Zuma blindsided Treasury when he announced free education, says Gigaba
Former president Jacob Zuma’s announcement of free higher education blindsided the National Treasury, said Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba.Speaking at a post-budget breakfast in Cape Town, Gigaba said: "To make a big announcement in the midst of the budget process is something Treasury is wary of. It would have been better if they made the announcement at Sona [state of the nation address]."At the December elective conference, Zuma announced that the government would subsidise free higher education for poor and working class students, referring to currently enrolled students from households with a combined annual income of up to R350,000, by the 2018 academic year.Defending the 1% VAT increase, he added that the Treasury was under pressure to fund the R48.2bn shortfall plus find R57bn to fund fee-free higher education, which was reaffirmed at the state of the nation address by President Cyril Ramaphosa."Fee free for the students is not fee free for the tax payer or for the government...
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