medium-term budget policy statement

/ 31 October 2024

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

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By Emsie Ferreira and Anathi Madubela

Business

/ 30 October 2024

Treasury finds R95 million for SA’s genocide case against Israel

The funds have been allocated to the departments of justice and international relations to cover their costs in bringing the case before the International Court of Justice

By Emsie Ferreira

Business

/ 30 October 2024

No lifeline for Transnet or other ailing parastatals in medium term budget

Instead, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana promised steps to ease the requirements for public-private partnerships

By Emsie Ferreira

Business

/ 30 October 2024

Mid-term budget: Godongwana introduces early retirement plan

An amount of R11 billion will be set aside to allow people early exit from public service

By Anathi Madubela

Business

/ 30 October 2024

Mid-term budget: Godongwana maintains line on austerity

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has doubled down on the government’s fiscal consolidation efforts by reducing spending from 28.6% of GDP in the 2023-24 financial year to 27.6% in 2024-25. This largely reflects measures implemented in recent years and slower growth projected in non-interest expenditure relative to GDP, the treasury said in its medium-term budget policy […]

By Anathi Madubela

Business

/ 23 November 2023

Gold and forex reserve is no pot of cash, says Kganyago

The Reserve Bank governor confirmed the central bank is in talks with the treasury over calls to tap the Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account

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By Sarah Smit

National

/ 14 November 2023

UPDATED: Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa acting as finance minister

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has been battling illness

By Emsie Ferreira

Business

/ 2 November 2023

Tax hikes will not be dramatic

A senior treasury official told MPs the intention was not to close the widening deficit through higher personal income taxes

By Emsie Ferreira

National

/ 2 November 2023

Mini-budget raises questions about SA’s growth prospects

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has emphasised the need to address supply-side constraints, such as the country’s energy and logistics crises

By Sarah Smit

National

/ 1 November 2023

Mid-term budget: Tax hikes on the horizon

Increases will be announced in the new year to raise an additional R15 billion in revenue

By Emsie Ferreira

Business

/ 1 November 2023

Transnet bailout still a possibility but treasury wants to see progress first

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said he would resist the temptation to respond to the entity’s call for a cash injection through the media

By Sarah Smit

Business

/ 1 November 2023

Social relief of distress grant extended until 2025

But Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says beyond that mark, a comprehensive review of all welfare grants is needed

By Emsie Ferreira

Business

/ 1 November 2023

Government budgets for natural disasters

A report by treasury and the World Bank estimated the average funding gap for financing disaster response in South Africa at R2.3 billion

By Sarah Smit

Article

/ 1 November 2023

Plans to reconfigure state will be announced in February

The aim is to get better value for money spent, and to close or merge entities, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said

By Emsie Ferreira

Business

/ 1 November 2023

As state debt grows, government eyes Eskom loan amendments

The treasury is looking to enforce strict conditions on the power utility, which is viewed as a major risk to the country’s economic outlook

By Sarah Smit

Business

/ 1 November 2023

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

By Sarah Smit

Business

/ 29 October 2023

The Fiscal Cliff | Will austerity push South Africa to the brink?

Today, as the country awaits the next update on the state of its public purse, the prospect of a debt crisis seems more imminent than before. This is as South Africa’s fiscal position has deteriorated markedly during the course of this year, a dilemma that could see the treasury inflicting another round of spending cuts.

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By Sarah Smit

Business

/ 25 September 2023

Cut spending or risk a financial crisis – BLSA

CEO Busi Mavuso said it appeared that only the national treasury understood the need to curtail government spending

By Eunice Masson

Politics

/ 19 September 2023

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’

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By Lizeka Tandwa

Politics

/ 15 September 2023

Cabinet rejects treasury’s proposed cuts

The proposal suggested the bloated cabinet be cut and departments trim their expenditure

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By Lizeka Tandwa and Sarah Smit

Business

/ 11 September 2023

The high cost of austerity

Another round of spending cuts stand to shake the governing party’s already rickety foundations

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By Sarah Smit

Opinion

/ 3 November 2022

Must we really endure ‘punishing’ markets?

Policymakers have been warned to remain disciplined as economies navigate headwinds — no matter how much it hurts

By Sarah Smit

Opinion

/ 3 November 2022

MTBPS: Godongwana delivers treasury’s same old sermon

Like a household, new spending will be financed through tax increases or budget cuts

By Duma Gqubule

Business

/ 2 November 2022

Budget austerity ‘a victory’, but at what cost?

Critics of fiscal consolidation warned that spending cuts would harm an already fragile economy

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By Sarah Smit

Business

/ 1 November 2022

Beware empty promises of expansionary policies, says Kganyago

The Reserve Bank governor has cautioned against ‘reckless’ fiscal and monetary policies amid global shocks

By Sarah Smit

Business

/ 28 October 2022

Controversial government spending cuts ‘paid off’

Fiscal consolidation is drawing to a close as the public purse was boosted by commodities, but the treasury will probably continue exercising restraint

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