Have your say on the upcoming Budget Speech
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has called on citizens and organizations to make inputs on what they would like to see reflected in the upcoming National Budget Speech.
In a recent statement, the Ministry of Finance said Godongwana would deliver the National Budget Speech on Wednesday February 22.
“As usual, the budget allocation always aims to strike a balance between competing national spending priorities and limited resources. It is in this context that Minister Godongwana invites South Africans to share their suggestions on the Budget,” it said.
State of the Mzansi’s Economy
Recently, Godongwana says international and local challenges continue to pose as obstacles in the growth of the economy. This as real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by some 1.6% in the third quarter of 2022. Coupled with these international challenges, economic growth is also facing challenges closer to home, these include the increased loadshedding that has bought significant loss in economic activity across the country.
It is expected that over the next year, Treasury will work closely with provincial and local governments in order to address “dysfunctional” service delivery. Over the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, at least R523 billion is expected to be transferred to local government to address municipal challenges, including service delivery, stabilising municipalities in immediate distress, and developing longer-run plans to improve capability.
“Over the next three years, we propose allocating 48.4% of available non-interest spending to national departments; 41.4% to provinces, and 10.1% to local government. This will allow provinces to support basic education and health services, roads, housing, social development and agriculture,” said the minister during last year’s Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in October.
How to make your input to our nation’s budget
People may submit their views on:
• municipal finances
• government spending priorities and what these should be
• addressing a large budget deficit
• stabilising State-Owned Entity finances
• managing the energy crisis
• tax revenues
• debt sustainability
Contributions can be sent through on the National Treasury website.
Contributions can also be made on Treasury’s Twitter handle @TreasuryRSA and Facebook: National Treasury RSA with the hashtag #TipsForMinFin and #Budget2023.