The advocacy group said despite highlighting infrastructure as one of its main pillars, the policy statement offered little in terms of commitments to fixing school infrastructure backlogs
The medium term budget policy statement (MTBPS) on 30 October will lay out spending intentions for the next three years. This is the first chance the government of national unity has to meaningfully display its position on fiscal policy. Despite the government’s denial that we have an austerity budget, the continuous slashes to expenditure (after adjusting […]
Accumulated gross debt is expected to stabilise at R6.2 trillion or 74% of GDP by 2026. The annual cost of servicing this deb in that year will be R440 billion
The president coat-tailed on the team’s World Cup triumph to plead for faith that the country can overcome economic crisis
The real issue is that the February 2023 budget was the least credible assessment of the country’s finances since 1994
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
SMEs are investing in their growth at a rate we’ve never seen before. That is resilience. It is also a sign of the pent-up growth just waiting to explode into our economy — if only the government would see it
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 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
The finance minister says more grants would mean the money would have to be cut elsewhere as he sticks to fiscal consolidation
Inadequate electricity supply and the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic remain a binding constraint on economic recovery in the near term, says the treasury
The Democratic Alliance tabled its ‘alternative’ medium-term budget with its own projections, ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwane’s maiden budget on Thursday
Public sector unions have cried foul over the government’s plan to freeze wages for three years and have vowed to fight back.
Read the finance minister’s speech
The finance minister has to close the jaws of the hippo and he’s likely to do this by tightening the country’s belt, again.
The cash-strapped national carrier is in the process of recouping its blocked funds from Zimbabwe, which could go towards financing the airline’s business rescue plan
Sona was a mixed bag but there were some meaningful announcements
South Africa’s credit rating outlook is revised from stable to negative, but not downgraded to junk status at this stage
Eskom and weaker growth play havoc on the public purse
Mboweni’s medium-term budget policy statement will likely make crisis management a focal point
The finance minister’s medium-term budget policy statement on Wednesday will be watched like it is the main event
There are competing ideas about how to save the power utility, but it is time for decisions
Finance minister faces an unprecedented task in delivering this year’s budget – given a deteriorating economic backdrop and an ongoing crisis at Eskom
Mboweni delivered the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in October, a couple of weeks after Nhlanhla Nene resigned from the position
Key assumptions made in the 2018 February budget were revised as the treasury took account of shrinking economic growth
‘This week, South Africans overcame in some ways the silence and shame tied to menstruation’
The 1% VAT increase had cushioned the revenue shortfall in 2018, because it brought in roughly the same amount as the R20-billion VAT refunds.
The finance minister has opened the door to decisions that may have serious ramifications for state businesses
Government departments themselves are going to have find the money for unbudgeted increases
It’s not often that Bible verses and Dickens are quoted in the same speech, especially when the speech is to outline the medium-term budget
Provincial departments have an estimated R25-billion in unpaid bills