Column : Meeting the 5.3% deficit target
Upon a closer look at the numbers, one finds that government expenditure remained in check for the fourth consecutive month with spending in December down by 9% yoy. Cumulatively, during April-December, total expenditure was R9,911 billion, up 10.6% yoy and 67% of budget estimates. While the run-rate on expenses is below the budgeted rate of 13.1%, key points to note are: (1) the subsidy estimates in the budget have little provision for fuel subsidy for FY13, and (2) expenditure compression is largely due to plan expenditure, which is up 6.9% versus a targeted rate of 22.1%.
On the expenditure front, as non-Plan expenditure is largely ‘committed’ expenditure—i.e. spending on interest, wages, subsidies and defence, there is little room for manoeuvrability. Additionally, the
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