Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan delivering his 2013 Budget Speech in the National Assembly, Parliament, Cape Town. 27/02/2013, Elmond Jiyane Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan delivering his 2013 Budget Speech in the National Assembly, Parliament, Cape Town. 27/02/2013, Elmond Jiyane
There were moans and groans from MPs yesterday as Pravin Gordhan went off speech, telling them that they should be paying more tax.
Gordhan said: “The government relies on resources derived from the wider economy, and the best way to generate resources is to grow the economy faster and increase the tax base. That means all of you must pay a little more tax.”
Gordhan, dressed in a blue-grey suit and pink tie, looked more comfortable reading from a teleprompter – which he seemed to struggle with during the 2009 medium-term budget policy statement, his first as finance minister.
The minister’s health did appear to have taken a slight knock, with him stopping his speech several times to cough, reaching for a sip of water to get him through the 32-page address.
Gordhan started his speech seven minutes late, and during the first few paragraphs of the speech he had to ask MPs to clap to “give everyone a bit of a break” at one stage.
Turning to a low-carbon economy, he informed MPs of a carbon tax to be imposed in 2015.
“I see [Environmental Affairs] Minister [Edna] Molewa has a new car. I hope she will lend it to us,” he joked.
He was referring to four electric cars that Molewa’s department would receive to use and test as part of a pilot project over the next three years. – Sapa