HILARY JOFFE: Reflecting on the lessons of the upbeat 2007 budget
Perhaps the biggest budgetary lesson of the past decade or two is simply about the limits of the budget itself
20 February 2022 - 20:28
As finance minister Enoch Godongwana readies to present budget numbers that are better than investors have seen for several years, it’s worth taking a walk back in history.
The 2007 budget was, in retrospect, the last budget of almost pure optimism. The economy had grown by almost 5% the previous year, and the National Treasury was forecasting growth would average 5.1% a year out to 2010 and was targeting 6%. The government had achieved a small budget surplus for the first time in decades and was budgeting for a surplus again in the 2008 fiscal year...
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