GNU’s current fiscal strategy must be strengthened, CDE advises

Policy think tank the Center for Development and Enterprise on Thursday urged the Government of National Unity to refrain from making any new unaffordable spending commitments, including unbudgeted increases to public sector remuneration. CDE executive director Ann Bernstein said while the CDE acknowledged that there were no “magic bullets” for resolving the fiscal crisis, it believed the GNU must make meaningful progress to improve the quality of spending and to pursue faster economic growth. The CDE released 'Action Three: Fix the fiscal crisis', the third report in its Agenda 2024 series which sets out a number of catalytic actions to reverse South Africa’s decline. Bernstein said the current fiscal strategy can be strengthened by improving the quality and productivity of spending, by focusing on core business, eliminating low-impact and low-productivity activities, and by also enhancing accountability for service delivery.