NATIONAL NEWS - Minister Enoch Godongwana will deliver the Budget speech today. Here’s when to watch it and what to expect.
Godongwana will provide details of spending and make proposals about how the priorities outlined in the President’s State of the Nation Address will be funded.
The Budget will also outline the funds to be allocated to different spheres of government, departments and state entities.
When is the budget speech?
The 2022 budget speech will be delivered at 14:00 and live-streamed across various social media platforms.
The 2022 budget speech is the most significant ever, especially after President Cyril Ramaphosa shared positive signs of a change in policy direction during his State of the Nation Address (Sona).
The Citizen’s Ina Opperman asks: “Will Minister Godongwana show some of the ‘tough love’ he mentioned in his mid-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) for the state-owned entities (SOEs) and let go of underperforming ones that are no longer considered strategically relevant?”
It also remains to be seen whether the finance minister will support Ramaphosa’s ideas, or side with the left on the debate around whether the private sector should lead job creation, and not the state, writes Erik Naki.
Meanwhile, there is an “undercurrent of gatvolness” in South Africa, with faith in government at an all-time low. Hein Kaiser writes: “Many South Africans have no idea who the current Minister of Finance is at all”.
That said, the Twittersphere is likely to errupt, and online analyst Carmen Murray tells The Citizen this could fuel socio-political instability.
