Ramaphosa says fiscal gains must deliver better services and jobs
In his weekly letter, the President says better public finances must improve everyday life, while acknowledging unemployment and poor services.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government must turn improvements in South Africa’s public finances into better services and employment opportunities, acknowledging that many households have yet to feel the benefits of economic recovery.
In his weekly letter on Monday, 26 October, Ramaphosa argued that financial stability should support improvements in everyday life, rather than be treated as an end in itself.
He acknowledged continuing unemployment, household financial pressure and inadequate services, despite the progress he said the government had made in restoring the public finances.
Spending and delivery
The letter follows last week’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement. It sets out the president’s case for the government’s fiscal approach, rather than announcing a new Budget or a new timetable for delivering services.
Ramaphosa said the government was targeting poorly performing programmes and reviewing infrastructure grants to understand underspending, delays, cost overruns and poor-quality projects.
He also pointed to the temporary fuel-levy reduction announced by the finance minister as an effort to ease household costs.
Those references describe government measures and priorities. They do not establish that the promised improvements in services or employment have already reached households.
Parliament’s next step
Parliament’s published deadline for written submissions on the revised fiscal framework was noon on Monday, 26 October. Its official notice schedules virtual public hearings for Wednesday, 28 October.
The notice does not establish whether late submissions will be accepted. EBNewsDaily’s guide to the fiscal-framework consultation explains the process; readers should note that the published submission deadline has passed.