Fiscal Consolidation
latest news & developments
Godongwana holds better budget cards but economic recovery remains inadequate
Labour federations Cosatu and the South African Federation of Trade Unions have led calls for a budget that addresses massive unemployment and weak growth
Budget 3.0 – Godongwana’s last shot
Now that a VAT increase has been ruled out, the finance minister must find another way to plug a R75bn gap or risk collapsing public services and investor confidence
Budget consultation could stabilise GNU: Godongwana
Godongwana promises fiscal prudence in his new budget but the growth forecast may change
Coalition takes wrangling over tax in the budget to parliament
Budget approval hangs in the balance and resistance to it is set to play out in the legislature’s finance committees
Pragmatic, pinched budget statement dampens growth hopes
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana forecast 1.8% growth over three years, coupled with a bigger deficit, as debt service costs crowd out fiscal space
DA’s Francois Rodgers advocates for strict compliance, clean audits in KZN treasury budget vote
Rodgers, the new finance MEC, said he would cut subsistence and travel by 25%. In the last financial year, under the ANC, R1 billion was spent on S&T
The political education of Kenyan president William Ruto
When he came in as president, he destroyed the old system but failed to build something new – and now Ruto is paying the price
Moody’s concerned about Kenya’s capacity to implement measures to improve fiscal position
The Kenyan government said it would reduce spending to compensate for the scrapped tax measures.
Fitch raises red flags over ANC coalition with MK party, EFF
Earlier this year, the ratings agency warned that a significant increase in the government’s debt-to-GDP ratio could knock its credit rating
The Fiscal Cliff | Shallow state purse deepens jobs crisis
In this instalment of The Fiscal Cliff – a Mail & Guardian series on how South Africa’s budget has been shaped – Sarah Smit considers the intimate link between the country’s…
Godongwana sticks to fiscal consolidation rule book
The minister underlined that in the wake of efforts to grow the economy, the government must respect budget constraint
Corporate capture and austerity politics
The choice to adopt austerity is not about protecting the state against capture — nor is it about realising untapped growth
Austerity, the NDP’s grim reaper
Ten years after its adoption, the government has failed to achieve the targets set out in the National Development Plan. Looming spending cuts will render the NDP even more futile
ANC accuses treasury of attempting to usurp president’s powers
The ruling party’s economic transformation committee head, Mmamoloko Kubayi, said the treasury’s proposals were ‘unfortunate’, ‘illegal’ and a ‘tick-box exercise’
Cabinet rejects treasury’s proposed cuts
The proposal suggested the bloated cabinet be cut and departments trim their expenditure