Durban – The Public Servants Association (PSA) says it welcomes additional funding of R24 billion this year and R74 billion over the medium term to fund the 2023/24 wage increase for public servants, to ensure that the government respects collective bargaining processes and agreements.
However, it said it was not impressed with cost-containment measures as proposed by the National Treasury, which clearly indicate that public servants are, once again, at the short end of the stick.
This comes after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabled the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on Tuesday. In a statement, the PSA said these measures would have a negative effect on filling of vacancies while there was a critical need to fill such vacancies.
“Public servants’ capacity is stretched to the limit and this impacts on their ability to render efficient services to citizens. The minister has also painted a grimmer picture than ever before, with gross debt rising from R4.8 trillion in 2023/24 to R5.2 trillion in the next financial year. By 2025/26, the forecast is that it will exceed the R6 trillion mark,” said the PSA.
Moreover, the PSA said the projected deficit of 4.9% per GDP was of grave concern and that Godongwana had failed to identify ways of addressing the continuous GDP deficit. “The PSA, however, welcomes the plan to review state entities and other government programmes over the next three years, as this is overdue,” said the statement.
Furthermore, they said the extension of the Presidential Employment Initiative is also welcomed, as it indicates that the government is trying to address poverty and unemployment.
However, the union raised concerns about the partial take-over of Eskom’s debt and issued a stern warning to the government that the PSA would closely monitor the manner in which money is provided to Eskom without having any guarantee that such debts will be repaid.
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