The DA has slammed finance boss Malusi Gigaba's medium-term budget policy statement, calling it a reflection of President Jacob Zuma's "catastrophic management of the economy".
The party's David Maynier said Gigaba's presentation of the budget policy in parliament on Wednesday reveals a "full-scale budget blow-out".
While Gigaba delivers this say-nothing #MTBPS The only thing falling faster than the Rand is the Presidents eyelids
— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) October 25, 2017
Pity Gigaba!His appointment led to S&P junk-grading SA.If not careful, his maiden Mini-Budget could lead to a disastrous capital withdrawal.
— Iraj Abedian (@IrajAbedian) October 25, 2017
Maynier said the statement revealed a massive shortfall of R50.8-billion; a breach of the expenditure ceiling by R3.9-billion; and a "blow-out" in the budget deficit by R54-billion to R203-billion – or 4.3 percent of GDP – in the 2017/18 financial year.
Today we are going to listen to the Gupta Minister of Finance for the MTBPS and we expect nothing from him. He's got no integrity at all!
— Floyd Shivambu (@FloydShivambu) October 25, 2017
"Worse, any prospect of the recovery now rests with a mystery presidential committee under [Zuma] who is ground-zero of the meltdown in the economy in South Africa," Maynier said.