Cape Town -
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan confirmed on Tuesday that revenue
last year was about R8bn more than expected, and expenditure
a bit less.
Speaking in the National Assembly during debate on his Budget vote,
Gordhan said the budget deficit was 6.7% of gross domestic product (GDP) - rather
better than the anticipated 7.3%, though considerably wider than 1% of GDP recorded in 2008/09.
"The Ministers' Committee on the Budget and the treasury have begun work
on next year's budget," he said.
"Preliminary data suggest that we will see moderate economic growth this
year, perhaps somewhat higher than we projected in February.
"But last week's employment statistics were a sobering reminder that more
must be done, more urgently, to restructure our economy and create
jobs, particularly for young people."
Gordhan expressed appreciation for the many thousands of public servants
who had quietly and diligently kept orderly books of account
over the past year, contributing to sound audit reports and measurable
value for money in government spending.
"The heroes of good governance are these honest, hard-working officials,"
he said.
"The revenue at our disposal, and effective stewardship of our public
resources, would not be possible without their ordinary and disciplined
patience with double-entry record-keeping in the public accounts.
"Yes, I know there is much to be done to improve public accounting.
"But the fact that we can meet today, six weeks after the close of the
financial year, and comment on the fiscal outcome with confidence
that we have the numbers at our disposal is testament to the sound
foundations that are in place in the work of the accountant
general, the auditor general and our Accounting Standards
Board," Gordhan said.
Greek
tremors
Gordhan
also said South Africa is likely to suffer fallout from the Greek
crisis, including a downturn in trade.
"We will no doubt feel the effects of some of the uncertainty in financial
markets and possible downturn in trade over the period ahead."
Gordhan referred repeatedly to the troubled European economy and urged South
Africans to learn from the hard lessons facing the continent,
notably the dangers of overspending and spiralling public
debt.
"The problems are most severe for countries that enter the downturn
with high levels of public debt," he said.
"Though we are not in this position, we need to take a closer look at the
current turbulence in global finances, because the underlying
trends may hold lessons for our own developmental path."
- Sapa