The projected economic growth trajectory remains insufficient to address structural unemployment

The growth outlook is insufficient to alter unemployment dynamics, some argued

National treasury officials said the costing for the deployment of soldiers in crime-affected areas — as announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa, his Sona, had not yet been done

Over the next three years, growth is projected to average 1.8% and reach 2% by 2028

Budget approval hangs in the balance and resistance to it is set to play out in the legislature’s finance committees

The Democratic Alliance said the budget would struggle to pass in parliament, given the ANC’s lack of a majority

His party would have yielded if any increases were guaranteed to be temporary and tied to an overhaul of state spending patterns

Economists say the government can expect to incur inflationary and exchange rate costs from the move

A senior treasury official told MPs the intention was not to close the widening deficit through higher personal income taxes

Increases will be announced in the new year to raise an additional R15 billion in revenue

Fiscal consolidation is drawing to a close as the public purse was boosted by commodities, but the treasury will probably continue exercising restraint

The state is set to achieve a primary budget surplus a year earlier than expected

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

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

Treasury officials will model the effect of the grant on the fiscus if the need arises

Analysts agree that economic relief for the poor is needed but are split on whether a grant should be permanent and whether it is affordable

The mid-term budget policy statement delivered by the finance minister proposes cutting all non-interest spending by R300-billion.

The deficit came after seven consecutive quarterly surpluses.

With growth in SA lagging that of peers after a second recession in less than a decade, tax collections have dwindled

His mini-budget speech promised a lush harvest, but analysts say a famine of ideas and a drought of solid assurances failed to convince investors