CAPE TOWN — It is budget day in South Africa. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivers the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) to the National Assembly on Wednesday, setting out the government's revised economic outlook and adjusted expenditure estimates for the years ahead, SAnews reports.
The statement, tabled under section 28 of the Public Finance Management Act, is Parliament's annual chance to test how the government intends to balance economic growth, service delivery and fiscal sustainability. Bloomberg reports Godongwana is poised to unveil a fiscal anchor — a framework to keep government debt on a sustainable path — intended to turn stronger-than-expected revenue, contained spending and growing primary surpluses into lasting fiscal gains, even as external shocks pressure the numbers.
The MTBPS, often called the mini budget, also lets departments apply for adjustments and request funding for unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure. After it is tabled, Parliament's finance and appropriations committees will hold public hearings with stakeholders before the February national budget.
Wednesday is a two-part data day as well: Statistics South Africa is due to release consumer inflation and retail sales figures, with a Reuters poll of economists expecting headline inflation to have climbed to 4.7 per cent in September from 4.4 per cent in August. The rand was steady near R16.40 to the dollar heading into the speech, with investors waiting on both the minister and the data.
