Budget 2023 live: Treasury to give Eskom R254bn to help settle debt

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is delivering his 2023 Budget speech in Cape Town on Wednesday.

The minister is expected to provide details on how South Africa plans to deal with its energy crisis, with Eskom and load shedding hurting the country’s economy.

He will also be expected to tell South Africans how the government will support economic growth and create jobs.

Get updates in the live blog below:

SA’s economic outlook has worsened

Stellenbosch Business School economist Professor Andre Roux said South Africa’s economic environment has become worse since Godongwana delivered his Budget speech last year.

He says the corporate sector and investors will hope for a significant trimming of the budget deficit, a coherent programme of the selling off or privatisation of dysfunctional state-owned enterprises (SOEs), along with policy consistency and implementation, institutional competency and integrity, the further easing of the corporate tax burden, and the end of load shedding.

Load shedding

The Budget speech will also be expected to shed light on government’s bounce-back loan scheme to support small businesses affected by load shedding. A tax relief is also expected to be extended to small businesses.

The continuous lack of electricity has decimated businesses. The “bounce-back” loan scheme will help businesses get funding for solar power.

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