Disinvestment: a government abandoning its people Spending on government programmes Health

The graph below illustrates the extent of the cuts to health, basic education and social protection when inflation is taken into account over the next three years. [...] The MTBPS 2021 states that “[t]he fiscal strategy remains broadly unchanged, with a focus on achieving a primary budget surplus from 2024/25.” It is baffling that over a year into the pandemic, with numerous lessons learnt, both locally and globally, on the importance of public investment, the government remains committed to an austere approach adopted in the 2020 Special Adjustments Budget. [...] This approach underestimates the social and political risks of not utilising fiscal space for the rescue of the economy and to pave the way for an equitable recovery. [...] In the midst of disinvestment in basic services and a lack of clear vision to alleviate unemployment, poverty and stimulate growth, the government must urgently implement the following measures: ● Implement a comprehensive stimulus package to stimulate demand, and expand capacity in the economy and create jobs. [...] Extension and improvement of the Covid SRD grant, and the development of pathways towards a Universal Basic Income Grant (UBIG) should be prioritised in the February 2022 budget.