Approximately 9% – R101 billion – of total national government expenditure for the 2013\/14 financial year was on interest on state debt.<\/p>\n
For every R100 spent by national government, R9,30 was used to pay interest on debt, according to the latest financial statistics of national government report, released by Stats SA.<\/p>\n
Using financial data from 41 government departments, the report measures national government spending, broken down by function (e.g. health, education, defence) and by economic classification (e.g. salaries and wages).<\/p>\n
The report noted that interest payments on state debt increased by 14.8% over the last financial year, from R88 billion in 2012-13 to R101 billion in 2013\/14.<\/p>\n
Over a five year period, interest payments on debt increased by R44 billion.<\/p>\n
The largest contributor to total cash receipts from operating activities for the 2013\/2014\u00a0 fiscal year was taxes – R900 billion.<\/p>\n
Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene has since announced the tax numbers for the 2014\/2015 financial year, in April, reaching R986.4 billion.<\/p>\n
In May<\/a>, government agreed to a 7% wage increase for approximately 1.3 million public servants\u00a0\u2013 including nurses, teachers and police officers \u2013\u00a0bringing the country\u2019s wage bill paid from government coffers to as much as R470 billion.<\/p>\n What functions did national government spend money on?<\/strong><\/p>\n Total national government expenditure increased by 8.1%, from R1 009 billion in 2012-13 to R1 091 billion in 2013-14.<\/p>\n Contributors to government spending in 2013\/14 were:<\/p>\n The\u00a0 largest\u00a0 contributor to total cash payments for operating activities for the 2013-2014 fiscal year was grants (R636 billion),\u00a0 followed by social benefits (R115.4 billion),\u00a0 compensation of employees (R115 billion), and\u00a0 interest (R101 billion).<\/p>\n Over a five year period, total national government expenditure increased by 47% between 2009\/10 and 2013\/14, with education recording the largest percentage increase (143%), followed by housing and community amenities (75%) and health (64%).<\/p>\n The lowest increases in government spending were recorded in defence (26%) and social protection (34%), StatsSA said.<\/p>\n Economic classification of cash payments for purchases of non – financial assets for the 2013-2014 fiscal year showed a total of R14 billion, including R1.1 billion on computer equipment, R464 million on ‘dwellings’ and R118 million on furniture.<\/p>\n Dwellings are the buildings used entirely or primarily as residences, including garages and other associated structures. They include hostels, nursing homes and homes for the military.<\/p>\n Government makes a negative contribution to SA GDP<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
More on government<\/h3>\n