Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.
Photo: Nokuthula Mbatha / African News Agency (ANA)
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.
Photo: Nokuthula Mbatha / African News Agency (ANA)
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has suggested that divisions exists within government committees who are making decisions on lockdown protocols.
Speaking at the Treasury briefing of Parliament’s finance and appropriations committees and the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. on Thursday 30 April, Mboweni said that he had suggested that the ban on alcohol and cigarettes be lifted, but was ultimately outnumbered by ministers with opposing views.
A house divided?
He said that he could do little more than “toe the line” once Cabinet had decided on a measure.
“Once Cabinet has taken a decision, those decisions are binding on all ministers, even if you don’t like it. For example, I didn’t like the continuous ban on the sale of alcohol and tobacco, but I lost the debate and therefore I have to toe the line.”
“I know I’m losing a lot of revenue in the middle of being under pressure to spend but nevertheless that’s a decision of cabinet and I have to fall in line if want to [remain] a member of the executive.”
“If you can’t fall in line you must leave, so one has to fall in line in that regard.”
On Wednesday 29 April, Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma undermined a previous announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that cigarettes would be available for purchase during Level 4 lockdown. She shocked the nation by reversing the decision, continuing the ban due to health concerns.
Mboweni would understandably have protested the decision, with the South African economy losing R1.5 billion in tax revenue received from the sale of cigarettes and booze in April.
A desperate projection was handed down during the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee meeting for Finance on Wednesday, with South African Reserve Bank (SARS) Commissioner Edward Kieswetter saying that those under-recovered losses were only the start of cascading future losses.
Controversial decisions
Arguably for the first time during the lockdown, there appears to be a widespread sense of distrust emerging in government’s lockdown strategy, with the positive reception to efforts to curb the spread of the virus becoming strained.
The National Command Council said on Thursday 30 April that they had the final say on changes to lockdown protocols, and insisted that they were doing what is in the best interest of pubic health.
