Govt now spends more on servicing debt than social grants
22 June 2017
Cape Town - Servicing its debt is now costing the South African government more than the amount it spends on social grants, political analyst Daniel Silke said on Thursday.
This growing gap between revenue and expenditure by government means the pressure on government to raise taxes, especially indirect taxes, will become more and more acute. This in turn will put pressure on citizens and raise frustration on ground level, according to Silke.
"The big issue regarding ratings downgrades is the pressure on government to raise capital in an affordable manner and to spend it on social upliftment matters," he said at the annual convention and expo of the SA Property Owners Association (SAPOA) taking place in Cape Town.
"I think the penny has dropped for some elements in the ANC that one (had) better listen to international reaction to increased local political risk. At the same time, other political views are that SA does not need global financial instruments and claiming that the country does not have to listen to the dictates of 'global monopoly capitalism'."