Democratic Alliance (DA) Shadow Minister of Finance Dion George said on Monday that in this year’s Budget speech government must focus on stimulating the economy and create a conducive environment for foreign investment.

George delivered the DA’s alternative Budget, ahead of Minister Enoch Godongwana’s 2023 Budget address on Wednesday, saying that previous Budgets had failed by making it difficult for households to put food on the table, while unemployment continued to rise and businesses destabilise.

George was flanked by his deputy Ashor Sarupen and DA Shadow Minister of Social Development Bridget Masango when he said that rapidly increasing debt and ongoing blackouts were also a hindrance in service delivery.

George warned that the impact of a likely greylisting by the Financial Action Task Force later this week would be an immediate increase in the cost of compliance for South African financial institutions, and stressed that already hard-pressed consumers would feel the effects. 

The DA’s proposal, which George said would halve unemployment by 2030, included the implementation of fiscal management practises which he said would enable more economic and labour market participation and attraction of foreign and domestic investment. He said this would improve living standards and alleviate the disproportionate impact of rising inflation on vulnerable members of society.

The DA believes that major reforms are required for the South African economy to thrive.

“This starts by removing government-imposed barriers to growth. A government that is effective at serving the public limits regulation and focuses on essential services,” he said.

The party proposed the establishment of a Foundation for Sustainable Economic Growth.

George stated that South Africa’s fiscal environment remains characterised by an unsustainable level of debt, persistent deficit spending, slow economic growth, stubbornly high levels of unemployment, a deceleration of both foreign and domestic private capital formation, a decline in gross domestic product per capita, escalating living costs and potential food insecurity, and political volatility.

On Monday South Africans woke up to reports of the country being plunged to continuous Stage 6 loadshedding until further notice after eight generating units broke down on Sunday. 

“Uncertain energy supply coupled with an unstable political environment has drastically impacted the development of South Africa and severely limited the growth potential of our economy. There has been much talk regarding solutions for South Africa’s electricity crisis, yet after 15 years of living under scarce energy supply, not enough has been done,” he added.

The DA reiterated its call for the privatisation of Eskom and for the opening of the energy sector to independent power producers, and in the interim, it said Eskom must prioritise the streamlining of its procurement processes while allowing massive private capacity to power South Africa.

Addressing corruption, the party proposed that government commit to the bolstering of corruption-busting institutions as corruption in an economy impeded the efficient allocation of resources and impeded the functioning of market mechanisms.

The DA blamed the ruling government for the state of the economy which it said was “in serious trouble” as a direct result of government’s failed economic policies, its failed model for black economic empowerment, its attempt to place a dysfunctional State at the centre of the economy and its disastrous cadre deployment policy.