SA to scrap out-of-date budget
Government is set to revise a medium-term budget initially proposed by axed finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, in October, because the economic situation has worsened since then.
This is according to City Press, which noted that this revision is “a big departure from the transparent practice of getting inputs from Parliament and extraparliamentary lobby groups such as civil society, unions, business and other interested parties”.
In December 2015, president Jacob Zuma infamously sacked finance minister Nhlanhla Nene, replacing him with unknown ANC back-bencher, David van Rooyen.
This led to a collapse in the market, pushing the rand to record lows against the dollar – from which it is yet to recover.
Current Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, who was reappointed following a market collapse, days after van Rooyen’s appointment, said that the the country’s economic plans would become clearer once President Zuma delivered his state of the nation address on
February 11 and following presentation of the 2016/17 budget two weeks later.
“If the numbers need to change, then the numbers will change as we go forward, because we recognise that since the [budget statement], circumstances have changed, both globally and within South Africa itself,” Gordhan said.
The minister said the revision was necessary.
“It’s quite clear we need to take account of the new environment in which we find ourselves, and make sure we tailor our expenditure and revenue decisions in line with the circumstances,” he said.
More on SA economy
How to fix South Africa’s economy: fire Zuma
South Africa is on a cliff’s edge – and it’s all happened before
Loading ...