Health, Education Get
Chunk Of South Africa Budget
Tony Ekata, Pretoria
South
Africa’s Finance Minister, Pravin Ghordhan, has promised reforms
in government procurement systems to ensure greater
transparency, accountability and combat corruption.
Gordhan presented a nine hundred and seven billion rand budget
for the 2010/2011 financial year and forecast an economic growth
rate of two-point three percent this year, after contracting
one-point-eight percent last year.
Allocations to sectors
Education and health sectors received giant allocations, with
education getting one hundred and sixty-five billion rand and
health, one hundred and five billion rand.
The minister announced a wage subsidy for young people to help
boost employment, in line with President Zuma’s promise in his
state of the nation address last week.
Gordhan also added six-point-five billion rand for tax relief
for individuals but increased fuel taxes by two-point-five
percent per litre.
VON correspondent reports that the minister admitted that
unemployment remained a critical challenge after the recession
slashed nine hundred thousand jobs. The minister put average
inflation at six percent and budget deficit at six-point-two
percent.
He also told the national assembly that there would be no
changes to the CPI inflation target of three to six percent, no
interference with the reserve bank’s independence and no fixing
of the exchange rate for the rand.
Priority sectors
Minister Gordhan outlined the priorities as determined by the
government’s framework of outcomes and targets.
“This…which set out the key priorities as the following:
firstly improving the quality of basic education, secondly
enhancing the health of our people, thirdly making our community
safer, fourth, fostering rural development, creating jobs
fifthly, and lastly investing in local government and human
settlement”, he said.
Gordhan expressed concern about the number of young people
without work in a country where there is still a massive gap
between rich and poor. He said the public service would have to
work hard to address the inherent challenges.
Service delivery to improve
Other highlights of the budget include the allocation of one
billion rand for housing infrastructure, half a billion for road
infrastructure, two-point-two billion rand for the increase of
soldiers’ salaries, and eight-point-four billion rand to expand
the provision of anti-retroviral therapy.
He announced increases in sin taxes, with wine attracting an
increase of twelve cents per bottle and cigarette six-point-five
cents per packet. There is also a carbon emission tax for new
vehicles bought from September this year.
Communities concerned about service delivery are going to get
some relief. The local government equitable share received a
further six-point-seven billion rand to support municipalities
to cushion poor households from the rising cost of electricity
and water, with an additional two-point-five billion rand going
to the municipal infrastructure grant.
Analysts consider the budget as conservative but balanced in the
light of the economic recession, out of which the country is
only just emerging.
Yinka
