R2K WC Statement: Invest in democracy and promote openness!

On Budget Day, 24 February 2016, R2K Western Cape will be picketing at Bhunga Avenue in Langa from 7AM – 9:30AM and outside Parliament from 2PM.

On this day, the Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan will be tabling his budget for 2016 financial year, on what is termed as his most important budget speech.  

Last week during the State of the Nation address, President Zuma informed the nation that the government will be cutting costs this year, we hope the budget will reflect on that.  We demand transparency and accountability on how the budget is implemented.

Our call:

• The budget must prioritise the poor and minimise cuts on social spending
• Invest in quality education and especially the achievement of free basic education
• Invest in providing quality primary health care for the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society
• Increase the budget for the education of learners with special needs
• Increase social grants to meet the increased cost of living
• Reduce cabinet spending by reducing the cabinet and introducing greater efficiency in delivery
• Allocate and spend more on fighting against corruption and crime in our communities
• Increase housing budget
• Stop the outflows of capital through tax evasion by the corporate sector
• Invest in the roll-out of broadband access to poor and remote communities to make real their access to the information superhighway
• Invest in integrated low-cost public transport & infrastructure development
• Invest in youth employment

Last year, the treasury promised that the Jobs Fund would spend R4 billion in partnership with the private sector on projects that create new employment but we have yet to witness any significant evidence. Young people are faced with high unemployment rate, some have chosen the wrong path in trying to survive. We call on the Minister to revisit this promise and ensure that this fund becomes a viable channel to address the scourge of unemployment.

We also call on the government to cut the cabinet in half to reduce government spending. We also note with concern on how much money is spent on “security” for our democratically elected leaders. Security for leaders will come with commensurate service delivery to the electorate; until then they need to remain accountable and accessible to those who have elected them. Having MPs and Municipal Managers spending so much money on bodyguards signals something very wrong with our democracy.

We demand a pro-poor budget, phantsi ngoo hlohlesakhe!