Growing the economy, creating jobs and reducing the debt burden are some of the issues political parties want Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to address in his Budget Speech this afternoon.
The parties also agree that it will be difficult for the Minister to deliver much in light of lacklustre economic performance and reduced revenues.
Economic experts agree that Godongwana will once again be walking a tightrope in today’s budget speech.
The economy has not grown significantly in years. Important sectors like mining have been hit by reduced margins that have resulted in job losses.
Opposition parties are therefore not optimistic about the budget.
Some have even cautioned the Minister against promising what he cannot deliver.
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) MP Elphas Buthelezi says, “It doesn’t matter what he says, nothing will change under the administration of the ANC [African National Congress]. This budget takes place at a time when our country finds itself at a cliff’s edge.”
“We can only caution the Minister to not deliver a speech that will only sound nice to the electorate but cannot be implemented by government. It is our hope that the ANC does not commit the government to pie-in-the-sky plans or take any new debt that is likely to result in setting up the next government for failure,” adds Buthelezi.
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The United Democratic Movement (UDM) deputy president Nqabayomzi Kwankwa says they expect Godongwana to explain how he intends to grow the economy.
The party says it also expects him to explain how the promises that President Cyril Ramaphosa made in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) will be fulfilled.
“A plan on how to deal with the cost of living crisis that the country finds itself in due to high energy prices. High level [of unemployment] and many other challenges. It was intended to deter corruption and government as one of the mismanagement of state resources in general,” says Kwankwa.
The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) have expressed their opposition to any tax increases.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has also said it is opposed to any new taxes or tax hikes in view of an already heavily taxed population.
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