Pretoria - There has been mixed reaction to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's Budget Speech on the streets of Pretoria. While many welcome it, there were some concerns by residents.
William Fakude, a businessman from Soshanguve, said he was happy with the minister's announcement of a budget over R1 trillion and hopeful that this would go a long way in addressing the on-going challenges government faces.
"There is hope that with a huge budget such as this one, the high rate of unemployment and other social backlogs will be alleviated," said the 40-year-old.
Fakude welcomed the R139 billion set aside for the upgrading of human settlements and municipal infrastructure in the next two years.
"You will be worried when you visit areas like Alexandra and Sweetwaters. People are living under dire conditions, with no services at their disposal, like water and a sewerage system, so this move will address these issues."
Tendai Nyathi from Pretoria welcomed the budget. "People will be able to get fair and reasonable salaries and this will avoid the exploitation of employees in various workplaces," said Nyathi.
However, he was concerned about how government will ensure that the money is used effectively to address the country's challenges.
Lindiwe Kgoedi, a security officer in Pretoria CBD, was happy with the increase of the beer price. "The increase in beer prices will promote social responsibility as it will bind people to limit the consumption of alcohol."
She also welcomed the increase in social grants, saying they "will reduce the rate of poverty as more families rely on them".
The old age pension will rise by R60 to a total of R1 200 a month, child support grants and foster care grants will go up by R30 to R 280 and R770 respectively.
Nhlanhla Yethu, a Human Resource Management student at Jeppe College, was concerned about the spending on education. "We know that education is a priority and it has been allocated R236 billion, but I would have been happier if there was funding earmarked to ease students' debts."
"Many students are still unable to pay NSFAS [National Student Financial Aid Scheme of South Africa]. There should be a budget to fund mechanisms that will assist students to pay their NFSAS debts while getting employed at the same time," said the 24-year-old.
Lydia Magoro said she was finding it more and more difficult to keep up with the high cost of living.
The street vendor said this would be intensified with the 1cent per kWh electricity levy increase.
"Over the years, we never heard of a reduction in electricity prices, instead they are forever increasing. We live in unequal households, few may be able to adapt, but what about the vast poor majority?"
