Division of Revenue Amendment Bill Submissions 2022

SECTION27 to make submissions to Appropriations Committees in Parliament on 11 November 2022 

SECTION27 calls on Parliament to reverse real cuts to basic education and healthcare over mid term 

9 November 2022 – SECTION27 will make submissions on Division of Revenue Amendment Bill before Parliament’s Appropriations Committees on 11 November 2022, urging parliament to reverse budget cuts to basic education and healthcare. 

SECTION27’s analysis of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) shows concerning continuations of cuts to both basic education and healthcare funding which will side-line learners and public sector patients reliant on state services.   

Analysis from our submission demonstrates that both the basic education and healthcare sectors’ budgets do not increase at a rate which matches inflation, which means that these sectors will continue to experience real reductions in funding over the medium term. By our calculations, real spending per public health care user is set to decline by R610 in 2023/24, while spending per learner in public schools will drop by a massive R1 260. 

Of particular concern are cuts to the provincial equitable share, which funds the salaries of healthcare workers and educators. Reductions to the provincial equitable share in real terms this year, and in nominal and real terms in medium term expenditure framework mean that fewer posts will be available for teachers and healthcare workers to serve people who need them. This will jeopardise the rights to basic education and access to healthcare.  

Little attention in the MTBPS is devoted to allocations for cancer care, while patients get sicker. No additional money is allocated to assist healthcare facilities damaged by floods earlier this year. Some increased allocations to assist flood-hit schools in KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape are welcome, but fail to address historical backlogs, or school infrastructure problems caused by extreme weather events in other provinces. The expansion of the national school nutrition programme, although welcome, does not keep up with soaring food inflation prices of 8.5% annually.  

We have submitted that, at the very least, healthcare and basic education budgets must keep up with CPI inflation and projected population growth. We have also submitted that compensation budgets for frontline workers like educators and healthcare workers must be increased to match the growing demand for these services.  

You can read our written submissions here. Details of the presentations are as follows: 

• Friday 11 November 2022 
• 9am-12pm 
• The public hearings in parliament can be viewed on Parliament’s YouTube Channel. 

The European Union co-funds the “Enhancing accountability in health and education in South Africa” project, implemented by SECTION27 and the Centre for Child Law. 

[ENDS] 

For media queries: 

–   Julia Chaskalson (chaskalson@section27.org.za 0834402674)