The party's deputy president and spokesperson on finance and public enterprises, Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi, said no major pronouncements were made regarding state owned entities (SOEs).   

“It is incredibly unfortunate that on the back of today’s budget announcement, Deputy Auditor General of South Africa, Tsakane Ratsela, released shocking audit outcomes that irregular expenditure in municipalities grew from R25.2 billion (US$14.4million) to R32 billion (US$18.3million) for the 2018/19 year. Wasteful expenditure was R2 billion (US$1.1million) and unauthorised spending amounted to R11.9 billion (US$6.8million)."

Buthelezi said that while the increase for local government expenditure and relief to struggling municipalities was welcomed, financial management of local government entities and councils remained worrisome. 

The party welcomed Mboweni’s statement that the government would move to an approach of zero-based budgeting to avoid a sovereign debt crisis. Debt was forecast to reach 81.8 percent of GDP in the current financial year before stabilising at 87.4 percent in 2023/24.

Buthelezi said the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs needed to put resources and human infrastructure in place to manage finances and root out corruption. 

While acknowledging that Covid-19 had crippled the economy, the party said the country was on a fiscal cliff, and that the future of the nation depended on all role players in society to cut corruption, and improve financial management and administration. 

“Careful consideration must be taken in all circumstances whereby taxpayers' money is being used,” Buthelezi said. 

The party said it believed a phased-out control of the state was necessary in terms of partially privatising SOEs, while implementing stricter measures in which the persons with the best expertise, knowledge and skills were appointed to run efficient, profit-making and effective SOEs. 

The IFP called on ministers to talk less and act more in improving the lives and the livelihoods of all South African citizens.

It also said that given the state of the economy, those working in the public sector should make do with what they were receiving. 

African News Agency