Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is set to deliver the highly anticipated 2025 Budget Speech this week amid growing economic challenges and a worsening cost-of-living crisis.
With South Africa’s working class bearing the brunt of these financial hardships, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has urged the government to present a budget that prioritizes economic growth, job creation, and the restoration of essential public services.
Speaking on VOC Breakfast, COSATU spokesperson Matthew Parks outlined the union’s key expectations from Godongwana’s speech.
“We hope he really is going to respond to three key things. One is to rebuild the state, which has been badly decimated by budget cuts—frontline services are really struggling just to perform their duties. Secondly, we hope it will provide stimulus to the economy to help it grow and move beyond the 1% economic growth rate. Lastly, we want to see real efforts to address the unemployment crisis, particularly among young people, to help them enter the job market,” said Parks.
He emphasized that South Africa is facing a “revenue crisis, not an expenditure crisis,” due to the sluggish economy and a staggering unemployment rate of 41.9%.
Parks warned that unless meaningful interventions are made to boost economic growth, the country will remain trapped in a cycle of financial instability and joblessness.
Listen to the full interview below:
VOC News
Photo: TreasuryRSA/X
