Budgeting for job creation in social welfare services: exploring EPWP opportunities

Abstract

The topic of budgeting for social welfare services as indicated within this conference assumes that the budgeting for welfare services - in fact any public service - is not a contested terrain. The South African budget process is both a political and technical process. It is a political process because the national Cabinet, on considering a range of public financing and service delivery priorities, is responsible for budget policy decisions. These decisions are taken against the backdrop of both marginal and average public finance requests as a result of an elaborate policy and service delivery priority determination process that evolves from the Presidents' State of Nation Address to the final Budget Statement (announced during February of each year).