Watch: Economic revival must come first in 2024 Budget Speech
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Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Photographer: Leon Lestrade / Independent Newspapers.
On Wednesday, South Africa’s Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana will deliver his budget speech to the nation.
Abigail Moyo, spokesperson of the trade union UASA said that the budget will follow President Cyril Ramaphosa’s less than convincing State of the Nation Address (SONA) earlier this month.
UASA said that it expects Godongwana to at least deliver a National Budget Speech conducive to economic revival.
“South Africans are done with fruitless, failing government promises and plans. With the economy on the cusp of collapse, the least we expect is a proper outline of financial, economic and social commitments prioritising stabilised growth. We need a detailed expenditure plan for 2024, including proposals for improved revenue collection to help fund government’s planned interventions and obligations,” Moyo said.
Tackling the challenges at hand will open doors for future development and growth. Moyo said that UASA demands:
- Sustainable financial intervention to curb the high unemployment rate and strengthen the economy. Without a feasible financial plan to increase employment opportunities, the economy will fall into a more profound depression, with numerous graduates remaining jobless without prospects.
- A solution regarding the energy crisis and a decisive move to Just Transition: For years, Eskom has failed to end the load-shedding disaster despite numerous financial injections from taxpayers’ funds.
- Turnaround plans for state-owned companies to operate like independent businesses without being propped up by government.
- Improved gross domestic product to boost the economy and lessen financial pressure on consumers.
- Transparent government expenditure to ensure accountability and end the looting of taxpayers’ money.
“Years of failure, discussions, working groups, summits, task teams, commissions and empty promises have ended in disappointment without fail. UASA demands sustainable planning and development on the highest level to benefit our country. We demand interventions resulting in future growth and curbing further economic damage,” Moyo further stated.
Watch Frank Blackmore, lead economist at KPMG South Africa share his views on the upcoming budget below:
Joubert Botha, Executive Director: Head of Tax and Legal at KPMG South Africa shared his views on the upcoming budget speech with Business Report:
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