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Budget News

Research reveals gap in Covid-19 funding for businesses in townships

By: Donna Slater 7th April 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic and the current lockdown are already having a devastating impact on South Africa’s economy, with informal and small businesses in townships likely to feel the brunt of the impact. A study by postgraduate students at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and entrepreneurs from... →

Unemployment beneficiaries wait while Nedlac discussions progress

By: Donna Slater 7th April 2020 Many employers are waiting for greater clarity regarding unemployment benefits for their staff that have been temporarily laid off during the national lockdown, which is enforced from March 27 to April 16 to curb the spread of Covid-19, according to business law firm Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH).... →

Gillian Lumb

Unctad says Covid-19 implications go as far as intl investment agreements

By: Marleny Arnoldi 7th April 2020 New data from intergovernmental body, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s (Unctad’s) investment policy monitor shows that investment policy responses to the Covid-19 pandemic vary from country to country. The responses include measures supporting investors and domestic... →

Standard Chartered to launch $50m global fund for Covid-19 relief

By: Marleny Arnoldi 3rd April 2020 International banking group Standard Chartered has launched a $50-million global fund to provide assistance to those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Half of the funding will immediately be deployed for relief in the group’s most affected markets, while the balance will help communities over... →

New tech needs consulting engineers buy-in

By: Darren Parker 3rd April 2020 Construction connection technology company Peikko is working to raise awareness among consulting engineers in South Africa of the potential that its bolted column connection technology and associated solutions could have to transform the construction industry. The Finnish company entered the... →

BUILDING TRUST Peikko's technology has been adopted to some success in a few projects since entering the country

Local project scarcity causes loss of top-class engineers

By: Darren Parker 3rd April 2020 The scarcity of public-sector projects is leading to massive retrenchments and the loss of South Africa’s world-class consulting engineers to foreign markets, says law firm LNP Attorneys CE Nikita Lalla. “Insufficient project implementation is causing the engineering and construction sector... →

NIKITA LALLA There is an abundance of talking without timeous, practical implementation

AfDB leading the Covid-19 fight with financing in Africa

By: Marleny Arnoldi 2nd April 2020 The African Development Bank (AfDB) on April 1 approved $2-million in emergency assistance for the World Health Organisation (WHO). This will help reinforce the organisation’s capacity to help African countries contain the Covid-19 pandemic and mitigate its impacts. →

IMF to consider Senegal's $221m emergency funding request

By: Marleny Arnoldi 2nd April 2020 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has completed discussions with Senegal, following its request that the IMF disburse $221-million in emergency funding. Senegal requested the funds to help address the economic challenges posed by the spread of Covid-19 in the country. →

Santam commits R200m to assist clients, suppliers and for the Solidarity Fund

By: Donna Slater 1st April 2020 Financial services provider and general insurer, Santam Group, has committed R200-million in Covid-19 relief to help clients and suppliers and to contribute to the government’s Solidarity Fund. Santam Group will also contribute to flattening the Covid-19 curve through additional corporate social... →

Treasury mum on upcoming Moody's decision – but says SA is still within budget

By: News24Wire 24th March 2020 While National Treasury cannot yet comment on Moody's rating decision, expected this week, Director General Dondo Mogajane says that for now, Treasury is still acting within its means in addressing the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak. Mogajane was on Tuesday speaking at a briefing in Pretoria,... →

Photo by Creamer Media
Treasury DG Dondo Mogajane

Monetary Policy Committee does more harm than good, academics argue

By: Marleny Arnoldi 17th March 2020 Gordon Institute of Business Science economics lecturer Dr Roelof Botha says hawkish monetary policy has curtailed South Africa’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth by R560-billion. He explains in a statement that, for the past five years, South Africa’s economy has increasingly been suffering... →

PwC says economic impact of Covid-19 warrants interest rate cut

By: Marleny Arnoldi 17th March 2020 The South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has started gathering for its bi-monthly meeting from March 17 to 19. This after the MPC was pressured to meet earlier at the beginning of March, owing to the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. At the time, SARB... →

Economy will be severely impacted by coronavirus - Ramaphosa

By: News24Wire 16th March 2020 With South Africa's economy already feeling the pinch of the Covid-19 pandemic, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that government is on the verge of finalising a comprehensive package of interventions to mitigate the expected impact. The president announced this in an address to the nation... →

National nonrevenue water programme in development

By: Darren Parker 13th March 2020 The State-owned Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is spearheading a programme targeting the creation of a centralised national office to tackle non-revenue water projects for municipalities while seeking innovative funding solutions. DBSA product development specialist Johann Lübbe and... →

IN THE PIPELINE The national non-revenue water central office and programme should be fully operational by the end of 2021

Western Cape prioritises safety in 2020 budget, trims staff expenses

By: Marleny Arnoldi 10th March 2020 Safety has been prioritised by the Western Cape in its 2020 budget, with R4-billion allocated for this purpose in the medium term. Specifically, R1.1-billion will be used over the medium term to deploy more law enforcement officers to fight crime in the province. →

Western Cape Finance and Economic Opportunities Minister David Maynier

Big Five coins to promote platinum investment in South Africa

By: Marleny Arnoldi 9th March 2020 Prestige Bullion, a joint venture between the South African Mint and precious metals smelter Rand Refinery, will produce a new range of platinum coins, suited to retail investors, this year. This marks Prestige Bullion’s first entry into the platinum bullion market. →

The Big Five range coin marks Prestige Bullion's first entry into the platinum bullion market

Africa records low equity capital market activity for 2019

By: Marleny Arnoldi 5th March 2020 African equity capital market (ECM) activity declined sharply in 2019 both in volume, by 29%, and value, by 44%, compared with 2018. Professional services firm PwC on Thursday reported in its ‘African Capital Markets Watch’ publication that 2019 had seen the lowest ECM proceeds in the last ten... →

Attacq lifts interim dividend despite ‘extremely negative’ environment

By: Simone Liedtke 3rd March 2020 Real estate investment trust (Reit) Attacq on Tuesday announced an 11.1% increase to its interim dividend to 45c a share, which positions the group to deliver at the upper end of its full-year guidance of between 8% and 10% growth in dividends. Building on this positive performance within an... →

BLSA commends govt’s efforts to curb expenditure, spur growth

By: Marleny Arnoldi 2nd March 2020 With what it believes was the most difficult National Budget since the dawn of democracy in South Africa, business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) says Finance Minister Tito Mboweni last week delivered substance over bluster, which the private sector has been crying out for.... →

Mboweni: Private pensions should also be used to help cut Eskom's debt

By: News24Wire 27th February 2020 Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said on Wednesday that a Congress of South African Trade Unions proposal to transfer some of Eskom's debt to State-asset manager the Public Investment Corporation, which manages civil servant pensions, is a "good idea", adding that all pensions - not just public... →

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni

South African budget highlights scale of fiscal deterioration – Fitch

By: African News Agency 27th February 2020 South Africa's 2020 budget review highlights the severe deterioration underway in public finances and the long-term policy challenge of stabilising government debt, ratings agency Fitch said. Fitch, which like S&P Global has downgraded South Africa's credit standing to sub-investment grade, said... →

National budget funds major science, technology and higher education projects

By: Rebecca Campbell 27th February 2020 Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Dr Blade Nzimande has welcomed the allocations made to his departments (Higher Education and Training, and Science and Innovation) in the 2020 national budget. The budget assigns R396-billion to the two departments. Two major initiatives are being... →

Photo by Donna Slater/Creamer Media
Dr Blade Nzimande

Minerals Council CEO says Mboweni is on the right path

By: African News Agency 27th February 2020 The Minerals Council South Africa on Wednesday said it believed Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has taken important steps to address South Africa’s economic crisis, building on the direction from President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Nation Address two weeks ago. “But it is just the... →

2020 Budget Speech

27th February 2020 Creamer Media’s Chanel de Bruyn speaks to Engineering News Editor Terence Creamer about highlights from Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s 2020 Budget Speech and whether enough has been done to stave off a downgrade to junk status by Moody’s. →

2020 Budget Speech

Cranes, construction equipment to become everyday sight across South Africa

By: Simone Liedtke 26th February 2020 Over the next three years, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) will package blended finance megaprojects of at least R200-billion, while government has committed R10-billion for such projects over the same period. Capital spending is the fastest-growing component of non-interest... →

Govt working on environmental fiscal reform paper, as carbon tax increases 5.6%

By: Simone Liedtke 26th February 2020 The National Treasury on Wednesday confirmed that government was preparing to publish an environmental fiscal reform review paper. The paper will explore the potential for new environmental taxes and reforms to existing instruments, such as restructuring the general fuel levy to include a local... →

Contingent liabilities set to rise to R980bn

By: Simone Liedtke 26th February 2020 Contingent liabilities, which are mainly guarantees to State-owned companies (SOCs) are projected to reach R979.9-billion on March 31, 2020. According to Finance Minister Tito Mboweni, who tabled the 2020 National Budget, in Parliament, on Wednesday, government’s “long record of prudent debt... →

Treasury commits R157m to Jobs Fund projects

By: Simone Liedtke 26th February 2020 A total of R157-million has been committed to projects within South Africa’s Jobs Fund in this year’s National Budget, which was delivered by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Wednesday. However, the Jobs Fund requested that the R157-million only be released at a later stage, when the funds are... →

South Africa to establish sovereign wealth fund, State bank

By: Simone Liedtke 26th February 2020 Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on Wednesday announced the formation of the South African Sovereign Wealth Fund, which would target a capital amount of about R30-billion. Given the legal, administrative and procedural issues involved, Mboweni said that a relevant Bill first had to clear... →

Mboweni homes in on wage bill as he holds R156bn expenditure-reduction line

By: Terence Creamer 26th February 2020 Finance Minister Tito Mboweni stuck doggedly to the expenditure-reduction framework first outlined in October, announcing cuts of R156-billion relative to the 2019 Budget baseline for the coming three years, a sizeable portion of which would be derived from cuts to the public-sector wage bill.... →

Photo by Bloomberg
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni

Strengthening Sars ‘will take time’, says Mboweni

By: Simone Liedtke 26th February 2020 Strengthening the South African Revenue Service will remain one of government’s top priorities for this year. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni emphasised that building a capable State that serves South Africa, is “integrally linked to the success of Sars”. To achieve this, Mboweni said the new Sars... →

R16.4bn allocated to cover SAA’s debt and debt costs

By: Terence Creamer 26th February 2020 Finance Minister Tito Mboweni announced on Wednesday that R16.4-billion would be allocated to South African Airways over the medium term to “repay the airline’s guaranteed debt and to cover debt-service costs”. Speaking to lawmakers, Mboweni said the “SAA Sword of Damocles has now fallen on us”,... →

Private electricity generation identified as most urgent structural reform for reigniting growth

By: Simone Liedtke 26th February 2020 With a weak economic outlook characterised by a real gross domestic product that is expected to grow at 0.9% in 2020, 1.3% in 2021 and 1.6% in 2022, South Africa is in dire need of far-reaching structural reforms to achieve faster economic growth. In contrast, global economic growth is expected... →

Cosatu: We will collapse the public service if wages are reviewed

By: News24Wire 26th February 2020 The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has threatened to strike and "collapse" the public service if government does not honour the current public service wage agreement, Cosatu national spokesperson Sizwe Pamla told Fin24 on Wednesday. The agreement is non-negotiable and any attempt... →

Nehawu says govt wants to review public sector wage deal

By: Reuters 26th February 2020 South African public sector union the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) said on Wednesday that the government wanted to review a three-year wage deal with public sector workers struck in 2018, calling the move "a declaration of war". Nehawu said in a statement that if... →

Time for govt to consider new strategies to get economic growth going, says Baxter

By: Marleny Arnoldi 21st February 2020 In what has been the longest economic downturn for the country since 1945, it has become necessary for government to consider alternative strategies and change various policies to allow business to grow the economy, Minerals Council South Africa CEO Roger Baxter said during a media briefing on... →

Minerals Council CEO Roger Baxter discusses the mining industry's contribution to the economy and what measures the council hopes will be announced in the upcoming National Budget to boost South Africa's economic growth. Video: Kutlwano Matlala; Editing: Nicholas Boyd.

Ahead of Budget speech, Deloitte says Mboweni faces ‘mammoth task’

By: Simone Liedtke 18th February 2020 Taking South Africa’s weak fiscal position and the scrutiny of ratings agencies into account, along with the country’s deteriorating economic outlook and the negative impact thereof on revenue collections, multinational auditing firm Deloitte says that Finance Minister Tito Mboweni “has a mammoth... →

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