Medium Term Budget Policy Statement

/ 5 November 2024

Equal Education says mid-term budget will entrench inequality

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

By Umamah Bakharia

Columns

/ 26 October 2024

Austerity is not only an economic issue, it’s a feminist issue

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 […]

By Aliya Chikte, Soraya Mentoor and Chloé van Biljon

Article

/ 12 March 2024

Austerity measures will rein in South Africa’s growing debt

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

By Eddie Rakabe

National

/ 30 October 2023

Springboks score SA a public holiday…in December

The president coat-tailed on the team’s World Cup triumph to plead for faith that the country can overcome economic crisis

By Emsie Ferreira

Opinion

/ 29 October 2023

The Fiscal Cliff | Is South Africa nearing a debt crisis?

The real issue is that the February 2023 budget was the least credible assessment of the country’s finances since 1994

By Duma Gqubule

Opinion

/ 17 November 2021

South Africa’s health system is on its knees: the budget offers no relief

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

By Russell Rensburg

Business

/ 12 November 2021

Mid-term budget: Nothing for small and medium enterprises but they fight on anyway

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

By Miguel da Silva

Business

/ 11 November 2021

Godongwana holds off on basic income grant decision, closes taps to state enterprises

Godongwana warns that the outer limits of the budget are non-negotiable as a debt cliff loomed

By Emsie Ferreira and Anathi Madubela

Business

/ 11 November 2021

Democratic Alliance welcomes Godongwana’s ‘tough love’ for state-owned enterprises

The opposition party referred to the government’s economic policy as ‘hopelessly inadequate’ and an obstacle in the path towards stable public finances

By Sarah Smit

Business

/ 11 November 2021

Godongwana says it will be ‘tough love’ for errant SOEs

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

By Emsie Ferreira

Business

/ 11 November 2021

Medium-term budget: Basic income grant decision deferred to next year

The finance minister says more grants would mean the money would have to be cut elsewhere as he sticks to fiscal consolidation

By Emsie Ferreira

Business

/ 11 November 2021

Medium-term Budget: Economic growth prospects remain bleak

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

By Anathi Madubela

Business

/ 10 November 2021

DA does not support permanent expansion of grants, for now

The Democratic Alliance tabled its ‘alternative’ medium-term budget with its own projections, ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwane’s maiden budget on Thursday

By Anathi Madubela

Business

/ 29 October 2020

State’s wage freeze sparks apoplexy

Public sector unions have cried foul over the government’s plan to freeze wages for three years and have vowed to fight back.

By Thando Maeko and Tshegofatso Mathe

Business

/ 28 October 2020

READ IT: Mboweni’s 2020 medium term budget policy speech

Read the finance minister’s speech

By Eyaaz Matwadia

Business

/ 27 October 2020

Tax, wage bill, debt, pandemic: Mboweni’s tightrope budget policy statement

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.

By Thando Maeko

Business

/ 21 October 2020

SAA in talks to recoup R350-million in blocked funds from Zimbabwe

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

By Thando Maeko

Article

/ 19 February 2020

Ramaphosa bets big on infrastructure to boost economy

Sona was a mixed bag but there were some meaningful announcements

By Makhanda Ka Lima

Article

/ 2 November 2019

SA escapes Moody’s junk guillotine — for now

South Africa’s credit rating outlook is revised from stable to negative, but not downgraded to junk status at this stage

By Kevin Davie

Article

/ 30 October 2019

2019 budget policy statement: Debt, debt, debt

Eskom and weaker growth play havoc on the public purse

By Kevin Davie

Article

/ 30 October 2019

LIVESTREAM: Mboweni presents the medium-term budget policy statement

Mboweni’s medium-term budget policy statement will likely make crisis management a focal point

By Kiri Rupiah

Article

/ 25 October 2019

Will Moody’s downgrade Mboweni?

The finance minister’s medium-term budget policy statement on Wednesday will be watched like it is the main event

By Tshegofatso Mathe

Article

/ 4 October 2019

Brexit-type clock ticks for Eskom

There are competing ideas about how to save the power utility, but it is time for decisions

By Kevin Davie

Article

/ 18 February 2019

Budget: It just keeps getting harder to balance state books

Finance minister faces an unprecedented task in delivering this year’s budget – given a deteriorating economic backdrop and an ongoing crisis at Eskom

By Lynley Donnelly