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

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) criticizes the South African National Treasury's Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) 2022, arguing that it prioritizes debt stabilization and fiscal consolidation over the needs of poor households and public services.

• The National Treasury has prioritized debt stabilization and fiscal consolidation over developmental goals, using a significant portion of a R83-billion revenue overrun to support these goals rather than employment creation or poverty reduction.
• Spending on basic education is declining in real terms, with the average annual growth remaining almost stagnant at 0.3% over the medium term. This has led to a decrease in expenditure per learner from R20,156 in 2021/22 to R19,478 in 2025/26 and an increase in class sizes from 30.7 learners in 2018/19 to 31.4 in 2021/22.
• Real 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 criteria imposed by the Treasury have led to the exclusion of 3.5 million people, 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 warns could lead to higher tariffs and reduced energy access. Additionally, the Treasury has indicated no new revenue measures for 2023/24, maintaining a corporate income tax reduction from 28% to 27%.

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} }