Pretoria – Cabinet has encouraged South Africans to work together with government to counteract the current economic conditions to stimulate further economic growth.
This follows Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene’s Budget Vote last week.
Minister Nene presented his budget which has been described by many as a “balancing act” which among others will narrow the budget deficit; improve the quality of spending; reduce constraints on the economy; and continue support for programmes that benefit the poor the most.
Cabinet welcomed the budget, saying it will drive the implementation of the nine-point plan presented by the President during his State of the Nation Address.
“This budget provides certainty, stability and prudent fiscal management necessary to take the South African economy through these tough economic conditions,” said Minister responsible for Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency, Jeff Radebe, on Thursday.
Cabinet reiterated that the tax measures introduced are necessary to support the fiscus in the year ahead.
Minister Nene proposed, among others, a 1% increase in personal income tax for those earning above R181 900 per annum and an overall increase in fuel levies of 80.5 cents per litre. 30.5 cents of this is an increase in the general fuel levy and 50 cents is for the Road Accident Fund (RAF).
Eskom
Meanwhile, Cabinet also welcomed the announcement by Eskom that Unit 6 of Medupi Power Station produced its first power this week, making it the first of its six units to be synchronized.
Synchronization is the process whereby the generator is electrically connected to the national power grid.
“Whilst we continue to work towards increasing the power supply in the national grid, Cabinet calls on the public to continue adhering to the energy saving measures,” Minister Radebe said.
He urged communities to use electricity sparingly, while the state utility continues to introduce other alternative sources of energy. - SAnews.gov.za
