Mid-term Budget Speech signals fiscal turnaround, experts respond

SOUTH Africa’s latest Midterm Budget Speech tabled on Wednesday has drawn a cautiously optimistic response from key voices in finance, youth development, and energy.

- DIEKETSENG MALEKE

Jurgen Eckmann, wealth manager at Consult by Momentum, says: “The Minister’s upbeat tone today reflects what many investors have been hoping to hear for years: that South Africa’s finances are finally on a stronger footing.”

The country’s removal from the FATF grey list has helped restore investor confidence, though it remains uncertain whether this will translate into a surge in foreign direct investment. More notably, for the first time since 2008, government debt is expected to stabilise and South Africa will post a primary budget surplus, meaning core spending is being funded through tax revenue rather than new borrowing.

Eckmann called this “an important shift, showing that the fiscus is starting to live within its means.”