South Africa’s finance minister, Enoch Gondogwana, delivered his 2022 mid-term budget policy statement today at 2pm. The speech was delivered in the Cape Town City Hall and not parliament as a result of the fire damage to the National Assembly building in January.

The country’s two main opposition parties, the EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters) and DA (Democratic Alliance) were not pleased with the finance minister’s mid-term budget policy.

Floyd Shivambu, deputy president of the EFF, criticised the budget for not including measures to address the country’s spiralling debt. Shivambu said the expenditure on debt was more than the expenditure on social services and education.

Dion George, a member of of Parliament for the official opposition the Democratic Alliance, said the minister should pay attention to how to accelerate economic growth by making it easier for businesses to operate.

Matthew Parks, the parliamentary representative for COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions), is pleased the social relief of distress grant has been extended for another year and that government will absorb the debt burden for ESKOM, the state-owned power utility.