Govt must take responsibility for some of SA's challenges contributing to slow economic growth - Godongwana

CAPE TOWN - Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said government has to accept responsibility for the electricity and now the transport logistics crisis that are contributing to slow economic growth. 

He said Treasury did the best it could to deliver a budget amid the constraints. 

Speaking to economists in Cape Town on Thursday, Godongwana said government did not want to tax ordinary citizens more. 

This as government plans on introducing a minimum 15% corporate tax rate for multi-national companies - some economists believe it will be difficult to manage and enforce. 

Godongwana said he would rate his 2024 budget eight out of ten. 

He said he did the best he could in the prevailing circumstances. 

"Government has got to take responsibility for some of these challenges. I can’t say I’m happy with the fact that we’ve not been able to deal with the electricity challenge for 16 years." 

With mining taxes also down because of problems in the logistics sector, many waited anxiously to see how government planned to claw back the R15 billion revenue shortfall. 

But Godongwana said raising taxes was not ideal. 

"We should not be working hard to say how should we tax people more, we should be saying how do we broaden that tax base."

Still, the finance minister said considering the tax-to-GDP ratio, South Africa was not competing favourably with its peers.