‘It’s not how much – but how efficiently funds are spent'

The spending of public funds by an efficient State is much more important than how much money is spent, according to economists Mike Schussler and Dawie Roodt. They believe that regardless of how much money is poured into infrastructure, without an efficient government it does not matter. “The Soviet Union collapsed because resources could not be allocated properly,” said Roodt. “If you have no information about what is needed and how much it is going to cost, you will never be in a position to allocate your funds properly.” Both he and Schussler said this was why the tolling of Gauteng’s roads had resulted in absolute chaos – a lack of information. “Taxes or tolls are not bad – they remain a good way of telling us what things cost. What we are seeing though in South Africa is low-level tax revolt as taxes continue to increase,” said Roodt. “Theoretically it may be a good idea to toll the country’s roads, but then one must decrease taxes somewhere else.” He said the Gauteng drama was a warning to government to remember that it worked for the people and not the other way round. “The taxes we pay go to the State, government works for the State – in other words you and me.” Schussler agreed saying there was a definite call for government to be more transparent in how they spend tax money. According to the RFA’s Gavin Kelly, the organisation has never been opposed to the road upgrades and the need to pay for them. “We agree we need better roads and more maintenance. We agree that we must pay for it. What we have been asking the government continuously is if there is not a cheaper way of doing it that makes the least amount of impact on the economy.” He said while there were many claiming that the new roads in Gauteng were only of benefit to Gauteng and therefore an increased fuel levy would mean the whole country had to contribute to Gauteng’s road upgrades, Kelly said: “The reality is the guy in the Eastern Cape does benefit from the Gauteng roads. The goods he gets on his table come via and through Gauteng.” ‘The Gauteng drama was a warning to government to remember that it worked for the people and not the other way round.’ Caption: Dawie Roodt ... ‘Taxes or tolls are not bad Mike Schussler ... ‘more transparency.’