Gauteng Budget: Big borrowed words, small growth and the illusion of progress
· Citizen
If it wasn’t for artificial intelligence (AI), we wonder if there’d be any intelligence in the halls of the Gauteng provincial government.
Yesterday, finance MEC Lebogang Maile clearly had a little digital help in crafting his high-flown phrases in the speech announcing the provincial expenditure for the next year.
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“The audacity of hope is about the courageous and stubborn refusal to not succumb to cynicism, despair or fear in the face of daunting challenges,” he said.
Audacity, certainly. But we hoped against hope that this ANC apparatchik would acknowledge that he borrowed the idea from former US president Barack Obama’s book, The Audacity of Hope.
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Around the same time, one of Maile’s bosses, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula, was full of joy when he posted on X about the latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures.
“Well done, Mzansi! SA economy grew by 1:1% in 2025 and GDP grew by 0,4% in the 4th quarter.”
Mbaks needs a little help from AI, or maybe some time in the classroom with a good teacher of maths literacy.
Our population growth is just over 3% per annum, which means that, at 1.1% growth in GDP, South Africa is going backwards.
That’s something to be mourned, not celebrated… as Obama would tell you.
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