Robbing Peter to pay Paul

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The Finance Minister, Majozi Sithole has got to be kidding us. Surely.
To suggest that this government is now looking at ways in which to tax (even more) the working public is certainly preposterous, especially in the wake of the politicians’ salary increment as well as the improved allowances.

Sithole says, in his medium term budget policy statement that his ministry ‘is (still) working on a form the levy will take as well as the amount each person will contribute towards this noble course’.

This ‘noble cause’ is the free primary education—the very one that government is supposed to provide, for free to every parent. But, government now wants parents to pay for this, apparently because there is no money for it.
This begs the question, when does this country not have money—when it has to carry out its mandate for the people?

This we ask because our spendthrift government has been splashing the cash for the politicians’ allowances, despite that this country’s populace is being ravaged by poverty and unemployment figures have risen even higher.
We have also insisted on capital projects, despite that it is clear our priorities should lie elsewhere, to help the people deal with more urgent issues of poverty and HIV/AIDS, as well as the persistent drug shortage in hospitals. Sithole’s idea is to squeeze every cent out of our pocket, to pay for government’s lavish spending.

This seems like a government that is out of touch with reality, is stubborn and refuses to accept that change should start from the top—and improved perks in this period of the global crises with companies closing down left, right and centre, is rubbing the people the wrong way. It is not lost on us that the constitution is being violated by government not rolling this out to all primary school-going children, but we were told it would be difficult to implement. Dare we say government’s cunning plan all along is how to make the people pay for it?

In any case, this suggests that the public must learn to tighten its belts, while in total contrast, the Cabinet and MPs want an affluent lifestyle, synonymous with a first world country’s politician.
Well, we know the idea is to get there—but by 2022, and even then, not by taxing the little that’s taxable dry. If this persists, there soon will be no one to tax and 2022 will remain a pipe dream.

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