Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is facing pressure from both the government of national unity (GNU) and opposition parties not to raise taxes in his upcoming budget speech. The threat is that they will not support the proposals if tax hikes are included. This issue is part of a broader list of grievances about not being heard, which the coalition partners plan to address in the clearing house established to deal with disputes in the unity government.
The budget, along with National Health Insurance and the Expropriation Act, will be the main topics of discussion during the upcoming budget speech. Godongwana is expected to outline the government’s financial, economic, and social priorities in his address to the National Assembly on Wednesday.
While the finance minister has previously been hesitant to increase taxes, he hinted in his mid-term budget speech in October that additional revenue measures, including tax increases, may be necessary to address South Africa’s growing financial problems. However, opposition to this plan is mounting across the political spectrum.
Entities such as the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Good party, and major labor federations like Cosatu and the South African Federation of Trade Unions are strongly against tax hikes. Good party secretary general Brett Herron suggested a shift in budgetary approach to provide additional revenue sources, emphasizing the need for zero-based budgeting to re-evaluate expenses from scratch.
Members of Rise Mzansi and Al Jama-ah, who are part of the unity government, feel that their budget proposals have been ignored. They are considering addressing their discontent through the media and hope that the finance minister will find alternative sources of revenue instead of resorting to tax increases.
Opposition parties like ActionSA and the DA have also called for a focus on economic growth and fiscal discipline rather than raising taxes. Cosatu has highlighted the financial strain on workers due to high inflation and rising debt, warning that a VAT increase could have serious political consequences.
In addition to the tax debate, the treasury is under pressure to manage public sector wages and address financial challenges posed by state-owned enterprises like Transnet and Eskom. Business Leadership South Africa has urged the government to demonstrate fiscal responsibility without raising taxes, emphasizing the importance of growth-enhancing activities and investment.
As the government prepares to deliver its first budget under the unity government, the focus is on setting coherent spending priorities beyond party politics. The impact of global factors, such as the return of the Trump administration and trade relations with the US, adds to the uncertainty surrounding South Africa’s economic outlook.
Despite these challenges, the urgency of addressing poverty and social welfare remains a top priority. With millions of South Africans struggling to afford basic necessities, the need for effective budget management and resource allocation is more critical than ever. The upcoming budget speech will be a test of the government’s ability to navigate these complex issues and secure the country’s financial future. A group of researchers from the University of California, Berkeley have made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of neuroscience. Their research, which is set to be published in the prestigious journal Science, sheds new light on the mechanisms underlying memory formation in the brain.
The study focused on a specific region of the brain known as the hippocampus, which is critical for the formation of new memories. Using advanced imaging techniques, the researchers were able to observe individual neurons within the hippocampus as they encoded and stored new information.
What they found was truly remarkable. Contrary to previous beliefs that memories were stored in isolated neurons, the researchers discovered that memories are actually represented by patterns of activity across a large population of neurons. This finding challenges the traditional view of memory as a static storage system, and instead suggests that memories are dynamic and distributed throughout the brain.
Lead researcher Dr. Sarah Johnson explains, “Our study provides strong evidence that memories are not stored in individual neurons, but rather in the connections between neurons. This suggests that memory is a highly flexible and adaptable process, allowing us to continually update and refine our recollections over time.”
To further investigate this phenomenon, the researchers used optogenetics to selectively activate specific neurons in the hippocampus while mice were performing memory tasks. They found that by manipulating the activity of these neurons, they were able to enhance or disrupt the formation of new memories.
This discovery has profound implications for our understanding of memory and cognition. It suggests that memory is not a fixed entity, but rather a dynamic process that is constantly being shaped and reshaped by our experiences. This has important implications for treating conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of cognitive decline, as it opens up new avenues for developing targeted therapies that can enhance memory formation and retention.
The researchers are now planning to further investigate the mechanisms underlying memory formation, with the hope of developing new interventions that can improve memory function in both healthy individuals and those with memory-related disorders. Their work represents a significant step forward in our understanding of the brain and how it processes and stores information, and has the potential to revolutionize the field of neuroscience in the years to come.
