Media alert issued  jointly by the South African Human Rights Commission and the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute to alert the media about their 2011 budget analysis

Date: Wednesday, 23 February 2011

As part of a collaborative partnership, the South African Human Rights Commission and the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII) are undertaking a comprehensive budget analysis of the national budget, which will be released in a joint statement on Thursday afternoon.

The analysis will focus on the extent to which the 2011 national budget, in an election year, can be said to be a pro-poor budget aimed at realising the transformative rights of the Constitution. The analysis will consider the allocations between the various government services, as well as tracking the extent to which the budget makes money available for the priorities listed in the recent State of the Nation Address. An important consideration in the analysis is the under-spending of the previous financial years and therefore whether the state has the ability and capacity to meet its Constitutional mandate.

This analysis of departmental allocations will also highlight the synergy between the state’s intentions and its practical realisation.

The joint statement will be released by noon on Thursday, 24 February 2011.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

James Motha/Vincent Moaga, South African Human Rights Commission, 073 562 9866

Isobel Frye or Stephanie Brockerhoff, Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute, 011 8330161.