Budget 2023
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#Budget2017: Not jobs-friendly enough?

Johannesburg - The Manufacturing Circle had hoped for a more overtly jobs-friendly and pro-growth budget, it said in reaction to Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan's 2017 Budget.

"We do recognise the pressure on SA's finances, but we need more growth and more jobs in South Africa. Manufacturing can significantly boost inclusive growth and, given the right support, could create a million jobs," the Manufacturing Circle said in a statement.

However, according to its executive director Philippa Rodseth, “increases in fuel levies, the so-called sugar tax and the proposed carbon tax will place a greater burden on SA's manufacturing enterprises".

She also said the large personal tax hikes in the budget will put a further squeeze on the consumer. This, in turn, will make it more difficult to stimulate consumer demand for locally manufactured products - making job-rich growth more of a challenge.

The Manufacturing Circle interacts with government and other stakeholders to review, debate and help formulate policies which will have a positive impact on South Africa’s manufacturing base. It is made up of a number of SA’s leading medium to large manufacturing companies from a wide range of industries.  

It encourages greater focus on policies designed to foster manufacturing, and looks forward to greater clarification on incentive scheme funding.

André de Ruyter, Manufacturing Circle chair, noted that “we look forward to engaging on the sector-specific investment incentives and special economic zone allocations, which were mentioned in Budget 2017, to ensure that maximum benefit is achieved in boosting inclusive growth”.

* Visit our Budget Special for all the budget news and in-depth analysis.

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