'Betrayal of graft fight'

MINI-BUDGET: NO FOCUS ON FIGHTING CORRUPTION, CRIME, SAYS OUTA

- Ina Opperman

Although there was a lot of understanding for the fine line Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana had to walk with the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS), not everyone was happy, with civic organisation Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) calling it a budgetary betrayal of the fight against graft.

Wayne Duvenage, CEO of Outa, said the MTBPS disappointingly lacked a strong focus on addressing rampant corruption and dealing with criminal syndicates that led to significant losses for the state.

"The minister of finance's address sends a concerning message that government is not taking the fight against corruption seriously.

Instead of allocating additional funds to strengthen the criminal justice system, the MTBPS skirts around essential short-term strategies and long-term procurement reforms and lacks concrete targets and enforcement measures."

Outa was concerned about the dilution of direct anticorruption efforts.