The following speech was delivered in Parliament today by the DA’s Shadow Minister of Finance, David Maynier MP, during the debate on the Appropriations Bill 2017.
The Appropriations Bill [B5-2017] provides for an appropriation of R767 billion, from the National Revenue Fund, to fund forty national departments, in 2017/18.
We have powers, in terms of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act (No. 9 of 2009), to rewrite the Appropriations Bill within four months of the beginning of 2017/18.
That is why we proposed 405 amendments to the Appropriations Bill, in the amount of R10.8 billion, to fund six proposals in 2017/18.
Our budget proposals were aimed at:
- creating jobs by allocating an additional 5 billion to provide 213 602 more work opportunities in the Expanded Public Works Programme;
- fighting crime by allocating an additional R688 million to establish a stand-alone specialised unit to fight drug-related crime;
- supporting poor students by allocating an additional R3.5 billion to provide financial assistance to 63 331 more students who are enrolled, or who would like to enroll, at technical and vocational training colleges;
- fighting corruption by allocating an additional R174 million to boost the investigative capacity of the Public Protector;
- assisting the poor by allocating an additional 5 billion to prevent malnutrition among children and assist people battling high food prices; and
- combatting cross-border crime by allocating an additional R483 million to fund seven more sub-units (+/- 945 soldiers) to safeguard the landward borders of South Africa.
The amendments we proposed were “budget neutral” and would have been funded by reprioritising expenditure, within the existing budget, and would have had no effect on the fiscal deficit, which is estimated to be -R149 billion, or -3.1% of GDP, in 2017/18.
And yet our budget proposals were not supported by the ANC, not because they did not have merit, and not because they could not be funded, but because it was “too difficult” to rewrite the budget.
But of course the ANC supported an allocation of R1.3 billion for a ministerial jet; R1.4 billion for ministerial bodyguards; and R89.6 million for ministerial mansions, without once thinking about the 9.3 million people who do not have jobs, or have given up looking for jobs, in South Africa.
So:
- let the unemployed know the ANC would not support the DA’s proposal to create jobs by allocating an additional 5 billion to provide 213 602 more work opportunities in the Expanded Public Works Programme;
- let the victims of drug-related crime know the ANC would not support the DA’s proposal to fight crime by allocating an additional R688 million to establish a stand-alone specialised unit to fight drug-related crime;
- let poor students know the ANC would not support the DA’s proposal to support students by allocating an additional R3.5 billion to provide financial assistance to 63 331 more students who are enrolled, or who would like to enroll, at technical and vocational training colleges;
- let the victims of corruption know the ANC would not support the DA’s proposal to fight corruption by allocating an additional R174 million to boost the investigative capacity of the Public Protector;
- let mothers with children who suffer from malnutrition, and people who are hungry, know the ANC would not support the DA’s proposal to prevent malnutrition and hunger by allocating an additional R4.5 billion to social grants; and
- let the victims of cross-border crime know the ANC would not support the DA’s proposal to allocate an additional R483 million to fund seven more sub-units (+/- 945 soldiers) to safeguard the landward borders of South Africa.
We have to ask ourselves why the ANC would not support budget proposals to help South Africa.
Well, the answer is simple.
They don’t care:
- about the unemployed;
- about the victims of crime;
- about poor students;
- about corruption;
- about children with malnutrition;
- about people who are hungry; and
- about safeguarding our borders.
And they should be ashamed.