the idea of starting afresh is scary and so the woman is with the UN are commendable, however, we can do one better. Increase allocation for the Youth Fund just once this year, a small E100 million for our youth and we can afford this, take it off the E1.5 billion for the SACU stabilisation fund. Improve conditions on access to finance within the Youth Fund and on the loan guarantee scheme.
This can be fixed through affirmative action in favour of the youth within the current allocations. Reserve a percentage of capital expenditures for youth led enterprises, start-ups with an aim of integrating the youth in the value chain. Reserve a proportion of the loan guarantee scheme for youth-led businesses and women-led businesses with revised rules to ensure access and utilisation. This is what the youth needs and would lead to sustainable growth, while ensuring we leave no one behind. At present the budget stands to enrich a few families, exacerbating the problem of social and economic inequality.
Social expenditures
Given that the budget is fully-financed, we expect improved cash flow within the government machinery. We do not expect the drug stock outs, delays in primary education grants, elderly grants, disability grants but we expect smooth operations resulting in improved service provisions. We expect the 1 000 additional students to be expediently allocated their scholarships. The 15 per cent allocation to the Ministry of Education and Training is commendable, we have surpassed the regional target of 10 per cent. We need to improve the allocations in health to the required 15 per cent in the near future.
Political will, the dialogue
The Finance Ministry always gets it right; last year E22 million was allocated for the dialogue, this year it is E30 million. We need the politicians, head of State, Cabinet and the nation to play their role in restoring certainty in our economy. Let us have the dialogue, lest we rob ourselves of the opportunity to restore economic success. The nation needs the leadership to lead otherwise the budget allocated to their salaries must be frozen.
most likely to stay because they feel obligated to.
In any relationship where one person is actively aware that what they have is a priority for the next person gains power over the other. The power dynamics in relationships are influenced by who gets security the most in the relationships and so the one who gives it is the one who becomes the driver of the relationship, while the other becomes enslaved and tied to the relationship. This is why before women are taught to look for security, it is fundamental that they are made to understand the role of security and that it is only a portion of the relationship. This portion unfortunately does not account for the happiness that one will get in the relationship; therefore despite having all the security in the world in that relationship, one can still be unhappy and miserable.
Teach
It is fundamental to teach both young girls and women that a Mercedes is not the quotation of a man’s character, that being dropped off in a high paying car at the girl’s night out is not a reflection of how well a man can treat you. This disqualifies the notion that women should choose men only the basis of their valuables and rather teaches the importance of getting to know someone and trying to understand how they present themselves and how they are with other people as a reflection of their character. It is important to do this because it also empowers women to understand the power of choosing a partner and how it has an impact in their confidence and decision making as they grow older, allowing them room to make independent decisions and put themselves first.