Parliament, the Budget and Poverty in South Africa. A Shift in Power

Len Verwey

Description

Effective and transparent government budgeting is vital to any democracy. In South Africa, massive poverty, inequality and unemployment remain, despite the successful political transformation, citizens and Parliament have a particularly important role to play in shaping budget policy and overseeing its implementation. South Africa reached a crossroads in fiscal governance when it passed the Money Bills Amendment Act in 2009, a law which granted Parliament strong powers to amend the budget prepared by the executive. This publication explores the content of the new law as well as the challenges and opportunities arising from it. It also discusses the role of Parliament in ensuring pro-poor budgeting. Good fiscal governance is too important for the wellbeing of South Africans to not be a part of our public conversations.

Informations

• Publié par: The Institute for Democracy in South Africa
• Date de parution: 15 octobre 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9781920409340
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 9 Mo

Extrait

Parliament, the Budget and Poverty in South Africa: A Shift in Power

Edited by Len Verwey with Kate Lefko-Everett, Ahmed Mohamed, and Musa Zamisa

2009

Idasa is an independent public interest organisation committed to promoting sustainable democracy based on active citizenship, democratic institutions and social justice. The Budget Unit of Idasa’s Political Information and Monitoring Service (PIMS) engages in research and advocacy on the role of economic policy in alleviating pov- erty, reducing inequality and unemployment and contributing to the realisation of socio-economic rights. For further information on the Unit’s work please visit our page on the Idasa web- site: www.idasa.org or contact Len Verwey: 021 467 7601, [e-mail]

Published by Idasa, 357 Visagie Street, Pretoria 0002

© Idasa 2009

ISBN 978-1-920118-91-4

First published 2009

Copy-edited by Drew Forrest

Cover by Mandy Darling, Magenta Media

Layout by Bronwen Müller, Idasa Publishing

Production by Idasa Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission from the publishers.

Bound and printed by ABC Press, Cape Town

F OREWORD n April 2009, President Kgalema Motlanthe, the third president of democratic South Africa, signed a bill into law allowing Parliament to amend the national sa I tions and political parties to create budget amendment powers for Parliament, a budget. This was the culmination of a campaign by unions, civil society organi- campaign that began at the birth of the democratic dispensation. For this reason,Parliament, the Budget and Poverty in South Africa: A Shift in Power is a timely book. It originated in a multi-stakeholder symposium convened by Idasa in 2008 to reflect on key elements of what has now become the Money Bills Amendment Pro- cedure and Related Matters Act (No 9 of 2009). The book provides a further assess- ment of the Act and identifies some of what is required if its provisions are to improve the quality and impact of the budget. The editors have, however, a more important goal than helping to ensure an efficient and effective budget. This publication emerges from a particular context – South Africa’s widespread, intractable poverty, exacerbated by islands of plenty. Democracies which have many poor people may survive institutionally, but those afflicted by great inequality and relative deprivation face special challenges. And the question must be asked: how valuable is a constitutional democracy which cannot improve the quality of life of its citizens and enable them to prosper and participate fully in the economic and political life that is under construction? The question is particularly relevant where adequate resources do seem to exist, as in South Africa. South Africa has not had an explicit, publicly negotiated poverty reduction strat- egy. Instead, it has relied on the medium-term expenditure framework and govern- ment programmes of action to structure interventions, foster debate and secure so- cial ownership of state initiatives. To date, public participation has been fairly weak and tensions have regularly surfaced over aspects of the budget, including its macro- economic stance and the effective spending of allocations. As the country’s fourth presidency gets under way and the fourth Parliament con- venes, there is an opportunity to re-establish the primacy of citizen agency in public finances. The new amendment powers clearly give non-governmental stakeholders a positive incentive to engage with the budget. But having these powers is not the same as exercising them wisely and in favour of the poor. In the realm of budgeting, we may have arrived at a new moment in South Afri- ca’s democratic journey. This publication reminds us of where we have come from and sketches a map that can be used in navigating the immediate future. As always, underlying these pressing, sometimes technical issues is the need for South Africans to further the promise that we make every time we celebrate the Constitution: to “improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each person”. Paul Graham, Executive Director: Idasa September 2009

C ONTENTS

I NTRODUCTION

C HAPTER 1

C HAPTER 2

C HAPTER 3

C HAPTER 4

C HAPTER 5

P RO - POORBUDGETING : GENERALREFLECTIONSANDTHE S OUTH A FRICANSITUATION L EN V ERWEY

S OUTH A FRICA ’ SNEWPARLIAMENTARYBUDGETPROCESS : ANINITIALASSESSMENT J OACHIM W EHNER

B UDGETOVERSIGHTANDPOVERTYALLEVIATION : OPPORTUNITIESANDCHALLENGES T ANIA A JAM

B UDGETOVERSIGHTANDTHE S OUTH A FRICANBUDGETOFFICE A HMED M OHAMED

P UBLICPARTICIPATIONINBUDGETING : OPPORTUNITIESPRESENTEDBYNEWAMENDMENTPOWERS K ATE L EFKO -E VERETTAND M USA Z AMISA

A PPENDIX 1  C ONSTITUTIONALPROVISIONSONMONEYBILLS

A PPENDIX 2  P RINCIPLESFORAMENDINGTHEFISCALFRAMEWORKAND MONEYBILLSIN S OUTH A FRICA ’ SNEWLEGISLATION

E NDNOTES

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