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Budget News

South Africa avoids technical recession despite challenges – Deloitte

By: Sabrina Jardim 10th May 2024 With unemployment, loadshedding and a weak economy being front-line issues in the upcoming elections, the incoming administration must drive investment and reform to restart growth, build confidence and help South Africa’s economy meet its potential, says advisory firm Deloitte. In its May 2024... →

Gauteng’s R500bn budget focuses on crime, township economy boost

By: Natasha Odendaal 5th March 2024 Gauteng’s Finance MEC Jacob Mamabolo on Tuesday tabled a provincial budget for Gauteng of R165.8-billion for the 2024/25 financial year, with a focus on fighting crime and boosting the township economy. This will increase to R171.5-billion in 2025/26 and to R176.8-billion in 2026/27, equating to... →

Image of Gauteng Finance MEC Jacob Mamabolo

Budget shows an economy treading water, not collapsing – Jammine

By: Darren Parker 23rd February 2024 Although Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget, delivered on February 21, seemed somewhat prudent, Econometrix director and chief economist Dr Azar Jammine said there was not much in it to make one optimistic about South Africa’s economic future either. “The Budget does provide some relief... →

In this video, Engineering News chats with Econometrix director and chief economist Dr Azar Jammine about the 2024 Budget. Video: Darlene Creamer

Innovative interventions needed to turn around underperforming growth trajectory – Agbiz

By: Schalk Burger 22nd February 2024 Against the backdrop of a profoundly challenging macroeconomic environment where South Africa’s economy is expected to continue underperforming, averaging at 1.6% growth in the next three years, innovative interventions are needed to turn the current trajectory around, said the Agricultural... →

Fiscal discipline in Budget, but 5% infrastructure expenditure increase ‘barely positive’ – Minerals Council

By: Schalk Burger 22nd February 2024 Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana maintained focus on fiscal discipline and balancing the need to address socioeconomic challenges facing the country, industry organisation Minerals Council South Africa said in response to the Minister’s Budget Speech on February 21. South Africa, however, needs... →

Minerals Council CEO Mzila Mthenjane

DBSA’s new Project Vumela financing instrument to help municipalities fund bulk infrastructure investment

By: Darren Parker 21st February 2024 Development finance institution Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) has introduced a new financing instrument called Project Vumela, which blends municipal revenue sources with financing from development finance institutions and commercial finance. Revealed in the 2024 Budget Review on... →

Mining tax revenue down by 50.4% y/y

By: Darren Parker 21st February 2024 With various commodity prices taking a nosedive over the past year, windfall tax gains from high commodity prices over the preceding two years have come to an end, resulting in a sharp fall in mining tax revenue, National Treasury has said. In the 2024 Budget Review released on February 21, it... →

Criminal Asset Recovery Fund, not fiscus, to fund SANDF’s war on illegal mining

By: Darren Parker 21st February 2024 The Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans has claimed that the deployment of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in support of the South African Police Service to counter illegal mining at an estimated cost of R492-million is currently unfunded as of November last... →

Global corporate tax minimum to be implemented this year

By: Darren Parker 21st February 2024 In an effort boost tax revenue going forward, government will be implementing the long-awaited global corporate tax minimum in the coming year, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana revealed upon the release of the 2024 Budget on February 21. He said that the global minimum tax aims to limit the... →

No change to fuel levies this year, Godongwana says

By: Darren Parker 21st February 2024 Government has decided once again to leave the general fuel levy and Road Accident Levy Fund unchanged, resulting in tax relief of about R4-billion. This was announced at the release of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s 2024 Budget on February 21, marking the third consecutive year that this... →

RFP for private transmission investment to be launched in July

By: Terence Creamer 21st February 2024 The South African government will release a request for proposals (RFP) in the coming months seeking private sector investment into a pilot electricity grid infrastructure project. The National Treasury confirms that government has been working in partnership with the International Finance... →

70 out of 72 municipalities approved for Eskom debt relief

By: Darren Parker 21st February 2024 Out of 72 municipality applications for State-owned Eskom debt relief, 70 have been approved, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana revealed in his 2024 Budget on February 21. The 72 applicants represent R56.7-billion, or 96.9%, of the total municipal debt owed to Eskom as at March 31, 2023, with the... →

Godongwana draws down R150bn from gold and forex account to reduce borrowings and debt-service costs

By: Terence Creamer 21st February 2024 Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana unveiled a far-reaching reform in relation to government’s treatment of the Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account (GFECRA), which will result in R150-billion in drawdowns from the account over the coming three years to reduce government... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

Reserves drawdown is wildcard in South Africa’s election budget

By: Bloomberg 19th February 2024 Enoch Godongwana needs to conjure an annual budget that balances spending pressures stemming from this year’s elections with the South African National Treasury’s commitment to stabilise its finances. The rabbit in the fedora-wearing finance minister’s hat is a potential drawdown from the... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

S Africa's budget to consolidate more slowly, rate cuts delayed – poll

By: Reuters 15th February 2024 South Africa's budget deficit will narrow at a slower pace in coming years than October estimates predicted, put off course by poor mining tax receipts, according to a Reuters poll which also showed the central bank would delay interest rate cuts. The consolidated budget deficit will narrow to... →

Sacci business confidence index shows incremental improvements

By: Darren Parker 8th February 2024 The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Sacci) has revealed that its business confidence index (BCI) for December last year reached a notable 112.1, marking the second-highest level for the year, surpassed only by the January 2023 peak of 112.9. Throughout last year, the BCI... →

There is no substitute for economic growth, Deloitte says ahead of 2024 Budget

By: Natasha Odendaal 1st February 2024 A tight balance is expected for this year’s National Budget as South Africa’s woes continue; however, a significant, or fundamental, raising of taxes is not expected, with a tightening hold on revenue collections to bridge the budget gap foreseen instead. South Africa’s 2024 Budget precedes a... →

World Bank, DBSA report highlights local SDG requirements

By: Sabrina Jardim 1st February 2024 Closing South Africa’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) gap will require significant infrastructure and related spending, informed by the right objectives and relevant metrics, a joint study by the World Bank and the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) shows. The report, titled ‘Going... →

National Treasury confirms 21 February as budget day

By: News24Wire 24th January 2024 South Africa’s national budget day has been confirmed for 21 February at 14:00, according a statement by the National Treasury on Wednesday. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will "announce government’s spending, tax and borrowing plans for the next three years" in Parliament, it said. This... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

National Treasury pencils in 21 February as budget day

By: News24Wire 22nd January 2024 South Africa’s national budget day is currently scheduled for 21 February, according to National Treasury, which added that the date still needed final confirmations. This year’s event will be closely watched, with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana having said during the medium-term budget... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

South Africa eyes half of $27bn contingency funds to cut debt

By: Bloomberg 18th December 2023 South Africa’s National Treasury is considering withdrawing as much as half of the R497-billion of contingency reserves held by the central bank to help reduce the government’s debt load or fund public-sector wages. The Treasury and central bank are close to agreeing on terms of the draw-down... →

Lesetja Kganyago said the profits on the account exist on paper unless they are realised by selling the underlying assets, warning that using them could diminish the country’s reserves and potentially leave it more vulnerable to future shocks

Photo by Bloomberg
Lesetja Kganyago said the profits on the account exist on paper unless they are realised by selling the underlying assets, warning that using them could diminish the country’s reserves and potentially leave it more vulnerable to future shocks

COP 28 to host fossil fuels debate

By: Halima Frost 1st December 2023 This year’s Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, referred to globally as COP 28 and being held from November 30 to December 12 in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will look to address environmental issues, including decarbonisation... →

A glass glob perched on green moss signifying a global drive to a greener economy

GLOBALLY GREEN The drive to a decarbonised economy will again be addressed at this years Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Gauteng e-tolls debt proposal to be submitted by mid-December

By: Natasha Odendaal 28th November 2023 The Gauteng provincial government (GPG) will table a “concrete proposal” to national government by December 15 outlining plans to pay off the province’s portion of the long-contested e-tolls debt and switch off or repurpose the gantries, assures Gauteng Finance MEC Jacob Mamabolo. Unpacking the... →

Gauteng Finance MEC Jacob Mamabolo

SA debt stress: Govt scrambles to borrow more money

By: News24Wire 10th November 2023 The South African government, which is being forced to sell ever more debt than planned because it’s spending more than it makes, is unlikely to reverse this spiral any time soon - especially not ahead of an election, economists say. It emerged in the medium-term budget that over the next three... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

Business says Medium-Term Budget lacks clear fiscal plan

By: Thabi Shomolekae 2nd November 2023 Business noted on Thursday that while Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana outlined government’s strategy to avoid a full-blown fiscal crisis and systemic risks to the economy, it is concerned that although the focus is now firmly on structural reform as demanded, those responsible for its... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

Medium-term budget in a nutshell: It’s going to hurt

By: News24Wire 1st November 2023 Treasury has been forced to make painful revisions to the latest Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, which updates government’s spending plans over the next three years, after its expectations in the February Budget turned out to be over-optimistic. Government now expects to earn almost... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

Municipalities owing Eskom R56.8bn apply to participate in debt write-off scheme

By: Terence Creamer 1st November 2023 The National Treasury has confirmed that a total of 67 municipalities, which collectively owe Eskom R56.8-billion, or 97% of the municipal arrears debt of over R58-billion owed to the utility at the end of March, have formally applied to participate in the debt write-off programme. The National... →

No plan to review use of Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account

By: Terence Creamer 1st November 2023 The National Treasury has confirmed that there is no immediate plan for a review of the Gold and Foreign Exchange Contingency Reserve Account (GFECRA), which some economists have argued should be drawn on to help narrow the gap between revenue and expenditure. The GFECRA reserves are said to... →

Transnet urged to engage before presenting a R100bn bail-out ‘invoice’

By: Terence Creamer 1st November 2023 Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has not “closed the door” on Transnet’s move to secure a reported R100-billion in balance-sheet support to assist with its recently released turnaround plan. However, in a Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) briefing, he insisted that far more engagement... →

Details of incentives for new energy vehicles in February

By: Terence Creamer 1st November 2023 Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana confirmed on Wednesday that government intended implementing tax and expenditure measures to support the domestic automotive sector’s transition to new energy vehicles (NEVs) and that details will be provided in the 2024 Budget Review in February. In addressing... →

CDE lays out path to economic rescue ahead of MTBPS

By: Darren Parker 30th October 2023 Ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s November 1 Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), policy think tank the Centre for Development and Enterprise (CDE) has set out what it thinks government must prioritise to reverse the collapse in economic growth. “The essential precondition of... →

Photo by Creamer Media's Donna Slater
CDE executive director Ann Bernstein

Godongwana’s MTBPS must show same fighting spirit as Boks – BLSA

By: Darren Parker 30th October 2023 Following on the heels of the Springbok’s fourth Rugby World Cup win, Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso has said the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), set to be announced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on November 1, is critical for business confidence.... →

Tax shortfall lumps South Africa with no-good-news Budget

By: Bloomberg 30th October 2023 South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is in a bind as he reworks the nation’s budget in the face of lower-than-expected tax revenue and pressure from the ruling party to bolster government services ahead of next year’s crunch elections. While a commodity boom previously gave Godongwana... →

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana

Inside the Energy One Stop Shop and its drive to fast-track electricity projects

By: Cameron Mackay 27th October 2023 The Energy One Stop Shop (EOSS), officially launched by Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Ebrahim Patel on July 27, is in the ramp-up phase of a four-stage process aimed at fast-tracking the regulatory approvals required for new self-generation projects and projects that will be connected... →

Education key to changing the fortunes of South Africans

By: Darren Parker 4th October 2023 University of the Free State Chancellor, Johannesburg Business School Professor of Practice, Bidvest Group and SBV Services chairperson and World Economic Forum Community of Chairpersons member Bonang Mohale has stressed the importance of South Africa investing in educating its youth. "We find it... →

University of the Free State Chancellor, Johannesburg Business School (JBS) Professor of Practice, Bidvest Group and SBV Services chairperson and World Economic Forum Community of Chairpersons member Bonang Mohale

Saice suggests PPPs as the solution to govt’s constrained fiscus

By: Cameron Mackay 15th September 2023 The South African Institution of Civil Engineering (Saice) suggests an alternative solution that will assist the National Treasury as it grapples with the country’s constrained fiscus. In a letter sent to the Treasury's director-general, the institution has proposed a public-private partnership... →

Firm pushing for investment in energy projects

By: Halima Frost 8th September 2023 Having realised the potential of particularly solar energy in the renewable-energy sector, independent investment and advisory firm Bravura aims to implement additional in-house capabilities to further develop and promote energy projects. “The decision has been made in the wake of a number of... →

An aerial view of the Westgate Shopping centre with teh rood almost completely covered in a solar photovoltaic panel array

GATE TO ENERGY The Westgate shopping centre is one of many projects being implemented by SolarSaver with the investment assistance of Bravura

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