The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) said it is concerned that the working class and the poor will have what it calls an anti-worker and anti-poor budget when the Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana tables the 2024 Budget on Wednesday.

SAFTU said if the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) is any indication, this Budget will deepen budget cuts, undermine public services, and entrench the neoliberal economic agenda. “There is also pressure by jingoistic militarists to amplify our flow of soldier corpses from the Democratic Republic of the Congo – a war our mining and oil companies want us to fight to regain the status quo of capitalist extractivism.”

SAFTU added that the destruction of USAID by a Washington team led by Gauteng native, Elon Musk – partly on the spurious grounds of alleged discrimination against Afrikaner farmers – means that R7.5 billion in extra funding for vital AIDS medicines will need to be found. “The Reserve Bank’s failure to cut interest rates at the rate SAFTU has suggested also means a far higher debt repayment burden than we should be bearing.”

SAFTU said that since the 2008/9 global economic crisis, successive budgets have imposed devastating cuts in public expenditure under the guise of fiscal consolidation. “At the heart of these budget cuts is the relentless drive to achieve lower deficits to GDP, dictated by the IMF, credit rating agencies, and financial institutions.”

SAFTU added that the IMF, in particular, has been twisting the Treasury’s arm in the wake of the foolish, unnecessary $4.3 billion loan the late Finance Minister Tito Mboweni contracted on behalf of future generations when we were weak, in the first wave of mass COVID-19 deaths. “Further World Bank loans – including billions of dollars now being negotiated by the Treasury – will continue to maximise Washington Consensus power over our fiscal sovereignty.”

SAFTU reiterated its rejection of the anti-poor and anti-worker austerity agenda. “We reject the IMF and credit rating agencies’ push to reduce budget deficits at the expense of development.”

SAFTU added that the government must abandon its fiscal consolidation strategy and increase spending on education, healthcare, policing, defence, home affairs, and labour. “All public sector vacancies must be filled, and CHWs and CCGs must be fully absorbed with full benefits across all provinces.”

SAFTU said that to ensure that the rich and big businesses pay their fair share, the government must implement a wealth tax, close corporate tax loopholes, and reverse corporate tax reductions.

SAFTU added that to protect the poor from the rising cost of living, the Basic Income Grant must be introduced at R1500, and social grants must be increased above the inflation rate. “The government must pursue a pro-worker industrial policy to create decent jobs, build domestic manufacturing, and end reliance on exploitative multinational corporations.”

SAFTU said they call on all workers, the unemployed, and the poor to mobilise against this austerity budget. “The working class cannot afford to sit back while our lives and livelihoods are sacrificed for the elite's profits. We reaffirm our call for mass anti-austerity demonstrations and urge all progressive forces to join the fight against neoliberalism and budget cuts. We call on SAFTU, COSATU, FEDUSA, and NACTU members to join other working-class formations in demonstrating against the budget cuts in Cape Town on February 19, 2024.”

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