Huge gap between Treasury’s priorities and needs of South Africans must be closed

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) criticises the South African National Treasury's 2022 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) for maintaining a path of austerity and fiscal consolidation since 2012. The IEJ asserts that prioritising debt stabilisation over developmental goals leads to declining expenditure per learner in basic education and real-term cuts in healthcare spending. The document also highlights the failure to adjust the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant for inflation and the exclusion of 3.5 million people from the grant due to stringent criteria. While noting positive infrastructure investment and Eskom debt absorption, the IEJ warns that Eskom's unbundling and private sector participation may lead to higher tariffs. The IEJ advocates for progressive taxation to fund public services and reduce income inequality.

• The National Treasury has prioritised debt stabilisation and fiscal consolidation over poverty reduction and employment creation, using a R83-billion revenue overrun to support consolidation rather than developmental tools.
• Spending on basic education is declining in real terms, with expenditure per learner projected to fall from R20,156 in 2021/22 to R19,478 in 2025/26, while class sizes increased to 31.4 learners in 2021/22.
• Real-term healthcare expenditure is projected to decline from R246.3-billion in 2021/22 to R242.2-billion in 2022/23, with an average medium-term decline of -2%, despite 39,000 vacant posts in the public health sector.
• The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant has not been adjusted for inflation, and stringent budget caps have resulted in 3.5 million people losing access to the grant, leaving only 7.4 million recipients.
• The state's absorption of Eskom's debt is linked to a strategy of unbundling and private sector participation, which the IEJ argues will result in high tariffs and undermine affordable energy access.

APA

Mahafu, V., & Mncube, Z. (2022). Huge gap between Treasury’s priorities and needs of South Africans must be closed. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/huge-gap-between-treasurys-priorities-and-needs-of-south-africans-must-be-closed/

Chicago

Mahafu, Vuyisiwe, and Zimbali Mncube. Huge gap between Treasury’s priorities and needs of South Africans must be closed. Institute for Economic Justice, 2022. https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/huge-gap-between-treasurys-priorities-and-needs-of-south-africans-must-be-closed/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Mahafu |first1=Vuyisiwe |last2=Mncube |first2=Zimbali |title=Huge gap between Treasury’s priorities and needs of South Africans must be closed |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=2 November 2022 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/huge-gap-between-treasurys-priorities-and-needs-of-south-africans-must-be-closed/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{mahafu2022huge, author = {Mahafu, Vuyisiwe and Mncube, Zimbali}, title = {{Huge gap between Treasury’s priorities and needs of South Africans must be closed}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/huge-gap-between-treasurys-priorities-and-needs-of-south-africans-must-be-closed/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }