FINANCE Minister Enoch Godongwana warned that South Africans should be prepared to pay more taxes should a decision be made to introduce the much-talked-about Basic Income Grant (BIG).
Godongwana said the National Treasury had not formed a view at all in terms of the grant.
He made the statement when he briefed the joint meeting of parliamentary committees on finance and appropriation on Thursday.
Delivering his medium-term budget speech in parliament, he cited lacklustre economic growth, low revenue collection and soaring interest costs on the national debt as reasons for the likely increase in taxes.
The government will also forge ahead with cost-cutting measures, including reducing the size of its departments, Mr Godogwana added.
He promised to protect critical services like health, policing and education from spending cuts.
But trade unions and civil society groups warned that budget constraints would prevent the recruitment of new teachers, and increase pressure on health services.
The government bowed to pressure from social activists to again extend a monthly social relief grant given to more than eight million people in financial difficulty.
Meanwhile, the minister explained the delay in introducing the Public Procurement Bill to Parliament, which he announced in last year’s MTBPS.
He told the MPs that they were preparing to put before Parliament the Public Procurement Bill which, he said, was all-embracing and would replace the entire existing procurement processes.
The minister said two developments had taken place and would impact their plans.
EFF chief whip Floyd Shivambu asked whether it was not time for the National Treasury to use the legislation as an instrument for localisation and local industrial local production of goods and services to boost the economy in South Africa.
“We have to amend the Public Finance Management Act and the Municipal Finance Management Act to emphasise the centrality of local procurement but also include aspects of women participation in procurement,” Shivambu said.