South Africa: All Systems Go for Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will deliver the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) during a sitting of the National Assembly today, outlining government’s revised economic outlook and adjusted expenditure estimates.
The MTBPS gives Parliament an opportunity to assess how government intends to balance economic growth, service delivery and fiscal sustainability amid competing demands on the public purse.
It also sets out government’s economic policy framework, updates economic forecasts, adjusts departmental budgets and provides for emergency spending.
According to Parliament, the MTBPS plays a critical role in the budget process by setting the tone for the fiscal framework of the next national budget, providing Parliament and the public with National Treasury’s assessment of the current economic situation.
The MTBPS is provided for under section 28 of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act 1 of 1999), which requires National Treasury to table multi-year revenue and expenditure projections, as well as key macroeconomic forecasts, in the National Assembly each year.
It also forms part of South Africa’s Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which has introduced a longer planning horizon into the budget process.
Under Parliament’s rules and procedures, the MTBPS is tabled every October, three months before the national budget and after the Budgetary Review and Recommendations Reports (BRRRs).
The national budget is tabled in February, following the State of the Nation Address.
After the MTBPS is tabled, Parliament’s finance and appropriations committees must hold public hearings with the relevant stakeholders.
“Also referred to as the ‘mini budget’, the MTBPS allows departments to apply for adjustments to their budgets and request additional funds for unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure. It also indicates how government intends to revise spending estimates and update its expenditure plans.
“The MTBPS also enables Parliament and the public to engage with government’s budget plans ahead of the national budget in February. It is also a mechanism for reviewing the effective and efficient use of available resources,” Parliament said in a statement.
During the same sitting, the Minister of Finance will also table the Adjustments Appropriation Bill.
By SAnews.gov.za.
