The farce of public participation in budgetary processes – and how to fix it

Kavisha Pillay (Head of Campaigns at Corruption Watch), Daniel McLaren (Budget Analyst at SECTION27) and Sam Waterhouse (Project Head of the Women and Democracy Initiative at the Dullah Omar Institute) are steering committee members of the Budget Justice Coalition.

Recently, a distressing report appeared in The Sunday Times: 32-year-old Russel Makhubela allegedly poisoned his two-year old daughter and then tried to kill himself, because he believed that they should “die together as a family rather than suffer through poverty”. In his desperation, Russel asked his wife: “What’s the use of collecting firewood? We will have nothing to eat tomorrow.” 

Access to sufficient food and relief from economic hardships are fundamental rights entrenched in the Constitution, but enjoyment of these rights remains elusive for millions of people who continue to be marginalised both by the economy and by the government’s economic measures. This outcome – of gross economic inequality and minimal redistribution by the state – goes hand in hand with marginalised people’s exclusion from governance processes, including the budget process.

The constitutional commitments to democracy, social justice and human rights locate the democratically elected legislatures at the centre of ensuring a “government by the people”. In South Africa, national, provincial and local government elections provide for broad political representation, but once elected the legislatures and councils must ensure ongoing meaningful public involvement with lawmaking and oversight processes.

Fifteen years ago, the Constitutional Court, in the Doctors for Life judgment, made it clear that public involvement in parliamentary processes is an essential requirement in South Africa’s democracy. This historic judgment confirmed that the public’s power extends beyond the ballot box, and that elected representatives have a responsibility to ensure that legislatures are inclusive of those who “have been victims of processes of historical silencing”. 

The judgment stressed that this must include people “who are relatively disempowered in a country like ours where great disparities of wealth and influence exist”. The court stated emphatically that public participation “is not just a matter of legislative etiquette or good governmental manners. It is one of constitutional obligation.”

Despite this landmark judgment, Parliament often fails in its duty to meaningfully engage with the public – treating participation merely as one element in a box-ticking exercise. For those who have tried to engage with the budget processes over the years, this is especially true.

This week, the Standing Committee on Appropriations, in the National Assembly, will conduct public hearings on the 2021 Appropriation Bill. Tabled by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on 24 February, the bill authorises the expenditure of public funds through different government departments (called votes). 

The bill is the third piece of the National Budget that Parliament must consider. The first piece is the fiscal framework, which outlines the overall levels of spending, taxation and borrowing. The second is the Division of Revenue Bill, which divides the budget between the three spheres of government, and provides conditional grants to provinces and municipalities for identified national priorities.

Progressive economists, constitutional experts and social justice movements have rejected and/or sharply criticised the 2021 Budget for deepening poverty and inequality by making broad cuts to funding for socioeconomic rights, including the value of social grants, while reducing income taxes for the wealthy. These criticisms have been repeatedly made and substantiated by these groups in recent years. 

The Budget Justice Coalition, a coalition of 20 civic organisations, argued that the 2021 Budget is “indefensible in light of extreme levels of poverty” and called on Parliament to reject it in favour of one that supports employment, livelihoods, gender equality and access to services. But in spite of widespread public criticism, protests and concerns raised with the Select and Standing Committees on Finance during public hearings after the Budget speech, Parliament proceeded with the adoption of the fiscal framework without amendment.

And so, the loop continues – those who are reliant on adequate social housing, public schools and healthcare, and who are the most affected by fiscal austerity, find themselves again subjected to “historical silencing”. 

Budget by budget, we are witnessing decisions that take us further from the goal of social justice.

The budget process may be unconstitutional

In the February Budget speech, the finance minister tables the executive’s budget proposals (contained in about 1,000 pages of documents), which is followed by a vote in Parliament, less than two weeks later, on the fiscal framework. 

The public only has three working days to table their comments on the fiscal framework and a further two days to prepare a presentation to the finance committees, if they wish to do so. The committees must then analyse all inputs and issue a report either recommending the adoption, amendment or rejection of the Budget, a week after public hearings conclude. To date, Parliament has not rejected or made amendments to the fiscal framework.

This week, the Standing Committee on Appropriations, in the National Assembly, will conduct public hearings on the 2021 Appropriation Bill, tabled by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni. (Photo: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)