Treasury Ready To Table Special Adjustment Budget By 24 June

Treasury said it is would be ready to table the Special Adjustment Budget by 24 June.

The new budget is necessary in order to unleash the money needed to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has urged Parliament to pass the Budget legislation he tabled in February as soon as possible, because until this is done, a revised Budget cannot be tabled.

But while Treasury will be ready to do so by 24 June, it said the actual date would be decided by National Assembly Speaker Thandi Modise, in agreement with President Cyril Ramaphosa and Mboweni.

The minister doesn’t like it being called an emergency Budget.

The government has announced R500 billion in short-term support, with an equal amount in measures by the Reserve Bank, regulators and private banks. R130 billion is to come from existing allocations to national and provincial departments.

But this cannot be dealt with until the Budget Mboweni tabled in February has been fully approved and its related bills approved by Parliament.

The National Assembly passed the Division of Revenue Bill in March and the National Council of Provinces plans to adopt it on 2 June.

Treasury’s Steven Kenyon: “We need to pass the 2020 Budget so that we can introduce an amendment bill. The president did announce the minister would introduce a Special Adjustments Budget – we need a Budget, before we can adjust it.”

Kenyon was briefing Parliament’s select committee on appropriations on Wednesday.

EWN