Against the tide by Steven Friedman

This year may be the first ever in which the budget tabled by the Minister of Finance will not be the budget which Parliament passes. So elected members of Parliament may have a greater say in the budget in future, an advance for democracy. But this may also make it harder to protect the social grants on which millions of people depend

This is the view of my weekly Against the Tide column sent to subscribers this morning. To subscribe, please visit the Against the Tide website.  To discuss a free or reduced subscription, contact info@againstthetide.co.za

Steven Friedman is a public commentator and an academic, currently employed as a Research Professor at the University of Johannesburg. He has been writing on South African politics for the entire democratic period both as a scholar and public commentator. He has published books on South Africa’s transition to democracy, the role of the trade union movement, and current South African politics. He has also written columns and articles for several South African newspapers. His writing seeks to use academic research to shed light on current politics but to ensure that this is conveyed in a way easily understood by people who have no academic training.