Finance Minister Trevor Manuel will need to perform miracles if he is to fulfil the myriad budgetary expectations of those expecting increased spending on poverty elimination, schools and health infrastructure, and a revamped power supply, to name a few sectors.

While most political parties have urged him to tackle the electricity crisis head-on, poverty reduction and job creation are also upper-most in the minds of politicians.

Democratic Alliance spokesperson Kobus Marais suggested setting aside R50-billion over the next five years to help Eskom finance its electricity expansion programme, and allocating R1.2-billion to diversify power generation and reducing demand on the national grid.

A "stimulatory package" of R14.5-billion should be made available immediately to assist the economy to overcome the negative effects of the electricity crisis and stimulate foreign direct investment, he said.

Narend Singh of the Inkatha Freedom Party proposed subsidies for consumers switching to eco-friendly sources of energy, such as solar, and tax breaks or bigger depreciation allowances for larger consumers who had to buy generators to keep their businesses running.

Some of the surplus and revenue overruns could also be used to fund a rapid electricity generation expansion programme.

Eskom's expansion programme

It was time Manuel announced government assistance for funding Eskom's expansion programme.

"We suggest that this assistance should take the form of direct capital injection, providing loan guarantees and underwriting special bonds," Singh said.

The Freedom Front's Pieter Mulder said the crisis was caused, in part, by government and Eskom's poor planning, but government was threatening to punish energy consumers for it.

The Budget could be used rather to reward energy consumers switching to solar and green energy through subsidies and other concessions, a cheaper option than most other proposed solutions, Mulder said.

The Independent Democrats also urged Manuel to set aside money to recapitalise Eskom and to support its new build programme without a huge increase in electricity tariffs being necessary.

"This must not be a blank cheque - certain conditions must be attached, such as stipulating the construction of 1000 MW of wind, and 500 MW of solar thermal energy," spokesperson Schalk Lubbe said.

Steve Swart of the African Christian Democratic Party agreed, calling on Manuel to send the message that the power crisis would be dealt with quickly and efficiently.

Government should either provide direct funds to assist Eskom with its R300-billion capital spending on new power stations, or provide debt guarantees, he said.

All political parties also called for concrete measures to improve the lives of the poor, with Singh proposing a minimum R1000 a month old age pension and extended child support grants.

In addition to this, the ID's Lubbe wanted school nutrition expanded, and the current disincentives for employers to contribute to the pension funds of less-well paid workers reviewed.

Echoing these proposals, Swart expected more details about the comprehensive social security system announced previously.

However, while social welfare addressed short-term needs, it was necessary to move from welfare to economic development in the long run.

This would provide the much-needed employment to curtail widespread poverty, Swart said.

Basic income grant

For its part, the People's Budget Coalition reiterated its call for a basic income grant and expected Manuel to table concrete proposals on increasing the age for the child support grant to 18 years.

The PBC also expected increased social grants above inflation, considering the high cost of food.

The PBC, which includes he Congress of SA Trade Unions, the SA NGO Coalition, and the SA Council of Churches, wanted budget allocations for economic development to increase to give effect to the industrialisation strategy.

Linked to this, were the job creation programmes, investment in human capital, and infrastructure, including public transport.

The PBC called for increased investment in education to ensure access for poor children and to rebuild the education infrastructure.

"We further expect the minister to table proposals to transform the current health care system through the introduction of National Health Insurance and a needs-based budget for health care."

The SA Municipal Workers' Union called for more spending on infrastructure in schools, improving the quality of housing delivery, more robust land redistribution, and a R100-a-month basic income grant which would reduce poverty by between 10 and 15 percent.

"The calculated costs of this programme amounts to R28-billion annually. This would be a far more useful use of increase fiscal revenue than the granting of tax breaks to the rich," the union said.

Sapa