Government has made progress in fast-tracking reforms in the priority areas of electricity, water, telecommunications, transport and immigration, says Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.
Delivering the 2023 Budget Speech at the Cape Town City Hall, he said: “In water, the backlog of water license applications has been cleared, and new licenses are now being issued within 90 days”.
The progress was spearheaded by the Presidency and National Treasury-led Operation Vulindlela office.
Later this year, he said government would table a law to establish an infrastructure agency to leverage the assets in the water sector for increased investment in water resource infrastructure.
“In digital telecommunications, we will soon switch-off the analogue signal and finalise the migration to digital signal. This will unlock the benefits of the spectrum auction and unleash renewed investment in the sector,” he said.
Government, he said, is introducing new regulations to enable the accelerated rollout of telecommunications infrastructure.
“We are clearing the backlog in work visa applications and are implementing the recommendations of the skilled immigration review. Despite these gains, the challenges in electricity and logistics threaten to undermine the reform agenda,” he said.
The Minister emphasised that infrastructure investments lay the foundation for inclusive and sustainable growth, saying they address supply-side constraints; and expand access to basic services.
Overall, the public sector is projected to spend R903 billion on infrastructure over the medium-term.
“The largest portion of this, around R448 billion, will be spent by state-owned companies, public entities and through public-private partnerships,” he said.
In the Budget Review, the National Treasury says the budget supports economic growth through higher public infrastructure investment.
It said government spending on buildings and fixed structures will increase from R62 billion in 2022/23 to R104.2 billion in 2025/26.
To improve municipal water infrastructure, he said the Budget Facility for Infrastructure has approved projects to the value of R3.7 billion.
These, he said, are ready for implementation once the 2023 Appropriations Bill were enacted.
Over the next three years, R711 billion will be availed for the peace and security function. This would include measures to fight corruption and financial crimes, with significant additions compared to the previous budget.
The police budget is increased by R7.8 billion, while additions of R1.3 billion and R100 million are made to the budget of the National Prosecuting Authority and the Special Investigating Unit, respectively.
Treasury said higher-than-anticipated revenues were split between new spending and reducing debt.
The Minister said the 2023 Budget tax proposals do not increase the overall tax burden, but continue to focus on broadening the base and confronting illicit activities. The South African Revenue Service has allocated additional funding to strengthen tax administration and collection, and combat the illicit economy, he said.
Source: South African Government News Agency