With an extra R45 billion, Godongwana bets on infrastructure and puts out fires

By Thebe Mabanga

With an additional R45 billion to spend in the current financial year, plus R10 billion recalled from the Central Energy Fund (CEF), Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana used the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) to respond to a number of pressing challenges, from fuel price relief and gender-based violence to accelerating infrastructure delivery, while identifying an additional R50 billion in savings over the next three years.

Godongwana highlighted how global and domestic economic conditions had changed drastically since he delivered the budget in February, mainly due to the outbreak of war involving the United States, Israel and Iran, which has led to a spike in energy prices.

On the domestic front, a strong rand and a new, lower inflation target have partly shielded the South African economy, but interest rates had to be raised or held steady when successive cuts had been expected before the war.

“Domestically, risks