Finance minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his maiden national budget speech in Cape Town on February 23.

This address came against a backdrop of low economic growth, record unemployment and a slow recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Godongwana was expected to have some breathing room given a large revenue overrun due to the commodities boom.

But with the year-long extension of the social relief of distress grant — and calls to make this permanent in the form of a basic income grant — high levels of debt, low growth forecasts, ailing state-owned enterprises, and a less-than-hospitable international environment, headwinds persist.

What does this mean for SA? The FM, in partnership with the Paternoster Group and Citadel, hosted a virtual panel discussion on February 24 to dissect the 2022 budget.

Moderated by Richard Calland, founding partner of the Paternoster Group, the panel included:

• Enoch Godongwana, finance minister;
• Claire Bisseker, FM economics editor; and
• George Herman, chief investment officer of Citadel.

Watch a recording of the webinar below: