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Lance Greyling, the ID spokesperson for finance says ‘Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan is showing the right amount of discipline in dealing with the ongoing economic crisis.

‘We in the Independent Democrats are particularly pleased that the Minister is taking a tough stance against corruption and wasteful expenditure,' Mr Greyling says.

‘In this regard we welcome the setting of the task team that has already managed to find over R14 billion saving across different Government departments. We believe that this is a necessary first step, but that this process must be deepened over the next few years so as to ensure that we are affecting maximum savings.

‘We also hope that the spirit of cost-cutting and savings will also extend to Cabinet Ministers, a large number of whom have been displaying complete insensitivity to the economic hardships that so many South Africans are experiencing,' says Greyling.

‘The Minister's statement also revealed that the cost of setting up the new ministries extends to R580 million and we as the ID certainly hope that they will prove to be a good investment of public money.

‘We also welcome the statement that public enterprises need to be financially sustainable, which is reflected in the fact that the white elephant PBMR has for the first time in many years not received hundreds of millions of rand from the state,' Greyling says.

‘However, a concerning factor for the ID is the large budget deficit of 7.6%, which is at a level that is unsustainable over the long term. Considering that it is uncertain whether the global economy will in fact recover over the next few years, the budget deficit needs to be watched very carefully.

‘We are pleased, however, that the Minister has not compromised on assistance to the poor and that the announcement has finally been made that budget has been set aside for the extension of the Child Support Grant to 18-years,' says Greyling.