Examine the Budget: Your money matters – Chris Patterson

Key topics:.Parliament must scrutinize every line of the 2025 Budget.Nearly R1 billion is misallocated while essential needs go unfunded.South Africa has a spending problem, not a money problem..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Chris Patterson*."South Africa could come to a standstill," I wrote in August last year, after the Appropriation Bill was passed by Parliament. Not until days before the first 2025 budget was due to be tabled did I actually think it could become a reality..The ANC can no longer pass expensive, debt-ridden budgets without any serious political implications..No more rubber stamp.As my colleague Marius Roodt noted recently, this is no crisis. This is parliamentary democracy and the will of the people at work. The 2025 Budget must be scrutinised line-by-line by Parliament's four finance committees, namely the Standing Committee on Appropriations, the Standing Committee on Finance, the Select Committee on Appropriations and the Select Committee on Finance..The Budget process (and future service delivery) is still in the hands of South Africa's reckless and frankly out-of-touch political elite. But it doesn't have to be..Do Cyril Ramaphosa, John Steenhuisen, Velenkosini Hlabisa and Gayton McKenzie know how much a loaf of bread costs?.I want to focus on Mr McKenzie in particular..He recently wrote that "this is a necessary budget," and somewhat alarmingly that the Budget presented by the Finance Minister on March 12th was "pro-poor"..Did he listen to a different speech? He didn't go so far as claiming (like the ANC) that an increase in social grants would help cushion the blow of a VAT increase. To counter opposition on social media, they've upped their social media game considerably over the past week with the hashtag #AWorkingBudget..Is South Africa working?.No..South Africa is firmly on the path of decline. Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero recently committed to fixing infrastructure for the G20 politicians, not the millions of residents without power and water. (In his defence, he said residents shouldn't expect much.) The City of Johannesburg recently also showcased its shoddy service delivery for the entire world to see in now-deleted social media posts..Read more: SA Budget: VAT hike, massive infrastructure spend, and debt peaks.Priorities.Governments across the country routinely commit themselves to improved service delivery. But that's not what happens. Where government spends your money is where its priorities lie. As an example, one of this government's priorities is the taxi industry, to which it plans to give R358 million. The industry is slated to receive an additional R517 million in once-off gratuities and something called "empowerment projects" (See for yourself on p. 40)..While you have it open, please go through it. This is your hard-earned money. South Africans will soon have an opportunity to provide their feedback on these proposed allocations..That is nearly R1 billion in public money provisionally allocated to line items that bring little to no benefit to South Africans struggling to find jobs, put food on the table and keep their families safe from criminals..This spending can:.• Fund houses for 3,500 families,.• Fund primary healthcare services for nearly half a million South Africans,.• Pay the school fees of more than 50,000 learners,.• Employ an additional 9,000 teachers,.• Fund the construction of 90 new classrooms, and.• Provide social assistance for an additional 260,000 elderly South Africans..Another senseless allocation is the R37 million for South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice..This is equivalent to throwing the money down the toilet. The politicians get to celebrate (if they win), but South Africans will still suffer. Long lines at Home Affairs, pit toilets, days without water and power and a laundry list of other problems could have easily been addressed with this money and good leadership..Read more: SA minister requests Budget support amid coalition struggles.Leading by example.There is one lesson politicians need to learn: respect public money. That is why I like DA leader John Steenhuisen's repeated example of using old ministerial vehicles with high mileage..It goes against Chapter 4 of the Guide for Members of the Executive which states that departments may replace vehicles once they have reached either 120,000 kms or 5 years. This is a ridiculously flimsy justification for the expenditure of R700k, the ostensible limit on the price for new vehicles..The average age of vehicles on South African roads, by comparison, is between 11 and 20 years old..No money: don't spend.Many South Africans don't have money to spare at the end of each month. The government should adopt the same approach: "don't have, can't afford". Enough with the debt-fueled spending.."Debt" is mentioned 422 times in the 2025 Budget Review, with it taking up 22 cents of every Rand the government spends..Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana was quoted in a post-Budget discussion as saying he was "sick" of austerity..R5 trillion in debt isn't exactly what I'd call "austere"..South Africa doesn't have a money problem; it has a spending problem..It is time to cut, cut and cut. Uncomfortable as it may be, South Africans deserve a fit, efficient and effective government that respects money. Every rand and every cent are yours. Tell the politicians exactly how you want it used..Read also:.Debt, NHI, and chaos: Louw's stark warning ahead of SA Budget🔒 SA's Budget crisis proves the ANC needs its coalition partnersRamaphosa new plan for VAT hike to resolve budget standoff.This article was first published by the Dailyfriend and is republished with permission..A student of politics, Chris Patterson* is a researcher at the Institute of Race Relations. He enjoys a good political thriller, and has an avid interest in photography as well as reading. The internet is a good friend, too.

Examine the Budget: Your money matters – Chris Patterson

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