English and Afrikaans soundbites by Dr Mark Burke MP.
The seeds of spending surges, revenue shortfalls and tax hikes are historically planted in Medium Term Budget Policy Statements (MTBPS). The bitter fruit is then shoved down our throats in the following year’s budget. The DA expects the Finance Minister to break this cycle and cultivate a better harvest.
Instead of announcing or sneaking in new spending, this budget should be the first, but not the last, to announce billions identified in wasted spending to be cut in the next budget cycle. Spending reviews, followed by cuts in wasted spending, need to become an annual process.
The DA expects the MTBPS to reflect and reinforce hard-earned victories. A commitment to no increases in VAT, corporate tax, or income tax, including ending bracket creep on the back of improved SARS efficiency. South Africans are already overtaxed.
The DA looks forward to updates on policy wins, including the eradication of ghost workers, metro trading services reform and the crowding in of the private sector in electricity generation, rail, and ports.
We welcome news on Project Vulindlela successes. We don’t doubt that much of the good news will lie in DA-run departments. However, the executive needs to account for any slowdown or stalls in project implementation. Time wasted delaying reform results in growth wasted, jobs lost and better lives delayed.
MTBPS 2025 cannot be business as usual. South Africans are fed up with budgets that bake in a worse future, disguised by speeches promising a better one.