Political parties have warmed up to the Finance ministers Budget speech.(SABC)
Tags:
The 2012/13 budget tabled by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan before Parliament has received mixed reactions from political parties. Gordhan's proposed 2012/13 budget exceeds one trillion rand for the first time ever, with the bulk of spending, R 615 billion rand, earmarked for social services.
The biggest slice of the budget tabled in the National Assembly goes to education, followed by social protection, health and housing and community amenities.
Congress of the People (COPE) MP Nick Koornhof said the government must prove it can deal with the new Budget. "Government must lead the way. They must show that they can spend taxpayers' money properly," he said.
"We are all in this, all South Africans. I think we must do it together." Koornhof added that various anti-corruption measures would help save government funds. "If his [Gordhan's] anti-corruption measures work, we can save up to a hundred billion rand. That is a lot of money," Koornhof said
The African Christian Democratic Party’s (ACDP) MP Steve Swart said the Budget was a pleasant surprise. "All in all [it was] a very positive budget in difficult circumstances," he said after the Budget was delivered in Parliament. Swart said he was pleasantly surprised given the global economic crisis and prospect of reduced economic growth in South Africa.
He was particularly pleased that the Budget focused on the productive side of the economy, namely infrastructure development, instead of on the consumer economy. If the money allocated on infrastructure was well spent it would stimulate the economy and create jobs, he said.
Gordhan was alluding to amounts he wanted to spend after 2015
The money allocated for infrastructure and growth is not good enough, said the Democratic Alliance, "I don't think we got it today, but let's give the minister credit because he managed to bring the budget deficit down," DA finance spokesperson Tim Harris said.
"The fact that he managed to do that shows us that we have more space to be bold on growth and on infrastructure particularly. I mean the growth number that he [announced] today is projected to grow at 2.7% and that's with the globally economy growing faster... and Africa growing even faster... We want to see far more on growth. Those numbers aren't good enough," he said.
Harris said Gordhan was alluding to amounts he wanted to spend after 2015, when there was a substantial deficit on infrastructure right now. "We want to see bolder numbers," he said.
The African People's Convention (APC) also welcomed an allocation for water and electricity in informal settlements. "Indeed, the provision of housing in this country is very slow, therefore providing water and electricity is a step in a right direction," APC secretary Patrick Sindane said.
However, the APC was worried that one third of the population relied on social grants. He said the government should "seriously" create sustainable jobs.
Metropolitan Health CEO Blum Khan said the Budget for 2012 contains confidence building elements. "There is some element of optimism in that message," Blum said.
Khan said the markets would have been surprised by the lower than expected Budget deficit of 4.6% projected for 2012/13, four percent in 2013/14, and three percent in 2014/15. "There is a lot to be said for the way this budget came together," he said.
