Reality: the ANC rules, OK?

Treasury budget divorced from reality is a futile exercise. It's a wish list, not an executable plan.

- William Saunderson-Meyer

Unfortunately, the ties between the budget and reality are now even more tenuous. It's an untethering that started during the presidency of Jacob Zuma and accelerated under Cyril Ramaphosa.

That reality gap – the difference between dreamy intentions and SA's dismal fiscal situation – is starkly evident in the annual budget.

Last week's second attempt by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to table a budget that passes parliamentary muster must be measured against an ANC-managed economy in desperate straits. And time is of the essence.

There has to be a commitment to the privatisation of state-owned entities. Big increases to public service workers have to be rescinded. The skills development agencies have to be shuttered. The burden failed broad-based black economic empowerment (B-BBEE) policies place on public procurement has to be reduced.