Resignation of Michael Sachs plunges the budget process into chaos in the middle of a fiscal crisis
13 November 2017
The Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe, tried to reassure us that there was “nothing to fear” from the new “budget prioritisation framework” during his briefing following the medium-term budget policy statement on 26 October 2017 in Parliament.
However, the shock resignation of veteran budget office head, Michael Sachs, which is a huge blow to National Treasury, confirms our fears that decision-making on budget priorities, and the budget itself, have now been centralised under President Jacob Zuma.
We now have:
- a “Presidential Fiscal Committee” making decisions about the budget at the expense of the Minister’s Committee on the Budget;