Welfare - New UIF claims soar
After President Jacob Zuma's state of the nation address last week, social welfare lobbyists were left seething because of what they called "a frustratingly vague" outline of how government plans to combat poverty and rising unemployment. So it was with understandable eagerness that they looked to Wednesday's budget for more detail and clarity.
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Industrial Incentives - A timely leg-up
The beleaguered textile and automotive sectors got a shot in the arm from finance minister Pravin Gordhan this week. He's set aside an additional R1,8bn for each of them as incentives as part of government's industrial policy action plan. Trade & industry minister Rob Davies was due to outline the plan on Thursday.
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Eskom - It's up to you now
One passing mention - that's all Eskom got in finance minister Pravin Gordhan's budget speech. As one of the biggest potholes in the road to SA's economic development, the funding crisis facing the state power company might have been expected to get more attention. But treasury officials would probably point out that Eskom is not Gordhan's problem; it fits under the public enterprises department.
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Retirement Funds - A forgotten battle
It is easy to forget that the highlight of the 2007 budget was the unveiling of the national retirement fund. In this year's Budget review, pension funds take up barely a page of the 14 pages of social security and health-care financing.
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Black Economic Empowerment - Fresh impetus
"It's a very positive budget," BEE Institute CEO Leila Moonda. It embraces transformation and also focuses on fostering economic growth, she adds. Some areas - such as the development of small businesses and the lack of incentives to buy local products - were neglected, but overall Moonda says she is happy with the direction of the speech.
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Housing - A place to call their own
Government will work with banks to help more middle-income earners get home loans, finance minister Pravin Gordhan promises. A R1bn fund has been set up as an incentive for the private sector to increase its investment in middle-income housing.
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SMEs - The cupboard is bare
People hoping to start their own businesses will feel let down by finance minister Pravin Gordhan's budget. He gave little relief to hard-pressed small business owners. "Disappointing. There was very little there," says Mike Teuchert, a partner at audit firm Grant Thornton, Cape Town.
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Banks - Time to face the music
It appears finance minister Pravin Gordhan will have no patience with bank CEOs who fail to become more competitive on charges or stall the adoption of the financial sector charter. He is also looking at taking a tougher line on hedge funds, private equity funds and credit rating agencies.
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Environment - A lot of hot air
Iespite finance minister Pravin Gordhan's reference to "green economy initiatives [that] will create new opportunities for enterprise development and job creation", there were no tangible proposals for how the "green economy" was to be developed.
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Legislation - The right to change
It has been almost 12 years in the making, and this week parliament will start implementing the legislation which gives it the power to amend the national budget proposed by the finance minister.
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