MARK BARNES: Government is not done raiding SA’s reserves
With the two-pot retirement fund system we can eat now and starve later
Among all the promises and intersecting problem descriptions that have been dished up to us in election manifestos, I think we can all at least agree that we’re way under water and need money. We need growth capital and we need to invest, not consume.
About 60% of our budget will be spent on public services (although this does include teachers and healthcare practitioners) and social grants (not an achievement — it’s a consequence). And, after spending about R1bn a day (33 social relief of distress grants per second, 24/7) on interest to service our debt, there’s precious little left for investing in growth. ..
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