By Editorial
Improving the capability of the state is one of the tasks President Cyril Ramaphosa has set for Finance Minister Tito Mboweni when the latter tables his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement on Wednesday.
Ramaphosa’s plans for the reconstruction and recovery of the economy and the country indeed should set the tone for what is essentially a mini budget, although South Africa’s economic circumstances have given it additional emphasis.
While the president’s plan has been criticised for being overly optimistic, it is up to Mboweni to offer balance amid a climate of uncertainty, with the economy struggling to recover and the loss of jobs in the labour market.
The second quarter of the year saw 2.2 million jobs lost, pushing the unemployment rate higher and dashing hopes of marginal economic growth and stability.
The country was in a crisis prior to March, and Covid-19 has amplified its economic woes.
Mboweni will be under pressure to continue to bail out distressed state-owned entities like SAA, but he also needs to address the issue of social grants, which have helped alleviate the burden on the pockets of those who barely live above the poverty line.
Surely Mboweni must provide a bigger financial net to the Department of Health, whose brave front-line workers have helped to ease the tide in the first wave of the pandemic, and will need more resources and backing as a second wave is expected?
With millions of South Africans bearing the burden of the economic impact of the pandemic, corruption has eroded trust in those who are responsible for procurement, and has shown that in many aspects officials of the state are incapable or unwilling to turn away from greed and selfish interests.
There is nothing new in this, but it is a reminder that rampant corruption is not fought by words, but by deeds.
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The Star