Waiting with bated breath for Budget magic

WHEN Finance Minister Tito Mboweni steps up to the podium to deliver his Budget in Parliament tomorrow, many in the country will be hoping he makes life-changing announcements for their sectors.

For a country smarting due to crippling power cuts which are disruptive to business operations and normal life, Mboweni, on this historic occasion, is called upon to quench the thirst of many yearning for progress against unemployment and sluggish economic growth.

His will not be an ordinary Budget. It is one that comes 25 years after the dawn of democracy. It is one that comes just under 80 days before a general election that will be fiercely contested.

The governing ANC will be expecting Mboweni to step up – literally and figuratively – because a failure to do so will help opposition parties gain more ground.

Owners of small and medium enterprises will be hoping that the minister shows some appreciation that the majority of jobs in our economy are created by small businesses.

Students at tertiary institutions will be hoping for clarity on free education and whether or not the National Students Financial Aid Scheme is given sufficient muscle to help them complete their studies.

Those in the creative industries will be looking at Mboweni and hoping he unleashes the potential for job creation in the sector.

The police, nurses, teachers, pensioners, environmentalists, farmers and farm workers, and many others will hope Mboweni will, through some miracle, resolve the myriad challenges the country faces.

The hard truth is that, while the country’s budget plays a key role in stimulating economic growth and development, it is simply not big enough an instrument to resolve all our challenges.

It is unfortunate but true that long after the Budget, many young people will remain unemployed with diminishing prospects of changing their lives for the better. But, in spite of its limitations, Mboweni’s much-awaited speech will also help resolve some of our major challenges.

We are hopeful, however, that one of those that he will nip in the bud is Eskom’s woes, which has become the proverbial elephant in the room for our economy.

We wait with bated breath.