TLU SA’s hope for proper planning and a restructuring of the existing crumbling economic policy environment appears to be in vain. The medium-term budget speech once again emphasized the biggest problems in South Africa and showed only limited growth in a handful of sectors for the first six months of the year.
The long-standing misappropriation of South Africa’s funds and persistent corruption, along with the limited management and control of expenditure in state institutions, are still major problems. The correct and responsible use of funds should no longer be a topic of debate, and TLU SA looks forward to the president’s further announcement regarding a plan for handling it.
It is worrying that for 15 years, since the financial crisis of 2008, the state’s expenditure has exceeded income every year. Public debt has gotten out of control, and TLU SA is not convinced that talk of allocation to industries such as health, education, and safety will address the problem. “Every year there is a gap between announcements and the reality of implementation. As long as the government persists on its path of cadre deployment and BEE and will not apply expertise alone as criteria in appointments, the budget is not necessarily to the benefit of South Africa’s people,” says Mr. Bennie van Zyl, TLU SA General Manager.
“The budget speech should provide a positive direction for how available funds are used for the benefit of the country and its people. The state’s responsibility towards the country’s residents is firstly to provide a safe environment and secondly, to create a positive policy environment where economic growth is a determining factor for decision-making,” says van Zyl.
Economic growth is the only sustainable solution to our country’s crisis, not the further borrowing of money that must be repaid at high interest rates with funds that are not available.
Every problem our country experiences can be traced back to the negative policy environment within which industries must operate. TLU SA believes that the negative consequences of cadre deployment, transformation, black economic empowerment, expropriation without compensation, and other crippling policies must be urgently addressed, as these policies pose an enormous threat to South Africa’s economy and are a major deterrent to potential investors.
The agricultural industry grew by 7.8 percent in the term, which once again proves how important a healthy, productive commercial agricultural environment is for the economy. There was no further discussion of changes or concessions to commercial agriculture.
“The minister has indeed just rearranged the already broken furniture on the sinking ship. South Africa is on course to plunge over a fiscal abyss, and we are persevering with the approach that has brought us here,” says van Zyl.
