Finance Minister highlights challenges facing citizens

By Khanyisa Tabata
16 February 2010

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has highlighted the challenges that are facing ordinary citizens and communities as a whole with unemployment taking the centre stage, more especially amongst youth and school leavers. With almost two million job opportunities that were created over the past five years almost a million were lost during the course of last year alone.

R12.2 billion has been allocated for social development with child support grant expected to increase by only R10. The child support grant is expected to last up to the age of 18 years old. The old pension is expected to be increased by R70 to R 1080.

“A further R15.1 billion has been allocated for the occupation specific dispensation (OSD) for teachers and doctor’s working in the public sector. The R12.2 billion for grants, including the extensions of the child support grant up to the age of 18 years.

“R2.5 billion to increase labour intensity in the public works, R1.8 billion for clothing and textile production incentives and a further, R1.8 billion for the automotive production development programme.

Gordhan also added that there will be a further R2.5 billion for municipal infrastructure to support universal access targets for water and sanitation, and R6.7 billion for municipalities to over come the increased cost of providing free basic electricity.

R1 billion will be allocated for rural development, R1.2 billion for water and sanitation infrastructure for rural households and R1.5 billion for Land Bank to support rural development.

Minister Gordhan has also allocated a further R2.7 billion to provide literacy and numeracy workbooks in all of the South African languages for learners in grades R to 9, and a billion to increase subsidies for higher education institutions.

The Minister also allocated R 2.2 billion for a revised salary structure in the South African National Defence Force.

“Corruption is an ever-present threat to our ambitions. All South Africans must constantly and consciously work to root out this cancer.

“If we are to address this scourge, we need improved management capability, governance, enforcement, and oversight, and in the business sector. Additional funds have been allocated to bolster efforts to strengthen supply chain management, and the relevant government departments have intensified efforts to bring perpetrators of tender’s fraud to book. R 1 billion to the criminal and justice sector for efforts to reduce crime and corruption has been allocated.
A further R2.8 billion will be allocated for public transport and rail infrastructure.


Minister Gordhan also highlighted that tax on a packet of cigarettes will cost more, a packet of 20 cigarettes will cost a further R 1.24cents and 7.5m bottle of wine will cost 12cents more, a 340ml can of beer will cost you 6.5cents and a 750 ml of liquor will cost you R2. 22 cents more. There will be also increase on fuel taxes of 25.5 cents a litre. And for ordinary citizen and after all of this taxing the they ar expected to get R6.5 billion in personal taxes.