The new GNU shows no sign it will reduce Treasury’s outsized influence over policymaking

The Institute for Economic Justice criticises the South African National Treasury for dictating government policy through a fiscal framework that prioritises debt reduction over essential public services. The authors argue that the current 'balanced fiscal stance' and reliance on public-private partnerships (PPPs) hinder economic growth and exacerbate poverty. They propose alternative revenue-raising measures, such as wealth taxes and resource rent taxes, to fund a universal basic income grant and public investment in infrastructure and labour-intensive sectors.

• The National Treasury is accused of bypassing democratic processes by issuing Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) guidelines before the new Cabinet was announced, effectively restricting the government's policy direction by requiring that spending remain lower than revenue.
• The current fiscal strategy is projected to reduce funding for public services, specifically resulting in a decrease of R518 per public healthcare user and over R600 per learner over the next three years.
• The document warns that shifting infrastructure development toward public-private partnerships (PPPs) introduces profit incentives that can increase user fees and reduce service access, citing negative international examples in Nepal, Peru, and the UK.
• To fund human rights and economic growth, the authors suggest raising over R250-billion through removing retirement fund tax breaks for those earning above R750,000, implementing a resource rent tax on mining profits, and introducing a wealth tax and luxury goods VAT.
• The authors advocate for the implementation of a universal basic income grant (Ubig) to combat hunger, noting that the existing Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant has shrunk from supporting 10.9 million people in March 2022 to 8.7 million by the end of 2023.

APA

Mncube, Z., & Howson, K. (2024). The new GNU shows no sign it will reduce Treasury’s outsized influence over policymaking. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/the-new-gnu-shows-no-sign-it-will-reduce-treasurys-outsized-influence-over-policymaking/

Chicago

Mncube, Zimbale, and Kelle Howson. The new GNU shows no sign it will reduce Treasury’s outsized influence over policymaking. Institute for Economic Justice, 2024. https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/the-new-gnu-shows-no-sign-it-will-reduce-treasurys-outsized-influence-over-policymaking/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Mncube |first1=Zimbale |last2=Howson |first2=Kelle |title=The new GNU shows no sign it will reduce Treasury’s outsized influence over policymaking |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=21 July 2024 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/the-new-gnu-shows-no-sign-it-will-reduce-treasurys-outsized-influence-over-policymaking/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{mncube2024new, author = {Mncube, Zimbale and Howson, Kelle}, title = {{The new GNU shows no sign it will reduce Treasury’s outsized influence over policymaking}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/in-the-media/the-new-gnu-shows-no-sign-it-will-reduce-treasurys-outsized-influence-over-policymaking/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }