THE South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry has commended the Budget, saying it shows South Africa can expand its economy.
"The Budget speech was a confident signal that South Africa is ready to expand its economy," Sacci CEO Neren Rau said yesterday.
Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan tabled his 2012-13 Budget in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Sacci liked various commitments in the Budget, including the emphasis on the need for a business-government partnership to grow the economy and the details on financing the various infrastructure investment programmes.
Rau said Sacci was pleased about the progress made by the national Treasury in addressing provincial fiscal mismanagement and the plans to address government under-spending and misspending.
But it would have liked Gordhan to give timelines on how long the provincial interventions would take before restoring fiscal sustainability.
Sacci welcomed the tax support and cutting of regulatory hurdles for micro enterprises.
The tax breaks announced for individual savings products to support household savings were also a good move.
"This would increase the pool of investment funds in South Africa."
The chamber was concerned that Gordhan did not present a strategy for funding the National Health Insurance scheme.