National Treasury is trying to reign in spending, but government officials are not too keen on the plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There has been speculation that South Africa will introduce widespread budget cuts as the country faces a revenue shortfall and a wider-than-expected budget deficit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the full scale of these changes will only become known when Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tables the mid-term budget on 1 November, it was reported that Treasury proposed several ideas to President Cyril Ramaphosa to mitigate the looming crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These proposals included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, as reported by the Sunday Times<\/a>, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala said that Treasury’s proposal to cut his department would ultimately create more work for other departments and lead to job losses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Most departments have primary mandates, and it\u2019s not just about managing the building you are in. The police, for example, need to work on protecting citizens, dealing with crime and ensuring that criminals are successfully prosecuted,” Zikalala said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you say they must now look after their own properties, you will be adding a responsibility. So there must be a discussion on that. I am not saying we must not, but one thing that public works should own up to is that it has not optimised its capacity.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPublic works must optimise on the infrastructure that we have. That\u2019s why we are saying let\u2019s run the programmes that are going to help the government going forward, even to generate income.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n The minister added that the private sector can either use or buy government buildings to generate income. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He said that scaling down programmes, such as the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP), to fund the R350 Social Relief and Distress (SRD) grant – which Treasury has actually called to cut in its entirety – will result in job losses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTherefore, it is important that we structure the EPWP in a way that is massive and makes an impact. I think there must be a focus on economic growth and protecting those projects and programmes that are creating job opportunities,” the minister said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n His comments echo the ANC’s strong opposition to the cuts, with many questioning how the party can cut spending ahead of a national election. Unions have also threatened to strike if the cuts go ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe think the Treasury proposals on a freeze on vacancies, reducing the headcount, cutting departments, cutting programs, is going to collapse the capacity of the state,\u201d said Cosatu spokesman Matthew Parks<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n