Main opposition parties reject Treasury's assertion of pro-poor budget

CAPE TOWN - The main opposition parties in Parliament have rejected the National Treasury's assertion that the national budget is pro-poor and not one of austerity.
The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party also slammed the National Treasury's economic growth projections, saying it consistently gets it wrong.
The party told a joint meeting of the finance committees that it believes the hike in the fuel levy will also have a severe impact on growth.
The meeting on Wednesday finalised its report on the fiscal framework, which underpins the budget's money bills.
The MK Party's Des van Rooyen said the National Treasury is being overly optimistic on its GDP growth projection of 1.4% for this year.
READ: Experts say economic momentum remains elusive after weak GDP growth
Van Rooyen said the budget is being premised on the wrong variables.
'We are not speaking of a once-off prediction. We are speaking about something that is well recorded. National Treasury has been missing its targets for the past 10 years.'
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)'s Omphile Maotwe, meanwhile, insisted government's economic reform programme Operation Vulindlela won't lead to the desired economic growth.
'Just go look at what the public-private partnerships are doing in the State-owned entities. We are not saying we are closing them out. But there's nothing they are bringing to the table. I can assure you.'
Former Transnet chief executive, Brian Molefe, now an MK Member of Parliament (MP), backed Maotwe, who also previously worked at the freight company, saying during his tenure, the company was profitable.

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