MTBPS needs to inspire hope amid economic challenges: COSATU
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) Parliamentary Coordinator, Matthew Parks, says the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) needs to inspire hope amid a challenging economic environment characterised by stagnant growth, higher unemployment and service delivery failures.
His comments come as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana prepares to deliver the mini budget in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon.
While the February budget presented a significantly improved fiscal outlook, analysts say the MTBPS will likely test whether those gains can be maintained amid weaker global growth, geopolitical tensions, and domestic economic constraints.
Parks says, “There needs to be an investment in public services that society depends upon; there needs to be a plan to stabilise local government; we need to invest more in state-owned enterprises to reduce the price of electricity, transport and Metrorail. We need to have a plan to deal with crime and corruption to give hope to working-class communities.”
“We need to expand opportunities for employment for millions of people who are unemployed and just can’t find work by expanding public employment programmes in the public sector by providing artisanship programmes in the private sector. We need to give relief to the unemployed by adjusting the SRD [Social Relief of Distress Grant] program for inflation,” explains Parks.