Every reason to fear Tito Mboweni’s budget speech will be a damp squib
The minister needs to buck his party’s orthodoxy and stake out policy positions that would seek to fix some issues
Having accumulated more than R3-trillion in public sector debt, the profligacy of the past 10 years continues to devour SA’s future. Our increasing debt repayment costs consume an ever rising share of national income, leaving less and less money to spend on our many national challenges. Debt service charges are now the fastest rising spending item on the budget: it is twice as large as our spending on post school education and roughly the size of what we spend on public healthcare.
On Wednesday, finance minister Tito Mboweni will present the 2019 medium-term budget policy statement. In a rational world, this is a document that would confront head-on the urgent task of setting public finances on a more sustainable path. But, in a world in which policymakers are both indecisive and constrained by the need to please diverse constituencies, there is every reason to fear that it might be a damp squib...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.