PRESS STATEMENT: MTBPS – Mboweni moves us backwards

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) criticizes the 2020 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), arguing that it undermines economic recovery from COVID-19 through planned expenditure cuts and a failure to provide sufficient social relief.

• The IEJ asserts that the 2020 MTBPS fails to support a 'Just Recovery' from COVID-19, noting that the R500 billion emergency response package was poorly implemented, with only R36 billion in new money allocated and at most half of the total spent. This contributed to a 16.4% quarter-on-quarter economic contraction and the loss of 2.2 million jobs.
• The document highlights a lack of social support, stating that while the R350 COVID-19 Special Relief of Distress grant is extended until January 2021, the decision not to extend the R500 Caregiver’s Allowance will leave 3 million more people facing hunger. The IEJ advocates for both grants to be extended for 5 months and increased to R585 per month to align with the food poverty line.
• The 2020 MTBPS proposes a reduction in non-interest expenditure of R300 billion over the next three years compared to the February 2020 Budget. This results in an average nominal non-interest expenditure growth of 0.75%, which is below the average inflation rate of 3.9%, equating to R4,900 less spent per person.
• Budgetary cuts are expected to negatively impact basic education, where real per capita growth is projected to decline by 2.6% on average over three years. The IEJ argues that spending cuts in health and education hinder human capital development and that freezing vacant posts reduces state capacity and the ability to implement anti-corruption strategies.
• The IEJ criticizes Minister Mboweni's approach to fiscal consolidation as being contrary to economic theory and historic evidence. It suggests that instead of 'indiscriminate cuts', the government should prioritize raising funds through taxation, reducing borrowing costs via monetary policy, and spending on activities that grow the economy.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2020). PRESS STATEMENT: MTBPS – Mboweni moves us backwards. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJ_-Post-2020-MTBPS-Statement.docx.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. PRESS STATEMENT: MTBPS – Mboweni moves us backwards. 2020. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJ_-Post-2020-MTBPS-Statement.docx.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=PRESS STATEMENT: MTBPS – Mboweni moves us backwards |date=29 October 2020 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJ_-Post-2020-MTBPS-Statement.docx.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjustice2020press, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{PRESS STATEMENT: MTBPS – Mboweni moves us backwards}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJ_-Post-2020-MTBPS-Statement.docx.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }