Gordhan asked South Africans for their opinion on the state of the country – this is what they said
Finance minister Pravin Gordhan invited South Africans to share their views about economic conditions and other issues they would like government to highlight in the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on 26 October 2016.
The MTBPS will be presented against the backdrop of a sluggish economy, the looming threat of a possible negative view by independent rating agencies, fees must fall campaign as well as uncertainty in the global economic conditions.
Gordhan invited South Africans to make suggestions on social media. In particular, the minister requested public views on:
- Funding of free educations for students in tertiary institutions;
- How South Africa can achieve inclusive economic growth;
- How South Africa can use its resources to ensure efficiencies; and
- How the government, civil society, unions and business can work together in oneness of purpose to achieve the economic objectives of our country.
BusinessTech highlighted several comments and suggestions posted to Treasury’s Facebook page, most of which were solely focused on free education.
Free education
Feedback from public comments show that citizens are generally supportive of free tertiary education – or at least see how valuable it is to make tertiary studies more accessible.
There were several suggestions on how to achieve this, including:
- Introducing different tiers for subsidies, where students who achieve over 80% get free education, and those who fail (under 50%) do not – with various ‘fee discounts’ in between;
- Narrow the number of students by raising entry requirements, and directing those who do not qualify to other tertiary options;
- Restructuring BEE point allocation to incentivise companies to sponsor tertiary studies;
- Give tax breaks to companies or individuals who finance students;
- Ensure a certain percent of all government tender awards go towards a “tertiary education bank”;
- Raise VAT by 1%-2% to finance tertiary education, because “we should all pay for higher education”;
- Run state companies better, make an actual profit, and use the profits to fund students.
Other suggestions around the free education debate said that government should give priority to skills that are lacking in South Africa.
There were also several calls for industry-specific schools – such as nursing schools and technikons – to be re-opened, so that students have options outside of universities to turn to.
However, many do not agree with free education at all, with a number of respondents saying that it would be a waste of time as youth unemployment remains shockingly high; while others said that taxpayers simply cannot afford to pay any more taxes.
Bringing economic stability
When addressing the other points put forward by the Treasury, responses followed a predictable line – calling for an end to corruption, and to cut back on government spending, especially around President Jacob Zuma.
Some suggestions on cost-cutting and economic policy include:
- Cutting all MP and government salaries, bringing them in line with international levels;
- Scrapping ‘Deputy Minister’ positions;
- Stopping the purchase of a new jet for president Jacob Zuma and heavily cutting his allowable spending budget;
- Privatise state-owned companies;
- Call off the plans for nuclear power;
- Legalise marijuana, and tax the industry;
Some suggestions went to the extreme – with one person even suggesting that government overhaul the country’s monetary system entirely.
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