Godongwana warns of rising unemployment and muted growth

Finance Minister says MTBPS will be tabled on November 12, to set expenditure framework

- SIPHELELE DLUDLA

FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana has warned that the rising levels of unemployment and muted economic growth in South Africa were posing challenges to the fiscus ahead of November's Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).

This comes as the official unemployment rate in South Africa rose to its highest in one year from 32.9% in the first quarter to 33.2% in the second quarter as the jobless population surged by 140 000 in the three months to June, resulting in a total of 8.4 million individuals seeking work.

Godongwana on Friday announced that the MTBPS will be tabled on 12 November, setting the agenda for the three-year medium-term expenditure framework after protracted efforts to table the National Budget earlier this year.

“On the 12th of November, we'll be presenting the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, which kind of sets the parameters or the indicative for the next three years,” he said.

Godongwana was speaking at the Macro Fiscal Workshop in which the National Treasury provided an overview of the country’s macro-fiscal situation and the choices the government faces.

The fiscal policy engagement presented an opportunity for civil society organisations, businesses, professionals, and interested citizens to directly engage with the government regarding the trade-offs involved in setting the budget.