Unlucky number 13 sets sombre tone
February 12, 2009
By INGI SALGADO
The quirky chirps that have accompanied Trevor Manuel's last 12 budget announcements were starkly absent yesterday in his 13th budget speech, possibly his last and almost certainly the unluckiest as the world economy falters.
Instead of employing humour, Manuel delivered a sombre message in keeping with his belief that the world could face a second Great Depression.
He quoted from Nigerian poet and novelist Ben Okri, who is renowned for stirring an African flavour into the literary genre of "magic realism", where magical elements overlay ordinary settings.
In the quote that Manuel chose, however, Okri's words spoke less of magic than of realism: "If the things we face are greater and more important than the things we refuse to face, then at least we have begun the re-evaluation of our world. At least we have begun to learn to see and live again. But if we refuse to face any of our awkward and deepest truths, then sooner or later we are going to have to become deaf and blind. And then, eventually, we are going to have to silence our dreams, and the dreams of others. In other words, we die. We die in life."
Manuel elaborated on this theme by insisting that the changed economic outlook would not "silence our dreams" of the reconstruction and development of the South African economy or prevent the country from facing "our awkward and deepest truths".
One set of unpleasant truths he identified were "programmes of government that do not work, and on which we should spend less".
Manuel did not name them, although he pointedly expressed the hope that the R1.6 billion budgeted to support national carrier SAA's turnaround strategy would not be a recurring allocation.
He also mentioned that there was insufficient control generally of foreign travel, advertising and public relations activities and consultancy services. Stricter oversight was required of such activities and executive remuneration in agencies and government enterprises, he said.
The Okri theme was extended to an analysis of the underlying causes of the global financial crisis, which Manuel said were embedded in the structure of growth and trade, and widening inequality.
Tackling these underlying causes was a "greater and more important" issue than the arithmetic of the state's revenue and expenditure plans. It would involve placing democratic governance at the head of the global development agenda.
Manuel restricted his only light-hearted comment to sin taxes, quoting a submission received during the pre-budget Tips for Trevor campaign.
Pleading for more lenient taxes on whisky "for the old folks", At Du Plooy wrote: "Things that used to happen after dark no longer happen. All we have left to enjoy is a little entertainment before supper." He advised Manuel that this would ultimately be for his own benefit.
The tax on a bottle of whisky accordingly rose R3.21.
Another tip for the minister came from Xolani Notshe, pleased at the allocation of money to libraries, which would "assist your successor to collect more taxes because we would be an educated and skilled nation". Manuel's comment: "I agree entirely."
It may or may not have been a teasing reference to the speculation about whether he will remain South Africa's finance minister under the new administration.
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