Parliament, Thursday, 5 December 2024 – At its last plenary sitting for the year, the National Assembly passed the Adjustments Appropriation Bill and the Special Appropriations Bill. The House also adopted the 2024 Medium Term- Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) report.
Special Appropriation Bill:
This Bill was tabled in Parliament by the Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana, when he presented the 2024 (MTBPS) in the NA on 30 October. It was then referred to the Standing Committee on Appropriations for consideration. The Committee received a briefing from the National Treasury on the Bill on 6 November 2024.
In line with section 213(2) of the Constitution, which provides that money may be withdrawn from the National Revenue Fund (NRF) only in terms of an appropriation by an Act of Parliament, the 2024 Special Appropriations Bill recommends that additional funds be appropriated in the 2024/25 financial year for the state’s requirements and to provide for matters related to the country’s national government budgetary requirements.
In this regard, the Special Appropriations Bill proposes additional funding to the Presidency of R17.3 million for the International Court of Justice-related costs. It also proposes additional funding to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation of R40 million for the department’s legal proceedings against Israel in the International Court of Justice, R38.200 million for the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development for the department’s sub-programme expenditure relating to proceedings against Israel in the International Court of Justice, and R5.021 billion to the Department of Transport for the South African National Roads Agency to settle its maturing debt.
Adjustments Appropriation Bill:
The Adjustments Appropriation Bill seeks to effect adjustments to the appropriation of money from the NRF for the state’s requirements for the 2024/2025 financial year. As one of its major objectives, this Bill recommends increases or decreases to allocations set out in the main Appropriation Act. These include shifts in the anticipated economic classification of the current spending. The Bill proposes allocations in the form of transfers and subsidies to the national, provincial and local government spheres, such as the provinces, municipalities, including public corporations, and other non-profit organisations, essentially for the payment of social grants, conditional grant allocations and transfers to several other associated socio-economic, infrastructural and educational public entities, among others.
The Bill’s proposed adjustments for the 2024/25 financial year include an additional allocation of R2.1 billion to the Department of Defence, a proposed additional allocation of R2.6 billion in expenditure announced in the 2024 Budget but not allocated at that time, a proposed reduction of R242 million as declared unspent funds, among others.
The Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS):
The House also considered the MTBPS report. The MTBPS process allows the national government departments to apply for adjustments to their budgets, to apply for rollovers and to request additional funds for unforeseeable and unavoidable governmental expenditures. Essentially, the MTBPS sets out the policy framework for the national budget that is presented every February and updates the National Treasury’s economic forecasts that include information on spending estimates for the first half of the current year (2024), the adjustments to the proposed revenue and spending estimates for the second half of the current year, and outcomes for the previous year.
The MTBPS report and its entire budgetary process play a pivotal role as they set the tone for the country’s fiscal framework regarding the next national budget. Most importantly, they also provide Parliament with an update on how Treasury observes the prevailing economic situation.
The two Bills will now be sent to the National Council of Provinces for consideration.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
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