Opposition parties criticise MTBPS for not bringing anything new for the poor

CAPE TOWN - Opposition political parties have criticised the mini-budget for not bringing anything new for the poor.

Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana tabled his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in Parliament on Wednesday.

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Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said it failed to give solutions to the rising costs of living.

"It doesn't address that because the economy is not going to grow. They keep on reducing their target to lower, from 1.9 to 1.8, and the GDP says they've achieved 0.6. Even if they put new targets, they will not meet those targets. For as long as they don't meet their own targets, they will never reduce the cost of living in South Africa."

Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane said the country needed to see radical change.

"We need to be funding for growth, we need to focus on building infrastructure, we need to eradicate wasteful expenditure, and we need to restore money towards frontline services like education, healthcare and policing. We fail at those things, then we fail South Africans."