The budget not aimed at elections - Godongwana
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says the 2024 budget wasn't aimed at garnering more support for the ANC ahead of the elections.
Godongwana addressed an RMB and Sunday Times business breakfast on Thursday morning following the tabling of the national budget in Parliament the previous day.
He used his budget speech on Wednesday to announce the increase in social grant, saying this was done to keep in line with inflation and increase access for those who are eligible.
“We are sensitive to the increase in the cost of living for the nearly 19 million South Africans who rely on these grants to make ends meet. In this regard, we have done as much as the fiscal envelope allows,” he said.
He allocated an increase of R100 to the old age, war veterans, disability and care dependency grants. This amount will be divided into R90 effective from April, and R10 effective October.
A R50 increase to the foster care grant, and A R20 increase to the child support grant.
This has been criticised to be part of the ANC's electioneering strategy.
But Godongwana rubbished the claims.
"The little thing people are going to be saying 'are you trying to run an election budget'.
"An election budget should have been last year, 2023/24. This budget cannot influence the electoral outcomes.
"I told even my colleagues who were saying I am undermining the ANC's electoral outcome.
"It is not an easy thing within my party, people were saying treasury and myself are undermining the electoral outcome.
"I have spent my whole adult life in the ANC for me to be told that I am undermining electoral outcome.
"The key issue was we've got to do the right thing, we can't influence an election with a budget in two months," he said.
He said the key priorities were fixing the Eskom and logistics problems, stabilise government debt and deal with structural reforms.
Godongwana says the fiscal consolidation work cannot be done in an election year.
"My little reading tells me that to do fiscal consolidation, do it as far away from the election as possible.
"If I come back, that's the time we have to strengthen fiscal consolidation faster, so that by the year 2026/27 we are closing it, far from election we can do any changes," Godongwana told the event in Cape Town.
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