Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivers the National Budget Speech at the Good Hope Chamber on 23 February 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Gallo Images/Jeffrey Abrahams)
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana is expected to deliver the much-anticipated Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), but disruptions by the EFF have put a pause on proceedings.
The country is waiting with bated breath on how the department plans to address economic issues plaguing the country.
The Economic Freedom Fighters have, however, decided to hold up placards calling Godongwana ‘pervert’ and raise points of order which have prevented the events to start.
ALSO READ: Key issues to look out for in the MTBPS on Wednesday
The speech, delivered before the National Assembly in the Cape Town City Hall, will give context to parliament and South Africa about fiscal policy objectives and spending priorities over a three-year period, ending in 2025/26.
Issues such as load shedding, and how large the bailout for the ailing state-owned enterprise, as well as Sanral, are among the main topics to watch out for.
Earlier in the year, Godongwana mentioned that certain SOEs will be preserved while others will be “rationalised or consolidated”, but failed to specify which companies this would apply to.
Another frustration is the future of e-tolls, with the transport department delaying its promises on the verdict of whether to keep or trash the system.
Public sector wages and grants will also be topics to keep an eye on.
The public sector wage bill poses the most significant risk to the government’s objective to keep non-interest recurrent spending under control, economists said ahead of the MTBPS.
South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago has urged government to stick to its debt reduction plan, amid pressure to convert the R359 grant into a basic income grant.
In its MTBPS review, Nedbank said it expected real GDP growth of 1.8% in 2022, slightly lower than the National Treasury’s 2.1% forecast.
The bank’s economists in the document predict that in 2023, the economy will grapple with the global slowdown and higher interest rates.
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