Finance Minister Trevor Manuel’s national budget on Wednesday should “turn talk into action”, the Independent Democrats (ID) said on Monday.
“Our economy is faced with a number of constraints, from the looming threat of a global recession, which will probably make it necessary to revise our economic growth figures downwards, to the domestic energy crisis,” ID spokesperson Schalk Lubbe said in a statement.
“The electricity crisis will necessitate the revision of our growth model, with less emphasis on attracting energy-intensive businesses,” he added.
Manuel has to set aside money to recapitalise Eskom to support its new build programme without a huge increase in electricity tariffs being necessary.
“This must not be a blank cheque — certain conditions must be attached, such as stipulating the construction of 1Â 000MW of wind and 500MW of solar thermal energy,” Lubbe said.
The ID also wants substantial allocations for training thousands of artisans to install solar water heaters, and such heater subsidies substantially increased to encourage households to install them.
Tax breaks and subsidies should be given to households and businesses able to reduce their energy usage by more than the national target of 10%.
Lubbe said the key issue in Wednesday’s budget is what Manuel will do with the extra billions of rands he will receive this year in tax revenue, estimated at approximately R11-billion.
This money can be carried forward into the next tax year and then the budget for 2008/09 should have a budget deficit of between 1,5% and 2,5% to address the immediate economic problems facing the country.
Job creation is the number-one priority and more money has to be allocated to small-business development. Among other things, the cost of doing business has to be reduced, bureaucratic red tape removed and high input costs, such as telephony needs, brought down.
On poverty, more money has to be made available to extend child-support grants, school nutrition programmes and social grants. Also, the current disincentives for employers to contribute to the pension funds of less-well-paid workers should be reviewed.
More money should also be allocated to safety and security to improve police salaries and strengthen forensic laboratories and investigative capacity, Lubbe said. — Sapa
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