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BREAD SHOULD NOT COST MORE THAN E10

15/02/2023 07:17:00 Editor

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Sir

Allow me to express my expectations of the next Budget Speech.

As Finance Minister, Neal Rijkenberg is expected to deliver his last budget speech of the 11th Parliament after His Majesty King Mswati III officially opens the fifth session of the 11th Parliament on Friday, my expectations are very high, especially because the country recorded a historical E11billion in SACU receipts.First and foremost, I expect government to subsidise bread. The price of a loaf of bread should not be more than E10. The Deputy Prime Minister’s (DPM) Office should be allocated sufficient funds to improve social assistance programmmes.

Grants

Elderly social grants should be reviewed to at least not less than E1 200 per month and people with disability should have their grants reviewed to at least E1 000 per month. Free primary education (FPE) and the orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) Fund for secondary school should be reviewed so that there is no need for top-up fees.
After the heavy rains that have destroyed bridges and damaged roads, government should revive the Public Works Department and buy new plant, add more staff and deploy them to regional teams.Science laboratories, technical and vocational laboratories, consumer science laboratories and computer science laboratories should be built for all schools. I also expect enough scholarships for all qualifying school leavers and more investment in vocational education.

Money

More money should be allocated to health so that there will be no shortage of drugs going forward and bagcugcuteli should be paid more. There should also be budgetary increase such as that of labour inspections to control serious violations of worker rights in the workplaces including their health and safety. I also expect a significant increase in civil servants salaries so that strikes are avoided, likewise student scholarships should be disbursed on time for the same reason. Government should also budget for the National Political Dialogue process in its entirety.