Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson on Finance Dr Mark Burke told Parliament that South Africa does not have a revenue problem, calling on the Government of National Unity (GNU) to cut unnecessary government expenditure.

Burke presented the party’s proposed six-point plan aimed at growing the country’s economy and creating jobs, where he noted that South Africa had a problem prioritising spending on programmes that drove growth and job creation.

The DA proposes immediate cost-cutting measures that will free up at least R60-billion without cutting essential services.

Last week, the country’s national Budget was postponed at the last minute owing to disagreements on a two percentage point value-added tax hike.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented a revised Budget on Monday, which was rejected by the multiparty Cabinet, reportedly owing to significant Budget cuts proposed for critical services.

The Budget is expected to be tabled on March 12.

The DA is proposing a 50% reduction in government advertising budgets and a 33% reduction in travel and catering expenditure across departments.

The DA further wants the GNU to freeze hires for all non-essential government positions for 12 months and wants a national audit of “ghost employees”, following the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa audit which uncovered that about 10% of its workforce did not exist.

“As Cabinet goes back to the drawing board on a new Budget, we believe these proposals will position our country on the right footing - without raising taxes, growing our debt or cutting frontline services,” Burke explained.

He pointed out that the R60-billion in new expenditure that the Treasury said it needed to fund was only 3% of the overall R1.9-trillion budget.

“…there is no need to tax to find these funds, which can easily be sourced from failing, failed and underperforming programmes and sub-programmes. South Africa doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a problem prioritising spending on programmes that drive growth and in turn job creation,” he noted.

The party said government must find R60-billion in savings from wasteful spending, instead of burdening poor taxpayers further.

Burke noted that tax increases, including a mooted wealth tax, would chase away investment, shrink the country’s tax base, and ultimately, cause damage to the economy.

The party also wants government to focus on pro-business growth measures, by fast-tracking logistics and trade reforms and by setting clear deadlines for the concessioning of freight rail and major ports such as Cape Town and Richards Bay.

“Establish a $5-billion (around R92-billion) concessional lending arrangement with the World Bank for high-impact urban infrastructure projects without adding to the national debt,” Burke suggested.

The party also proposed a three-month emergency spending review to identify wasteful and failing programmes.

This, Burke said, would allow reallocation of funds to essential public services such as healthcare, policing, and education; and the ability to fund legally mandated commitments, such as the R7-billion public sector wage increase, without tax hikes.

He also suggested the use of the Adjustment Budget Mechanism to shift spending as new revenue streams were unlocked.

He pointed out that instead of suffocating taxpayers, South Africa should focus on improving tax compliance and unlocking State assets.

“Increasing tax compliance from 63% to 67% can generate R60-billion per year. Selling underutilised State-owned land and properties could raise R10-billion per year,” he explained.