Finance Minister Trevor Manuel should provide a social democratic budget on Wednesday aimed at the comprehensive upliftment of the poor, says Independent Democrats finance spokesperson Avril Harding.
Harding said on Monday that a key element should be the reducing of the state pension age to 60 for both men and women. At present, men only receive their pension at 65.
“While the government has talked social democracy since it took power, the Independent Democrats will be watching Manuel to see if he can put our money where his government’s mouth is,” said Harding.
He identified four “crucial areas” of social investment.
The first is that the child grant should be extended to 14- to 18-year-olds. “Poverty does not stop at 14, and it is government’s duty to spread its social net to our children who are most vulnerable to dropping out of school to look for work and then being caught up in criminality.”
Second, Harding said his party wants Manuel to announce the extension of the school feeding scheme to high schools. “This ties in with the extension of the child grant and will have a direct impact on pass rates.
“Next up should be an announcement that the government will finally adhere to our equality laws by committing itself to bring the pension qualification age of men down to that of women,” said Harding.
The ID’s final expectation is that Manual will announce a shift in budget focus from the traditional, “misguided beefing-up of the police and criminal justice system, towards the social democratic focus on social workers”.
He said: “Although visible policing is an important part of reducing crime, social workers are crucial in taking on the root causes of crime. The government cannot allow public anger to influence common sense.
“Many of our poor, disadvantaged communities are suffering from the effects of hundreds of years of cultural chauvinism and neglect, and the Independent Democrats believe that the cure must come from the deployment of tens of thousands of social workers, not police.”
Harding urged Manuel to focus on speeding up public capital spending projects, such as the 2010 Soccer World Cup. “Also, Manuel needs to place more emphasis on actual plans to increase skills in the civil service.
“Companies must buy into social consensus development, which should be driven by the minister. In accordance with this, there should be more comprehensive tax incentives for companies that create jobs,” he said. — I-Net Bridge