Pretoria - KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu says the provincial government will make spending cuts worth over R1 billion in the first year of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).
Delivering the State of the Province Address in Pietermaritzburg, Premier Mchunu said this was necessary in light of the muted economic growth forecast.
“As such, the combination of factors like high debt service costs, high costs of compensation of employees and contracting tax base, places a severe strain on the fiscus.
“The emerging consensus is that unless we reduce public spending, we will have trouble in many fronts and at different levels,” Premier Mchunu warned.
He said the subdued economic situation has impacted negatively on government revenue streams.
“Our message to the people of KwaZulu-Natal today is that we must be full of hope and use this opportunity to gather strength physically and mentally to propel ourselves further with much vigour, and we can,” the Premier said.
The Premier, however, welcomed gains made in the fight against poverty. “Levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality still remain unacceptably high and persistent.”
Premier Mchunu conceded that the pace of delivering housing has not been as fast as they wish.
“We understand that this process is being affected by a range of inhibiting factors, such as available infrastructure, access to land, the state of spatial planning and reduced budgets. I believe that the time has come to pursue alternative delivery models to achieve greater participation and contributions from beneficiaries.” – SAnews.gov.za
