Us Aid Cuts To Sa Expected To Weigh On Spending

The decision by the United States to cut aid to South Africa is expected to add some expenditure pressures on the national budget. As Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana prepares to deliver the budget in Parliament this afternoon, analysts say government finances may face increased pressure having to fund health projects after the Trump administration cut its spending on aid, including the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief PEPFAR.

A court ruling over what it called unconstitutional requirements for the application of the Social Relief of Distress grants may also call for an increased budget allocation should the governments appeal be unsuccessful.

Dr Nthabiseng Moleko from Stellenbosch University explains, Theres no way that the R8 billion loss that is estimated from the withdrawal of aid and the compensation of employees for thousands of workers is likely to have been budgeted for and planned in the short space of time that we have.

So the seriousness of it is that the cut in expenditure from the aid support is gonna have a devastating consequence on those programs, particularly the TB and HIV related programs.

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