Post-MTBPS 2021 Press Statement: National Treasury disinvests from the South African economy

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) criticizes the 2021 MTBPS for implementing real-term spending cuts across health, education, and social protection while prioritizing a primary budget surplus over economic stimulus. The IEJ contends that the government is ignoring available fiscal space and recommends a shift toward a comprehensive stimulus package, the implementation of a wealth tax, and the adoption of a Universal Basic Income Grant to foster an equitable recovery.

• The 2021 MTBPS implements large-scale disinvestment, with consolidated non-interest expenditure cut by 3.3% in real terms annually over the medium term expenditure framework (MTEF), causing real per person expenditure to drop from R26,140 in 2020/21 to R25,117 in 2024/25.
• Significant budget cuts are targeted at essential social services: health expenditure is reduced by R11.2 billion between 2021/22 and 2022/23 (averaging -4.8% annually), basic education declines by R2.2 billion in the same period (averaging -3.1% annually), and social protection declines by R18.7 billion (averaging -5.8% annually).
• The government is prioritizing a primary budget surplus from 2024/25 despite having available fiscal space, including R120 billion in higher-than-expected gross tax revenue this year and R130 billion over the next two years, and a reduction in net loan debt to 66.2% in 2020/21.
• Investment in job creation and infrastructure is deemed insufficient, with only R24 billion allocated to the Infrastructure Fund over the 2022 MTEF and R10 billion for phase two of the Presidential Employment Stimulus, leaving a R76.4 billion gap compared to the original R100 billion COVID-19 rescue package proposal.

APA

Sibeko, B., & Mncube, Z. (2021). Post-MTBPS 2021 Press Statement: National Treasury disinvests from the South African economy. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/post-mtbps-2021-press-statement-national-treasury-disinvests-from-the-south-african-economy/

Chicago

Sibeko, Busi, and Zimbali Mncube. Post-MTBPS 2021 Press Statement: National Treasury disinvests from the South African economy. Institute for Economic Justice, 2021. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/post-mtbps-2021-press-statement-national-treasury-disinvests-from-the-south-african-economy/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Sibeko |first1=Busi |last2=Mncube |first2=Zimbali |title=Post-MTBPS 2021 Press Statement: National Treasury disinvests from the South African economy |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=12 November 2021 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/post-mtbps-2021-press-statement-national-treasury-disinvests-from-the-south-african-economy/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{sibeko2021postmtbps, author = {Sibeko, Busi and Mncube, Zimbali}, title = {{Post-MTBPS 2021 Press Statement: National Treasury disinvests from the South African economy}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2021}, month = nov, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/post-mtbps-2021-press-statement-national-treasury-disinvests-from-the-south-african-economy/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }