Willie Chinyamurindi
Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered the 2023 national Budget on Wednesday afternoon.
The pressure culminating in the event was palpitating. The Budget was a sequel to another event that had happened earlier in the month, the State of the Nation Address. More is still to come, as several provinces will follow suit after the president and the minister in proposing their provincial plans and work for the year.
Going back to the 2023 national Budget, considering also the build-up, I did not envy being Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana at all.
For me the minister was akin to being a tightrope walker, being marvelled at by many yet needing to be self-aware of maintaining a balancing act.
Such a balancing act does not come easy.
For instance, Minister Godongwana’s promise to “show tough love” was watered down by opposition parties as really being out of tune with the ominous challenges that the country is facing.
Yet this could also be just a matter of conjecture, with interpretation varying and dependent on which side of the room you are sitting.
The latter is a position, a majority of the ANC caucus would agree with.
The Budget was relatively innocuous and reflected the sobriety of the times we are living in. At one end there appeared to be no lofty promises that feature on such grand occasions.
A common feature, as from the past addresses, though, the little bits that get announced with no clear point of reference as to how it will be done.
An example being the desire for the state to apply to the BRICS New Development Bank for support in terms of loans in 2023/24.
The operational aspects to this were left as incremental and to be continued.
A common expectation from the Budget speech was the need for government intentionality to address the pressing challenges facing citizens.
This was supported by the relative ambiance of admission by the minister, especially around the challenges being faced.
It was a moment of the occasional nod of humility and admittance that things are tough for all in the present South Africa.
Ostensibly there are some positives from the Budget speech. These include tax relief to increase the appetite for renewable energy.
This is really a welcome move, especially given the challenges threatening to lead us into total darkness. The green energy focus on shunning the use of dirty energy is also welcomed. The government appears to have the intention of putting its money where its mouth is: debt relief of R254 billion to support Eskom for three years.
The finance minister deserves a modicum of respect for this, his attempt of reading the room and acknowledging the challenges .
There is also reason to be cheerful as the social grants budget allocation saw a marginal increase of 6.1% from the last budget.
A cogent argument can be made here that necessitates this budget allocation increase. Our Gini coefficient stands at a towering 0.63.
This gives South Africa the unenviable accolade of being one of the most unequal societies in the world.
Yet depending on which side of the fence you sit on, the issue of social grants support has become polarising.
Some attribute it as a leading cause of the expenditure for the government, reducing us to a welfare state.
However, there is also a need to just park the egos and often inflated sense of criticism around our growing reliance on social grants. For as long as the economy is not growing, the high dependency burden will continue.
It will be treason for the government to rescind the responsibility of care expected from it.
It goes with the same territory – the same government needs a balancing act to encourage ways that this stagnant economy can be rejuvenated again.
We can also unravel the mystery around our state-owned enterprises, including the occasional questioning of whether these entities should continue to enjoy support from the state.
It was a momentary cringe for me when Godongwana mentioned SAA.
The national carrier has failed to take off, gaining notoriety for the wrong reasons.
Yet there is a need for a level of critique around the issues in state-owned enterprises. A starting point, refraining from sweeping statements that reduce all state-owned enterprises as useful teaching fodder in the university of what dismal failure looks like.
For instance, in the last month I have appreciated listening to the SA Post Office CEO Nomkhita Mona and her bold plans of turnaround. Her constant request is for two things, time and funding, to be able to assist the SA Post Office as an entity. From the national Budget, the Post Office stands to receive R2.4 billion.
It would be unfair to conclude the demise of all state-owned enterprises to be due to nefarious practices and bad governance. Where possible, capabilities and structures have been set in motion and a level of financial support is expected in hoping to change things.
So how do we annotate what we have been told by Godongwana?
The budget was an attempt to hold us at bay. The constant activity before us, switching between survival mode while also keeping hope alive as expectation for a better future.
Yet in this there is a shroud of confusion and deep yearning for answers.
Is there hope on the horizon or is there a horizon of hope?
So now begins the season of waiting to see if there is anything to marvel at Godongwana’s tightrope-walking attempt for the year ahead.
Chinyamurindi is a professor at the University of Fort Hare within the Department of Business Management. He writes in his own capacity.
Cape Times
* The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL or Independent Media.