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Set for presentation: Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana arriving at Parliament to deliver the budget. He is
flanked by South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago, left, and South African Revenue Service
commissioner Edward Kieswetter. Photo: GCIS

Budget: debt peaks but growth lags

The projected economic growth trajectory remains insufficient to address structural unemployment

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Photo: Supplied by the  Government Communication and Information System (GCIS)

Economists split on whether 2026 budget marks a real turning point

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

Aerial view: A city view of Port Louis with harbour, old town and financial district. Photo: Arne Müseler / www.arne-mueseler.com

African ratings agency a feasible option?

But international investors are unlikely to accept ratings they perceive as lenient

Blinkered: The big screen industry is still recovering from Covid. Ster-Kinekor went into business rescue in January 2021 until November 2022. Photo: Sourced

Ster-Kinekor suffers blockbuster blues

But the cinema group’s chief executive insists that the show will go on as load-shedding abates

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa at the party’s manifesto rally at Moses Mabhida Stadium. Photo: Supplied

Elections: ANC, DA and EFF go toe-to-toe on the economy

With the country’s economy on the brink, the ‘Big Three’s’ employment and growth promises hold more weight than ever

Since Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced last year that the government would relieve Eskom of a large portion of its debt, markets have been on the edge of their seats waiting for more detail. (Getty)

With little detail about Eskom’s debt plan expected, budget could disappoint

The utility’s R400 billion debt has fed into the country’s 15-year energy crisis and low growth potential, which has been identified as a key credit weakness

With two units at Koeberg nuclear power station likely to be out of commission at the same time, Eskom will struggle to keep the lights on, said Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.

Editorial: Who is to blame for the Eskom crisis?

There’s not just one person to blame for decades of mismanagement of an electricity crisis that was made known some 25 years ago

The pandemic’s shock to the local economy was a big reason for the decision to downgrade the country to junk status.(Photo by MARCO LONGARI / AFP)

Long road ahead for South Africa to climb out of junk status

Economist don’t expect an upgrade anytime soon, but the country is in a better position to claw back its investment grade rating

An aerial view of trucks parked on the road side waiting to get access into Tincan port in Apapa, Lagos, on January 11, 2021. – At the beginning of 2020, just before the coronavirus crisis, 99% of exports and more than 89% of imports passed through the seas, almost exclusively via Lagos. 
After oil, the port of Lagos, which stretches from Apapa to Tin Can island, is the second largest source of income for the African giant.  (Photo by Benson Ibeabuchi / AFP) (Photo by BENSON IBEABUCHI/AFP via Getty Images)

Nigeria’s economy short circuits despite oil gains

Africa’s largest oil producer has not been able to cash in fully on the price rally because of lacklustre production and its reliance on imported fuel

February 23 2022 – Minister Enoch Godongwana speaks to the media at the Imbizo Media Centre in Parliament, Cape Town. (David Harrison)

Light at end of tunnel, but wage bill could blow the budget

The treasury is meeting rating agencies that identified the public service compensation as a threat to South Africa’s credit outlook

Back foot: After his expulsion from the ANC, Julius Malema went to Gold Fields’ mine near Carletonville to campaign for the nationalisation of mines. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)

Without the ANC, Malema is a ‘destroyer of confidence’ no more

As the ANC’s Youth League leader, Julius Malema spooked investors a decade ago by popularising calls to nationalise the mines

Covid-19 cast the economy adrift, but a less punishing new phase of the pandemic could set it back on track. (Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

2022: A return to normality or more economic uncertainty?

Covid-19 cast the economy adrift, but a less punishing new phase of the pandemic could set it back on track

A member of the Durban Metro Police looks at a looted retail store in central Durban, on July 11, 2021. – Several shops are damaged and cars burnt in Durban, following a night of violence. Police are on the scene trying to control further protests. It is unclear if this is linked to sporadic protests following the incarceration of former president Jacob Zuma. (Photo by – / AFP)

Unrest’s economic hit is likely temporary, but risk of fiscal strain mounts — Fitch

The ratings agency warned that South Africa’s public finances could be affected if the government reacts to the riots by easing fiscal policy

Repositioned: Lesetja Kganyago, the governor of the South African Reserve Bank, says transformation is about more than demographics; it’s about culture and strategy. Photo: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg/Getty Images

Kganyago: Monetary policy entails trade-offs

The South African Reserve Bank governor believes the state has to spur growth, restore the country’s public finances and arrest debt to escape the economic slump

Endowed with a third of the world’s supply of them, the continent must push for actions that have the most benefits for its people. (Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)

China blamed for Zambia’s debt, but the West’s banks and agencies enabled it

The narratives about the African country’s debt crisis are being used as fodder in geopolitical battles

Moody’s rating agency

South Africa has been junked

Treasury says the credit ratings downgrade “could not have come at a worse time”, as country enters a 21-day Covid-19 lockdown with little money saved up

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said he had hoped for a different outcome, but acknowledged the rating action by Moody’s with a heavy heart. (Reuters)

Moody’s stays mum on SA status

The ratings agency did not make a decision on South Africa’s rating leaving some analysts asking just when the axe will fall

Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago. (Bloomberg)

Kganyago: SA banks can hold out against a downgrade

Should Moody’s downgrade the country, South Africa will fall out of important global government bond indices

The bloc’s new development bank seems to be working hand in hand with global institutions such as the World Bank. Photo: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters

ANC wants Brics ratings agency as policy

​The ANC’s international relations subcommittee plans to push for the establishment of a Brics ratings agency to be official party policy.

Popo Francis was elected in 2013 and vowed to take a “zero tolerance” approach to clerical sex abuse. (Max Rossi/Reuters)

Fitch becomes second agency to downgrade SA’s credit rating to junk

Fitch cited the recent Cabinet reshuffle as a reason for the downgrade.