MTBPS adjustments 'not bold enough', says Cosatu

Cosatu has said proposed adjustments in the  Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) are not bold enough to take the economy from the 1% growth it has been stuck at for two decades nor to give hope to 12 million unemployed.

In reaction to the proposals by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, Cosatu Parliamentary spokesperson Matthew Parks said the organisation was concerned that there wasn't sufficient speed, nor allocating the substantial resources required to enable the state to provide the quality public and municipal services that the working class and economy depend upon, nor that a tepid economy needs to reach the 3% growth rate necessary to slash unemployment, poverty and inequality.

"At a time when unemployment remains painfully high at 42.4%, we had hoped that the government would seize the moment to drastically increase the Presidential Employment Stimulus to at least R35 billion to provide a pathway to employment for millions of unemployed," Parks said.

He said labour had similarly hoped the government would move from commitments to action to provide relief to struggling businesses and economic sectors, through tax relief, industrial subsidies and by fixing the chaotically inefficient Unemployment Insurance Fund’s Temporary Employment Relief Scheme. 

"Embattled workers and businesses need solidarity in action," Parks said.

Cosatu also sounded disappointed that there hadn't been an adjustment to the Social Relief of Distress Grant for inflation, in fact it has only once been increased since it was introduced in 2020.

 "As we head towards the 2026 Budget Speech, a new mass industrial and SMME financing package with a target of mobilising at least R200 billion annually from the fiscus, developmental finance institutions and the private sector is an absolute necessity.  We cannot continue along a path of business as usual and be surprised when growth remains low and unemployment high," Parks said.

The Federation was encouraged by progress in identifying a potential 9 000 ghost employees," Parks said.

"It is critical that those who have stolen from the state are made to pay the price. These savings must be utilised to hire doctors, nurses, teachers, police and other badly needed frontline staff," he said.

Momentum Group Foundation Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Specialist Nkosinathi Mahlangu said Godongwana's focus on infrastructure as a catalyst for growth is encouraging as large-scale investments in energy, water and logistics can be powerful engines for job creation, particularly for young people seeking technical and vocational opportunities. 

He agreed that the commitment to stabilise and professionalise municipal utilities, alongside reforms to modernise public services, will also potentially build a pipeline of skilled youth capable of maintaining essential infrastructure and supporting local delivery.

He said so too the Early Retirement Programme offers further potential by creating room for new entrants into the public service, enabling institutional renewal and knowledge transfer across generations.

"However, the statement remains thin on the mechanisms that will intentionally link these opportunities to young people - and on the data needed to measure real progress. There is no reference to youth unemployment figures, NEET rates or youth labour absorption targets. There is also no referencing what the government set out to achieve and what has actually been delivered in previous speeches. Without metrics, the youth employment narrative risks becoming a moral rather than measurable commitment," Mahlangu said.

He said while fiscal stability and reform lay the groundwork for growth, South Africa’s recovery depends on turning policy into pathways for inclusion, and sounded hope there would be more detail around this in next year's Budget Speech.

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