The standout feature of the February 2021 budget was the National Treasury’s resolve in sticking to its fiscal consolidation path and using the bulk of a R100bn revenue windfall to consolidate SA’s debt.

This cheered the markets, especially as more than half of the R265bn in planned expenditure reduction was to be carved from the bloated wage bill, because it denoted a new level of seriousness by the government in getting to grips with SA’s fiscal challenges...