ANC government saves SAA, but is willing to let municipalities go under

13 November 2018

The ANC government is willing to save the struggling South African Airways (SAA) from financial ruin for the umpteenth time, but it refuses to do the same for South Africa's rural economy and its bankrupt municipalities.

Municipalities are failing as their outstanding debt to Eskom has increased to R17 billion. Debt owing to water councils amount to R7,4 billion. The rural economy is grinding to a halt, businesses are struggling, and unemployment is on the rise.

The government does not seem to care about this, but it is willing to bail out the airline once more. The harsh reality is that South Africa's economy is not growing as the ANC would like to make the public believe, it is actually caught in a sharp, downward spiral that has no end in sight.

The budget in question is not used to benefit the general public, instead, it is simply being used to keep the majority of the people dependent on the government by means of social grants and that, in turn, keeps the ANC government in power.

The ANC would much rather spend money on the protection of their VIP's, like ANC ministers, than on rural development, municipalities and infrastructure. The party is putting the interests of its ministers before the interests of the poor.

There can be no economic growth while unemployment and poverty are increasing due to ineffective ANC policies. Wealth cannot be created by merely redistributing existing wealth. The economy must be stimulated, but municipalities and provinces are failing and that makes growth impossible.

There is no way that failing municipalities and provincial departments can contribute to the successful execution of plans to stimulate the economy. It is impossible.

Clearly the ANC government is only concerned about its own interests. If the government put the interests of the people of South Africa first, it would have offered municipalities support by relieving their Eskom debt burden.

The FF Plus will continue to fight back against misappropriation while fighting for better service delivery.

Issued by Wouter Wessels, FF Plus MP and parliamentary spokesperson: Finance, 13 November 2018