Budget 2024 | DA welcomes budget, EFF decries its 'prioritising of private sector profits'

The DA, in broadly welcoming the medium-term budget policy statement on Wednesday, gave itself a pat on the back for what it says was its tireless work in government.

With it being a critical part of the GNU, the DA said it welcomed the budget delivered by finance minister Enoch Godongwana which focused on economic reform and private sector involvement.

Its spokespersons on finance, Wendy Alexander and Dr Mark Burke, said the budget reflected the DA's influence in guiding policy in the GNU.

“While today's announcement marks a new chapter in South Africa's economic trajectory, we have called for these reforms for more than a decade. We have, since the 2008 financial crisis, called for limits on government debt, as well as measures to attract foreign direct investment,” said Alexander and Burke.

“To the millions of South Africans who stood in queues to vote DA on May 29: this budget is a testament to our tireless work in government and our work in opposition before that. We will continue to deliver more.”

The DA said it welcomed the announcement that government would reduce debt by focusing expenditure on critical service delivery programmes and the halting of SOE bailouts.

“Following hundreds of billions of rand gone to delinquent SOEs, a red line has finally been drawn. Government will no longer pump dwindling tax revenue into failed parastatals; it will spend citizen’s hard-earned money on delivering quality services to all, with a focus on building towards the future,” the party said.

While the DA beamed at the focus on involving the private sector as the government's partner in economic reform, the EFF was frothing at the mouth, saying the decision essentially prioritised making profits for the private sector.

“This policy statement advocates programmes that entrench racialised, apartheid-era economic policies, prioritising profits for the racist private sector over job creation, sustainable development and meaningful economic growth,” it said.

The coalition between the ANC and the DA in the GNU, according to the EFF, “shamelessly puts the interests of the few above the desperate majority of unemployed youth”.

It said it noted that the budget essentially buried the National Development Plan (NDP) by failing to mention it anywhere in the statement.

“Additionally, there is no recognition of the vital role a state bank could play in promoting financial inclusivity or any commitment to the finalisation of a sovereign wealth fund to secure national economic stability and future prosperity,” said the party in a statement.

The ANC described the budget as “resolute” in setting out a pro-growth agenda which will deal with the country's prolonged economic and fiscal weaknesses.

“This budget is more than a fiscal guideline; it reaffirms our unwavering commitment to building a capable, ethical and developmental state that steadily advances towards a prosperous and inclusive South Africa, rooted in economic empowerment and social justice,” said party spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri.

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