The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) to Present Submission on 2021/22 and MTEF: Division of Revenue Bill to Parliament’s Appropriations Committees at 9am, Friday 12 March 2021.The fundamental crises facing workers are a stagnant economy and unemployment that has risen past 40%. These are compounded by the bleeding of the state of 10% or R150 billion every year. Billions are lost through tax and customs evasion; billions are required to save State-Owned Enterprises that have been run into the ground and we have a state starved of the resources necessary to deliver quality public services.
The Budget and the Division of Revenue (DOR) Bill fail to do that. They are amazingly silent on the countless revelations from the Auditor-General’s reports on the collapse of good governance in many provincial departments and municipalities.
The DOR Bill and Budget do not speak to the progressive commitments of the Economic Recovery and Reconstruction Plan, namely job creation, combating crime and corruption, rebuilding the state, and stimulating the economy. The allocations to infrastructure are undermined by the R19 billion cuts to local government and the R504 billion cuts to provincial government over the MTEF.
The sole thrust of the Budget is to freeze and reduce expenditure on the backs of an imposed 4-year wage freeze on public servants. This will not stimulate the economy nor rebuild the state. In fact, it will make matters worse.
For further information please contact: Matthew Parks- COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator
Cell: 082 785 0687
Email: matthew@cosatu.org.za