Minister of Finance Trevor Manuel’s “surprise gift” of R400-million for food security could be used to extend the food parcel programme, take over the subsidised mealiemeal project once the private-sector contribution ends and stockpile maize, say government officials.
The first subsidised 12,5kg bags of mealiemeal will arrive on shop shelves within days, but the private-sector donation announced last month only paid for 80 000 bags. That is “really insignificant given monthly sales”, said an official who did not want to be named.
The government is soon expected to take new steps to extend the food security measures announced on October 9. The R400-million food security allocation must be spent in the next five months.
Similar food security allocations will form part of the budget in February, according to the medium term budget policy statement.
Food stamps are not considered a feasible way of extending food security in the short term. “When you take that away [food stamps], what do you put in its place?” asked Nana Zenani, spokesperson for Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs Thoko Didiza.
Didiza is in charge of coordinating the government’s programme to alleviate the pressures on the poor caused by the 20% increase in food prices in recent months.
The focus will remain on ensuring long-term food security by means of food gardens and improved school feeding schemes, and on initiatives like vitamin-enriched mealiemeal. Other interventions could include lowering import tariffs on maize and encouraging rural people to access loans for food production offered by institutions such as the Land Bank.
Tuesday’s mini-budget allocated another R50-million to the fight against HIV/Aids until next March. The money will be used to pay for anti-retroviral treatment for rape survivors and to provide nevirapine to pregnant HIV-positive women.
Of the additional R8,1-billion Manuel provided for the current financial year ending in March, R3,4-billion will go to counteracting spending increases caused by inflation. Provinces will receive R2,3-billion to pay for the R20 monthly increase in state pensions and the R10 increase in child support grants the Cabinet announced on October 9. The extra money will also be used to sign up additional eligible grant recipients.
Other additional allocations include cash to start the construction of 70 000 ventilated pit latrines to replace buckets and R5-million for malaria prevention in KwaZulu-Natal.
Manuel put much emphasis on a real annual 4,7% average growth in public spending. Increases in next year’s budget include: welfare spending to increase by 3,6% with a focus on extending social grants; a 5% increase in health spending, primarily on HIV/Aids and the hospitalisation programme that will be expanded from the current nine (one per province) to an additional 27 state hospitals; and a real 3,6% increase in education spending with a focus on student support material, early childhood learning and adult education as well as funding to merge tertiary education institutions.
The criminal justice system will receive cash for court administration and personnel for the South African Police Service and correctional services. Extra money will also go to settle land claims. The process has been speeded up and 17 300 claims were resolved last year. A total of 29 421 of the 68 900 claims lodged by 1998 have been resolved.
Over the next three budgets health spending will grow by a yearly average of 10,8%, education by 9,3%, welfare by 8,2% and the justice cluster by 9,4%.
However, the People’s Budget, a trade union and civil society campaign lobbying for input in the budget, says that social welfare spending was “at best at the rate of inflation” and might be insufficient to finance the extra costs of social grants.
The group welcomed Manuel’s announcement of increased health spending, but insisted that only a national health insurance system would ensure adequate health provision.
“The current medium-term budget strategy continues the shift to a more expansionary policy that was initiated in 2000. But the current increase is still not enough to overcome the impact of three years of budget cuts between 1996 and 2000. At the current rate we will only return to 1996 levels of spending per person around 2005,” the group said.