As unemployment and poverty rise in the wake of the global economic crisis, Treasury says creating jobs and safeguarding social security are among its key spending priorities.
In the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), tabled at Parliament, it says that while the crisis has resulted in unemployment worldwide, the problem at home is severe.
”For South Africa, which already faces high levels of joblessness, the challenge is acute.”
Poverty and income inequality are expected to grow in the immediate future as a result of higher unemployment and reduced incomes.
According to the MTBPS, government spending will increase from its current R841,4-billion, to R1,052-trillion in 2012, with education, health and social services the priority areas.
”Major trends [in spending] include a rising share of spending allocated to education and health and … strong growth in spending on capital programmes,” the statement says.
Spending on education will rise by 8,6% — from its current R144-billion to R184,6-billion in 2012.
Priorities in the coming years will include improving literacy and numeracy in the early phases of schooling, boosting mathematics and science scores at matric level and ”increasing access and quality in higher education”.
Spending on economics affairs will drop by 3,8% from the current R182,9-billion to R162,8-billion in 2012, as investment decreases in fuel, energy and transport.
Investment in social protection will rise by 8,9% from R121,1-billion to R156,6-billion in 2012.
The document says one of the government’s key social programmes in the coming three years will be to extend the child support grant to poor children up to their 18th birthday.
”Once fully phased in, this extension is likely to cost about R7-billion a year,” it says.
More than 13-million people receive social benefits from the government.
Health spending will rise by 8,6% from the current R89,8-billion to R115,2-billion, as increasing numbers receive antiretroviral treatment for Aids.
”The fight against HIV and Aids is a key priority and treatment uptake will soon exceed more than 300 000 new entrants per year.
”By the end of March 2010, more than 900 000 people will be receiving ARV treatment and an estimated 80% of new Aids cases will be entering treatment by 2011/12.”
The largest percentage increase in spending in the coming three years will be on housing and community amenities, with investment to rise by 12,3% from R69,4-billion in 2009, to R98,5-billion in 2012.
The goal of ”eradicating informal settlements” will continue to receive priority.
”Rapid urbanisation has brought about greatly increased demand for land, housing, water and sanitation, electricity and transport in cities and large towns,” the statement says.
Investment in the safety will increase by 9,3% in the coming three years, from R77,7-billion to R101,6-billion.
Treasury says an extra 22 447 police officers will be recruited by 2012, raising the size of the police force to 207 760.
The primary aim will be to strengthen the detective services and crime intelligence.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, to be known as the Hawks, will rise from 350 investigators to 2 400 by 2012. The previous Directorate of Special Operations, the Scorpions, employed fewer than 500 investigators.
Defence will receive a 7,2% increase in its budget in the next three years, from R34,1-billion to R41,9-billion.
Investment in environmental protection will increase by 10,4% from R5,5-billion in 2009, to R7,4-billion in 2012.
Recreation, culture and religion is of lesser importance, with spending to fall by 9,5% from the current R7,6-billion to R5,6-billion in 2012. — Sapa