Ministers do listen on belt-tightening, says Gordhan

Ministers are taking belt-tightening in government seriously, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has said.

Speaking to journalists this morning ahead of his Budget speech in Parliament, Gordhan said there had been some “extravagance” when it came to the choice of cars by some ministers, but these were “all in the margins”.

But when it came to making decisions about belt-tightening, “there is a lot of listening happening”, he said.

“The decisions about reprioritising and directing money from one source to another are all decisions made by Cabinet, not the finance minister,” he said.

“But we could do much better.”

Three years ago, Gordhan announced belt-tightening measures for government, which included less spending on food and entertainment.

In his speech in Parliament, Gordhan said spending plans for the 2013/14 financial year have been reduced by R10.4 billion “through reprioritisation, savings and a draw-down on the contingency reserve”. – City Press