Political parties and trade unions are asking the finance minister to address the growing national debt crisis and to extend the R350 grant
This year’s budget will be a balancing act, but the treasury needs to prioritise restoring South Africans economic agency
The private sector, experts say, cannot alone be entrusted with the important task of stopping South Africa’s unemployment tailspin
This content is restricted to subscribers only.
Join the M&G Community
Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently.
Subscribe
Subscription enables:
- – M&G community membership
- – independent journalism
- – access to all premium articles & features
- – a digital version of the weekly newspaper
- – invites to subscriber-only events
- – the opportunity to test new online features first
Already a subscriber?
Login here.
The request comes as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is due to present his budget to parliament.
A basic income grant requires higher taxes. But the government will struggle to convince taxpayers to give it more when they see little in return
In the meantime, government will mull the best options to replace this grant with another form of income support
The president’s strategy to stop the unemployment crisis from spiralling includes cutting red tape and focusing on infrastructure investment
Economists against basic income support have warned that introducing it could hurt the GDP. Others point out that growth means little to the poor
A basic income grant could add 0.5% to GDP growth by 2025, according to a report commissioned by the National Economic Development and Labour Council.
Covid-19 cast the economy adrift, but a less punishing new phase of the pandemic could set it back on track
This content is restricted to subscribers only.
Join the M&G Community
Our commitment at the Mail & Guardian is to ensure every reader enjoys the finest experience. Join the M&G community and support us in delivering in-depth news to you consistently.
Subscribe
Subscription enables:
- – M&G community membership
- – independent journalism
- – access to all premium articles & features
- – a digital version of the weekly newspaper
- – invites to subscriber-only events
- – the opportunity to test new online features first
Already a subscriber?
Login here.
More than 2 400 interns and over 2 200 community service doctors are still awaiting placements, which are necessary to complete the statutory requirements so they can practice
The health department is increasingly playing fiscal catch up each year as the trainee intake continues to swell
There were high expectations that Enoch Godongwana, the Minister of Finance, would signal in the medium term budget policy statement how government planned to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on the health system
Sasria says it has paid out R12.6-billion in claims. The state-owned insurer said will be profitable by 2022, thanks to treasury’s additional R11-billion allocation
Godongwana warns that the outer limits of the budget are non-negotiable as a debt cliff loomed
The opposition party referred to the government’s economic policy as ‘hopelessly inadequate’ and an obstacle in the path towards stable public finances
The Covid-19 pandemic led to an unprecedented widening of the budget deficit and a spike in debt stock but a commodity price surge gave the treasury room to breathe.
The new finance minister said there would be no new bailout for Eskom or other parastatals, with the exception of Denel, which was thrown a lifeline after defaulting on debt to the tune of R2.9-billion
Enoch Godongwana’s first medium-term budget policy statement includes more funding local government, but with more terms and conditions for after service delivery failures cost the ANC dearly at the polls
The finance minister says more grants would mean the money would have to be cut elsewhere as he sticks to fiscal consolidation
The Democratic Alliance tabled its ‘alternative’ medium-term budget with its own projections, ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwane’s maiden budget on Thursday
A growth-oriented bid-term budget statement would go a long way towards creating a fertile environment for new investments
Economists predict the finance minister will speak about the basic income grant, the effect of the July riots on the fiscus, and bailouts
The finance minister says the government must build a conducive environment for investment into South Africa
Speaking at a book launch on Tuesday, the finance minister said a focus on manufacturing is critical to stem the country’s deepening unemployment crisis
‘The unrest presents an untimely and negative effect on SA’s growth prospects,’ said Godongwana, adding that this could last for the next six quarters
The new finance minister now has an opportunity to support SMEs with more than words
Cosatu pushes back against ‘treasury bureaucracy’ for not allowing civil servants emergency access to their retirement funds as a form of Covid-19 relief
The new finance minister has a difficult task, but analysts say his political capital will help him hold a hard line on state spending
This decision is despite the finance minister and the bank’s chief executive dismissing the UDM leader’s allegations as unfounded
The state wants to increase spending on infrastructure to drive economic recovery, and South Africans’ savings could help foot the bill
The party released its plan for the reconstruction of the country’s post-coronavirus economy on Friday. This would involve changes to Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act