Budget 2023
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'This to us is do or die' - Nehawu warns Gordhan over austerity measures

Cape Town - Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan should stop cutting the budget to appease foreign rating agencies and focus more on what the people of South Africa need, the National Health Education and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) said at the handover of a memorandum at Parliament on Thursday.

"You shall stop satisfying the imperialist banks, the [International Monetary Fund], the bank of the world - you must focus on the people of South Africa," said Nehawu president Mzwandile Mkwayiba.

He was speaking at the end of a march through the streets of Cape Town by around 300 Nehawu supporters, who say they are fed up with austerity measures that are threatening their livelihoods and making it difficult to deliver public services.

Nehawu typically represents staff at hospitals, government institutions, Parliament and schools.

The union said the freezing of vacant posts within the public service is causing service delivery delays and shortages with some government employees left doing the work of more than one person - in some cases one nurse has to attend to 30 patients, the union said.

Mkwayiba said that when Gordhan announces a budget reduction for austerity, it means that the public service will be reduced, and employees will receive below inflation pay increases. This not only affects their work, but also their ability to provide for their families.

ANC 'must act now'

"If you don't listen Comrade Pravin, you must be very careful that the union doesn't identify you and declare you public enemy number one of the union," Mkwayiba warned.

The union said if Gordhan did not heed the warning, the 280 000-member strong union would go to Cosatu and ask that a national strike be declared that will bring the country to a standstill.

"This to us is do or die," Mkwayiba said.

Nehawu Western Cape chairperson Eric Kwelita read out Nehawu's memorandum in the blazing heat, with Treasury director general Lungisa Fuzile on hand to receive it instead of Gordhan.

Rattling off low growth statistics and high unemployment figures, he warned the ruling ANC to take action now and implement the policies it had promised would benefit the poor.

"In this regard, the union recognises that we now face a gloomy prospect where the fifth administration of the African National Congress will go down in history as having presided upon a long downward economic spiral rather than an accelerated economic development in line with its mandate of forging a radical second phase of its revolution," he said.

The union's demands include the immediate introduction of the National Health Service and a wealth tax for the rich.

* Visit our Budget Special for all the budget news and in-depth analysis.

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