ALAN BEESLEY: SA deserves more responsible leaders

Listening to finance minister Enoch Godongwana deliver the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) last month, I was reminded of the Talking Heads song Road to Nowhere.

The song’s chorus — We’re on a road to nowhere — captures the essence of the medium-term budget speech. SA is not making progress in addressing unemployment, poverty and inequality, but instead is on a road to nowhere.

The first indicator that makes this abundantly clear is economic growth, or rather the lack of it. The National Treasury has forecast a growth rate of 1.1% for 2024, following only 0.4% growth in the first half of the year, with an average projection of 1.8% over the next three years.

In contrast, emerging markets and developing countries are growing at 4.2% on average, while Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow at 3.6%. SA is lagging behind its peers and even many developed countries.

Given our population growth rate of 1.3%, this sluggish economic growth means we’re not moving forward.

The second worrying indicator is the national debt, which is projected to increase from R5-trillion in 2023/24 to R6.7-trillion in 2027/28, reaching 75% of projected GDP. Debt is not in itself inherently problematic; governments and businesses regularly borrow to make investments. However, SA has little to show for its ballooning debt.

Debt-service costs have now become the largest single expenditure item in the budget, expected to soar from R356bn in 2023 to R475bn in 2027/28. This means that for every rand in tax revenue 22c goes to servicing debt, which is nearly three times the average for emerging market economies.

Imagine someone going out to dinner and recklessly maxing out a credit card that their children have cosigned. The next morning, the person wakes up hungry and left with nothing but debt. Now the children are burdened with repaying the bill, severely limiting their own ability to afford necessities like food and education. In much the same way, SA’s youth will be left to shoulder the burden of this government’s debt.

It is clear that this government is on a road to nowhere. But what can ActionSA, as a constructive opposition party, do to ensure that SA generates economic growth that creates jobs and improves livelihoods? As a member of the standing committee on finance, I will continue to advocate for greater funding of the SA Revenue Service (Sars) to increase government revenue.

By international standards, Sars is underfunded by 30%. With an estimated tax gap — between expected and collected revenue — of R800bn, adequately funding Sars is a no-brainer.

To curb government spending ActionSA will push for zero-based budgeting, requiring that every expenditure item be justified from scratch for each period, rather than basing it on previous budgets. Additionally, removing SA from the Financial Action Task Force greylist must be a priority; we simply cannot afford another barrier to economic growth. 

As an alternate member of the trade, industry & competition portfolio committee, I will advocate for prioritising and incentivising investment in sectors that absorb more labour. For example, spending R1m in construction, trade or agriculture can support more than four jobs, whereas the same amount spent in mining or utilities supports fewer than two jobs. 

We also need to cut back on regulation. SA’s businesses are overregulated, with nearly 20 entities and regulatory bodies reporting to the department of trade, industry & competition. This regulatory burden has contributed to SA’s ranking of 84th out of 190 countries in the 2019 World Bank Ease of Doing Business index, while the International Institute for Management Development now ranks us 60th out of 69 countries for global competitiveness.

As an alternate member of the standing committees on public accounts and the auditor-general, I will ensure that those responsible for state-owned enterprises and municipalities are held accountable.

South Africans deserve leaders who prioritise sustainable growth, responsible debt management and effective public services. ActionSA will continue to fight for policies that create jobs, reduce debt and protect future generations from inheriting the failures of today’s government.

We must change course now. SA cannot afford to stay on this road to nowhere. 

• Beesley is an ActionSA MP.