Simply repeating the tried and failed approach of painful austerity budget cuts and freezing vacancies will not resolve a stagnant economy and a rising unemployment rate of 42.6%. If anything, they further undermine the capacity of the state to provide the standard of public and municipal services that the economy needs to grow.

Listen to this article 7 min Listen to this article 7 min While appreciating various progressive allocations and interventions contained in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), tabled by government at Parliament on Wednesday, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) remains underwhelmed and disappointed by Treasury's continued approach to tackling our deep-seated economic and governance crises. A projected GDP growth rate of 1.8% over the next three years will not generate the jobs we badly need.

The fundamental challenges facing the nation are a stagnant economy and a rising unemployment rate of 42.6%. If we are to set public debt on a sustainable path, then we need to stimulate growth, slash unemployment and rebuild the state.

Simply repeating the tried and failed approach of painful austerity budget cuts and freezing vacancies will not resolve these. If anything, they further undermine the capacity of the state to provide the standard of public and municipal services that the economy needs to grow.

The MTBPS has confirmed the public service wage bill has shrunk and not grown as a portion of the Budget from 35.7% to a projected 31.4%. Frontline services from hospitals to schools, Home Affairs and the SAPS are...