Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) says government and the private sector should commit to a one-trillion-rand stimulus package to revive the country’s ailing economy.
Cosatu says part of that money could come from curbing fruitless and wasteful expenditure, cutting bailouts to failing State Owned Entities like Eskom, and arresting tax evasion by re-capacitating the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
“There is space within the state budget itself to reprioritise, wasteful expenditure, to spending money on politicians and wishful projects to really invest in infrastructure. Lastly, government on its own can’t carry the burden it’s huge. About 50% or more must come from the private sector of the one trillion rand stimulus plan, the banks, the investment fund have to come to the party,” says Cosatu’s Parliament Coordinator, Matthew Parks.
Cosatu calls for trillion rand to revive the economy:
