Carrim slams opposition party declarations as 'unpatriotic'

Cape Town – The ANC’s Yunus Carrim had harsh words to members of opposition parties on Thursday, calling their declarations on the National Treasury budget vote off point and unpatriotic.

“You’re not talking about the adequacy of this budget, but you focus on government as a whole. Yes, we have downgrades which are worrying. There’s a technical recession which we’re concerned about. But it’s not the end of the world,” Carrim, which also chairs the standing committee on finance, said.

He called on MPs to work together in the national interest and engage in constructive criticism. “Ultimately we do have a national interest despite our differences.”

Voting on the various departmental budget votes were taking place in the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon where MPs had a chance to make declarations on the money appropriated to state departments.

READ: Budget: Gigaba seeks to narrow deficit, Fitch warns SA will miss forecast

The DA’s David Maynier said in his declaration that since Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba's appointment has been appointed on March 31, South Africa’s sovereign credit rating was downgraded, employment numbers are soaring and the country is in a recession.

“And what does the Minister say? He will meet with business leaders and give timeframes to the implementation of policy. This all amounts to fiddling with the deck chairs on the Titanic,” Maynier said.  

Anton Alberts from the Freedom Front Plus said in his declaration Gigaba should stop the self-enrichment and nepotism displayed by government.

Nqabayomzi Kwankwa from the UDM said seeing that there is no fiscal room in which to manoeuvre, the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) should consider lowering interest rates, thereby moving away from its inflationary target. “Why is the SARB so reluctant to lower interest rates?”

READ: Kganyago: SA to keep targeting low inflation for lower rates 

Cope’s Deirdre Carter said in her declaration that Gigaba and Deputy Finance Minister Sfiso Buthelezi have no “moral legitimacy” to serve in Cabinet.

She said Gigaba’s appointment specifically was merely to serve the “state capture project”. “You’ve been repositioning state-owned enterprises to benefit the Zuptas when you were Public Enterprises Minister,” Carter said. She also referred to allegations that Gigaba during his tenure as Home Affairs Minister helped business associates of the Gupta family to obtain visas.