Treasury must remain independent, says Pandor
10 July 2017
Johannesburg – Treasury in a democratic country must remain independent, ANC NEC member Naledi Pandor said on Monday.
She appeared to disagree with a proposal made at the ANC’s national policy conference last week, that the budget and resource allocation be made the responsibility of the Presidency. “There is no way in which a Presidency will have capacity that Treasury has to design and present a budget. It’s just not possible, nor will it be a desirable approach,” Pandor said at a briefing about the ANC's policy conference that ended last week.
Another national executive committee member, Obed Bapela, said: “We looked at the Presidency as a strategic centre of power and central driver of developmental state and agreed on core functions that should be included in the Presidency.”
Ahead of the conference, ANC head of policy Jeff Radebe had said there was a proposal for "the Presidency to be strengthened as the strategic centre of power in the state to drive the national development plan, resource allocation and enforcement".