On Thursday, finance minister Enoch Godongwana will table his maiden medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) amid several macroeconomic and market headwinds and worsening domestic socioeconomic conditions.

The short-term priorities are less of a headache. Tax revenues will outperform the 2021 February budget, and they must be split between extending the social relief of distress grant over a specified period, the 2021/2022 public sector wage deal and reducing debt issuance. ..