Cape Town – Former finance minister Trevor Manuel praised Pravin Gordhan for taking up the challenge and delivering a budget two months after his reappointment as Treasury chief.
Speaking after Gordhan’s post-budget breakfast in Cape Town, Manuel told Fin24 that it takes a full year to form a fiscal budget, so this feat speaks volumes both for the respected politician and the institution he heads.
“The fact that Pravin Gordhan was appointed in the middle of December, (and) was able to rise to the challenge and respond with the amount of detail and confidence as he was able to do yesterday, speaks as much about the quality of the institution in the National Treasury as it does about his own ability,” he said.
“As South Africans, we must cherish the fact that we have an institution that is as strong and as competent,” said Manuel, who was finance minister from 1996 to 2009.
Manuel urged young South Africans to pursue a career at Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (Sars).
“The minister in his speech spoke of the 14 000 people who work at Sars,”he said. “We’ve got to continue to make these institutions places where competent young South Africans want to work, (where) they recognise the opportunities for training and (can) be part of very dynamic teams that actually give form and character to our democracy.”
* Visit our special issue on Pravin Gordhan's 2016 Budget Speech.
WATCH: Former finance minister Trevor Manuel speaks to Fin24
ALSO WATCH: Politicians were quick to give their feedback on Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's budget. This is what they said: