LUKANYO MNYANDA: Ending austerity is not a tool in SA’s box
It’s been a busy week full of reports to digest. Perhaps, in delaying the release of the medium-term budget policy statement by seven days, finance minister Tito Mboweni was being kind and giving everyone a breather.
Unfortunately it speaks more to SA’s approach to policy. Instead of having a budgeting process and then assessing what we can afford, the approach is to take political decisions — such as extending special Covid-19 grants or funding SAA — and then leaving the Treasury to find the resources. It’s a tribute act to former president Jacob Zuma and that conference giveaway of free tertiary education. The more things change, the more they stay the same...
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