The Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) presented to Parliament on Tuesday was "sustainable" and "balanced", the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) said.

The union federation applauded the Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan's positive MTBPS speech as it aimed to "eradicate wasteful, fruitless and extravagant expenditure in light of the very uncertain economic conditions that the country is currently facing".

Fedusa general secretary Dennis George said in a statement that Gordhan had indicated that due to the serious economic crisis that plagued the country, it was important for the government to commit itself to areas such as sustainability, diligent management and savings as well as consistency within the budget.

George said Fedusa had two main priorities — namely job creation and the promotion of decent work for all workers.

"Fedusa welcomes the minister's stance on the protection of the poor in the country.

"The plight of the poor and those that are not currently working is an issue that has been severely aggravated over the last few months as the country experienced the effects of the global economic crisis."

Fedusa said it had seen the poor become poorer while national figures had enjoyed extravagant luxuries such as expensive hotel rooms and flights when attending meetings.

"However we are pleased to hear that Minister Gordhan has made it a key priority to eliminate these unnecessary practices as well as corruption that burdens the taxpayers of our country," George said.

He said, however, that Fedusa did not support the proposed R200-million that had been set aside for the SABC.

"We do not agree that such a huge sum of money be allocated to the SABC that has not been able to utilise their funds sufficiently in the past.

"The workers, those people in society that are paying tax will now have to be held responsible for the errors of mismanagement by the national broadcaster and we do not agree with this," George said.

Fedusa welcomed Gordhan's allocation of R2.4-billion for the National Skills Fund as well as the objective to create about 4.5 millions jobs over the next five years.

Turning to education, George said Fedusa was "pleased to hear" that the budget had made its largest commitment to education and training.

"We are very happy that the minister has allocated R140-billion this year to education but that this will also increase to R185-billion by 2012/13."

On health, George said the finance ministry had dedicated itself to increasing the health service expenditure of government from R90-billion this year to R155-billion in 2012/13.

This, he added, would form the foundation for the proposed national health insurance scheme.

"Furthermore the expenditure on the HIV and Aids programmes will receive an additional R5.4-billion."

Fedusa was pleased that Gordhan had added R1 billion to the housing grant programme.

On crime, George said his organisation was "very concerned" that citizens did not feel safe in their own homes.

"As such Fedusa supports the provision made in the budget to strengthen detective services and crime intelligence for 22 400 police personnel.

"These funds will go a long way in the fight against crime in the country."

Fedusa was also impressed by Gordhan's firm stance on the eradication of corruption among officials and business people within South Africa.

"We as Fedusa fully support the notion that we need to stand firm against corrupt practices of all government funds.

"Government needs to practise transparency and accountability to ensure that the future of the country is secure and not threatened by wasteful spending," George said.