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Vol 67 No 5

Published 6th March 2026


South Africa

Debt peaks as Treasury pushes for growth and credibility

The proposed Budget steadies public finances and gives taxpayers some relief, but sluggish growth and the jobs crisis still cast a shadow

South Africa has reached the peak of its debt mountain this fiscal year, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana told Parliament in Cape Town in his 25 February Budget speech. Stabilising public finances – helped in part by a commodity price-driven rise in mining earnings and revenues – will allow him to increase infrastructure spending, offer tax breaks to job-creating small businesses, and argue that ratings agencies should upgrade South Africa’s sovereign rating. Within the limits of budgetary discipline, Godongwana tried to bolster upbeat economic sentiment but he faced harsh realities: business applauded his measures, unionists and activists were unimpressed.

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