As KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) gears up for tomorrow’s 2022/23 Budget presentation by Finance MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube, the DA fears the worst as provincial budgets continue to be slashed year after year.
It is clear that the fiscal storm is far from over, with both the national and provincial economy remaining dormant while job losses are at their highest levels ever.
Nationally, debt levels have also soared to dangerously high levels, with the servicing of these debts now influencing the equitable share allocated to provinces.
It is within this environment that the MEC will find herself tomorrow in a juggling act, trying to keep all the balls in the air to ensure a balanced budget.
The DA does not believe that now is the time to be looking at debt options to keep the province afloat. Instead, province needs to;
• Invest in KZN’s economy and create a conducive environment for macro and medium enterprises
• Allocate budgets to capital projects and maintenance and;
• Guarantee that service delivery, particularly Health and Education remain protected to restrictive fiscal forces while also rebuilding services at local government level.
Further expectations for tomorrow include the announcement that the long-standing matter of Izinduna remuneration and back pay – an unfunded mandate under the legacy of Jacob Zuma – has been resolved.
This issue has already cost KZN well over a billion Rand and tomorrow we expect the MEC to inform the province that National Treasury will now pay and take ownership of these costs.
We also expect the MEC to give an indication on savings from the rationalization of entities and departments. The time for talking is over.
Then there is the issue of the Forensic Investigation Unit. If we are ever to believe the Premier’s assurances that he is serious about corruption, then this must be correctly funded and capacitated. Endless excuses about limited resources will no longer cut it.
The DA notes the decision to hold the Budget presentation at the Royal Showgrounds when the Legislature precinct is available at little or no cost and when there is also the option of virtual platforms. The move is certainly not in line with cost-saving and the MEC should have led from the front on this one.
Above all, tomorrow’s budget needs to reflect the urgent needs of KZN’s people and allocating of funding in line with this. The ball is in the MECs court.
