BusinessDay reports that opposition MPs cautiously welcomed the medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) on Wednesday as an indication of economic revival, but they expressed disappointment that little was done to deal with unemployment.

EFF leader Julius Malema criticised the budget for lacking clear plans to tackle unemployment, corruption, and the crises in policing, defence, health, and infrastructure. MK party MP Brian Molefe criticised the MTBPS for ignoring unemployment, saying the government of national unity was failing to tackle poverty, inequality, and joblessness with the urgency they required. “Dealing with inflation is important; we agree we have to deal with it. But we need to deal with unemployment with the same vigour. People want jobs; people are hungry; people are poor,” he emphasised.

Cosatu’s Matthew Parks said the labour federation noted the turnaround in many key parts of the state, in particular Eskom, Transnet, Metrorail and the SA Revenue Service. Still, “we remain deeply concerned that the budget, including the MTBPS’s proposed adjustments, is not bold enough to take the economy from the 1% growth it has been stuck at for two decades nor to give hope to 12-million unemployed”.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Luyolo Mkentane at BusinessDay (subscriber access only)
• Lees ook, Partye, ekonome verskil oor MTBR, by Maroela Media

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