2014/15 Submission for the Division of Revenue

“Fiscal Levers for National Development”. The recent global economic and financial crisis has dramatically changed the fiscal situation in South Africa. The sharp slowdown in economic activity has reduced national government tax revenue. Government expenditures have however increased. These developments have resulted in a sharp deterioration of the national government's budget balance from a surplus to a deficit. Today, the economy remains vulnerable to a slow global recovery as well as to domestic factors such as the recent labour unrest. Five years have passed since the onset of the 2008/9 global crisis, and although Government has put in substantial effort aimed towards reducing poverty and inequality, inequality has risen while poverty has fallen marginally. Moreover, child poverty, though on the decline, is still at very high levels. In order to eradicate extreme poverty in all its dimensions by 2030, Government has adopted the National Development Plan (NDP). This Submission addresses the role that the inter-governmental fiscal relations system can play to put inequality reduction and poverty eradication at the heart of the 2014/15 division of revenue, and identifies a set of fiscal levers that can be used to spur economic and social development in the next two decades.

Click here to download this entire document. (PDF: 4.4Mb)

  Download individual Chapters

Sustaining Local Government Finances

“As municipal service delivery challenges become more apparent, protests by communities are plaguing the local government sphere and could threaten the social and political wellbeing of the country. A common perception is that the current structure of the Local Government Fiscal Framework results in inappropriate funding for certain municipalities. Under-funding is given as an explanation for municipal service delivery failures and general poor performance, yet little research has been undertaken to justify such a view. Concerns around the LGFF often hide the non-fiscal issues (such as capacity constraints and weak systems of accountability) that result in the failures of municipalities...”

Click here to download this document. (PDF:2.1Mb)

technical report: 2013/2014 submission for the division of revenue

This Technical Report explores what local, provincial and national governments might do to strengthen economic development and increase employment. The focus is on the IGFR system’s instruments that contribute to the economic development (of regions) and the transmission mechanisms, and how they unblock structural impediments towards inclusive growth.

Click here to download this document. (PDF:4.5MB)

Download individual Chapters 

Gender Budgeting: Translating Government Gender Equality Commitments into Reality

The South African government has shown its commitment to gender equality through various policy and legislative measures, including anti-discriminatory legislation and employment-equity policies. Despite these commitments, unacceptable gender inequalities still remain. In this study, key intervention areas are proposed to make local government budgets gender sensitive.

Click here to download this document. (PDF: 699Kb)

More Policy Briefs