With additional pressures on the poor, judgment day could be approaching faster.

The minister proposes a temporary increase in the electricity levy but few believe it will end.

Any hope for better economic growth in the short term would have to be in industries less affected by the energy crisis, said the minister.

The true amount being spent on water usage is obscured by the fractured nature of its provision.

The minister’s intentions to contain expenditure may be undermined by strikes in the civil service.

The department of science and technology saw its budget increase steadily since its formation in 2002.

The construction of an R19-billion new railway link to Swaziland is in the concept stage.

Mining and manufacturing will be worst affected because of their high-intensity electricity usage.

While some such as the RAF and Tisa have welcomed Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene’s new budget plans, others are not so happy.

Nhlanhla Nene has little good luck and plenty of tough luck for the country’s millions of children, young people and universities as well.

In dire financial times for South Africa, the President’s Russian nuclear deal is not even mentioned in the national budget.

The financial health of the country’s parastatals is so important that the budget review document has a new chapter dedicated to it.

The finance minister has delivered a tough budget to counter the effects of ongoing maladministration.

The group handed over a nine-page memorandum demanding a people’s budget, decided by the people to end gender-based violence and load-shedding.

The finance minister announced treasury’s intention to reduce the main budget expenditure ceiling by R25-billion over the next two years.

Aside from the usual rise in sin taxes, petrol, electricity and income tax are going up, while small businesses are getting some reprieve.