The public need to be educated more about the budgeting process, says Deputy Finance Minister Mcebisi Jonas.
This comes ahead of Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s presentation of the budget on Wednesday, against the back drop of challenges of weak economic growth, and under a cloud of political uncertainty.
Fiscal consolidation is expected to remain a priority.
Speaking on Morning Live, Jonas says the political and economic context is getting tougher.
“All over the globe people are facing the same problems. Slow growth, high inequality and a whole range of other things. There is in a sense a pressure to get people to understand what the budget process is. People need to understand the pressures and fiscas and the possibilities of turning around the economy and the one side addressing issues of inequality.”
Meanwhile, Director-General of the National Treasury Lungisa Fuzile says soon after one budget is tabled, the process for the next year is well underway.
“South Africa adopted the three year rolling budget framework around 1997/1998. At the time of the tabling of the one budget in this case the 2017 budget we will already be signalling to the public in a very deliberate way what the likely budgets are going to be for 2018 and 2019.”
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