SA debt increase strategic – Zuma
The big increase in South Africa's national debt relative to GDP in the past five years is a strategic move aimed at spurring economic recovery, President Jacob Zuma said on Thursday.
"The increase... reflects the adoption of a counter-cyclical strategy in response to the global economic crisis in 2008/9," he said in a written reply to a parliamentary question.
"If we had simply cut spending in response to the fall in revenue during the crisis, the economy is unlikely to have recovered from the recession."
The question was posed by Congress of the People leader Mosiuoa Lekota, who wanted to know whether escalation in the level of such debt, from 27% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008, to "45% or more estimated for 2015", had eroded the fiscal space needed to bring about "radical" socio-economic transformation.
In his state of the nation address in June, Zuma said the country had to "embark on radical socio-economic transformation" to push back the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment.
In his reply on Thursday, he said his government had identified a number of measures "in order to take account of the more limited fiscal space".
These included an emphasis on local procurement, with the aim of ensuring at least 75% of government purchases were from local producers, and "re-prioritising" government spending, to make sure it supported more inclusive and sustainable growth.
"This has in particular meant shifting resources toward infrastructure and improving the impact of the critical services of health, education and policing."
Further, through its infrastructure build programme, the government was mobilising increased investment off-budget, through state-owned companies and development finance institutions.
"The effect is both to transform our economy and to provide an increased stimulus without increasing government debt," Zuma said.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
ROSOND provides fast, efficient, safe, and cost-effective drilling and grouting services to mining and exploration industries throughout Africa.
VISIT SHOWROOM
AirNox (Pty) Ltd is a level 1 BBBEE manufacturer of complete AdBlue® solutions for operators of SCR diesel engines and AUS40 across South Africa...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
