Chairperson of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), Songezo Zibi, at a parliamentary briefing on the national budget. Picture: Parliament/Phando Jikelo
The EFF said the decision by the National Treasury will not stabilise the economy or create jobs, but it will only deepen poverty, inequality and unemployment.
The National Treasury’s decision to suspend the transfer of equitable share funds to underperforming municipalities has received a mixed reaction from opposition parties, members of Parliament (MPs) and the labour sector.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has warned that the National Treasury against pursuing what it calls “a path that seeks to collapse the State”, while handing over decisions on the fate of the country to the private sector and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The party said the solution is the creation of “a capable, well-resourced, corruption-free developmental state” that supports all of society.
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has also rejected the move by the National Treasury, arguing that it shifts the cost of maladministration onto ordinary citizens instead of the decision-makers who caused it.
The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has also raised concerns about the unintended consequences of withholding funds as a form of punishment.
The union federation says some municipalities are in such bad shape that some basic services would grind to a halt.
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