By Nosihle Shelembe
Pretoria - Government would review the allocation of resources for the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) to ensure it meets its commitments for its programmes, Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said on Monday.
“The National Treasury and the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation are conducting a series of in-depth expenditure reviews, that aim to improve allocations on the basis of evidence of programme effectiveness,” Minister Nene said.
He said the expenditure reviews would assist government to identify inefficiencies, realise savings and redirect resources to priorities.
The MTSF was government’s implementation programme for the next five years.
Minister Nene said it was a high-level strategic document that Cabinet and the country would have available to monitor the implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP).
The NDP aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030.
“National Treasury is currently working with the rest of government to prepare spending plans for the 2015 MTSF, which will be announced in February next year,” Minister Nene said.
He said since there were limited resources available, the new priorities and programmes identified in the MTSF would largely be financed by shifting resources away from less urgent uses.
“This will require government to make difficult choices and trade-offs in the period ahead,” Minister Nene said.
He said government was working with the private sector and labour to achieve growth in the country.
“In order to sustain the expansion of budgets over the longer term, it is essential that we rebuild the momentum of growth in South Africa.
“Faster growth in the years ahead is both a key objective of the NDP and the MTSF and a necessary condition to unlock the resources needed to implement our plans,” Minister Nene said. - SAnews.gov.za
