Finance minister Tito Mboweni shocked the nation last week by presenting a medium-term budget that shows SA has backed itself into a fiscal crisis and will be in debt distress in a few years if the status quo continues.

Financial markets were appalled by the deterioration in SA’s debt metrics and the absence of a credible plan to take evasive action or deal with Eskom’s R440bn debt. In the immediate aftermath, government bonds sold off sharply and the rand weakened nearly 3% against the dollar...