<\/p>\n
As South Africa\u2019s budget presentation approaches, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has drawn criticism over his claim that the government lacks the funds to sustain the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.<\/span><\/p>\n In an interview on Newzroom Afrika, Senior Policy Specialist and co-founder of the Institute for Economic Justice Neil Coleman refuted this claim, arguing that the SRD grant was already accounted for in the 2025 budget baseline and accusing the Treasury of misinformation.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe actually, I\u2019m afraid to say, is misleading the country deliberately, misinforming the country,\u201d Coleman said. He pointed out that in Parliament on October 31, 2023, the director-general of the Treasury confirmed that the SRD grant was included in the medium-term budget policy statement under a provisional item.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSo there\u2019s no trade-off,\u201d Coleman insisted, rejecting Godongwana\u2019s suggestion that increased VAT might be necessary to sustain the grant.<\/span><\/p>\n Coleman further dismissed claims that financial shocks, such as the United States (US) government\u2019s decision to cut the President\u2019s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) funding, contributed to budget shortfalls.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not fair to say that. This is just incompetence on the part of the minister and Treasury. They failed to budget for items that were easily anticipated.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n He argued that revenue had exceeded projections in 2024 and that social spending had already been cut significantly in recent years.<\/span><\/p>\n The discussion also touched on broader fiscal management, with Coleman emphasising that alternatives exist for raising revenue and reducing wasteful spending. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTrade-offs, as you call them, are being made in ways which disadvantage the poorest and most vulnerable in society,\u201d he asserted, highlighting that policymakers are protecting wealthier interests at the expense of the poor.<\/span><\/p>\n The upcoming budget presentation is expected to be contentious. \u201cI anticipate that when the budget is presented on Wednesday by the Minister, it is going to be a robust debate, and it\u2019s not going to be smooth sailing,\u201d Coleman said.<\/span><\/p>\n The conversation also raised the potential for zero-based budgeting, which Coleman acknowledged could be valuable if conducted transparently and based on expert analysis.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt must be based on objective scientific evidence. And what you will find is that once you do that exercise, there are certain areas where a very significant increase in spending is required, particularly in critical public services,\u201d he argued.<\/span><\/p>\n While wasteful expenditure should be cut, Coleman stressed that austerity measures have already harmed essential services. \u201cThere has to be a recognition that there is a serious impact that austerity over the number of years and the cutbacks have had on services for the majority,\u201d he<\/span> said.<\/span><\/p>\n Godongwana is expected to table the budget on Wednesday, March 12. <\/span><\/p>\n hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za <\/span><\/p>\n Politics<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As South Africa\u2019s budget presentation approaches, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has drawn criticism over his claim that the government lacks the funds to sustain the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant. In an interview on Newzroom Afrika, Senior Policy Specialist and co-founder of the Institute for Economic Justice Neil Coleman refuted this claim, arguing that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[17885,2735,17887,17886,11478,11949,1037,7023],"class_list":["post-234233","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-politics","tag-039this","tag-budget","tag-coleman","tag-incompetence039","tag-neil","tag-shortfalls","tag-slams","tag-treasury"],"yoast_head":"\n