South Africa: fiscal balancing act

In this session we review the likely choices and fiscal options facing the South Africa finance minister and the implications for consumers and the commercial sector.Enoch Godongwana, South Africa’s minister of finance will table the government’s budget in late February. He has an unenviable task, given global developments over which has no control but impact the country’s finances (e.g. US Fed monetary policy), as well as a difficult set of domestic factors, including divisions in the African National Congress and a cynical base of tax payers numbed by scandals, corruption and low levels of service delivery and accountability. Kevin Lings, chief economist at STANLIB will join us to discuss the fiscal options available to Mr Godongwana and the hard choices the minister is likely to make. Importantly, we’ll also explore with Mr Lings and Corporate Network members the budget implications for commercial and other stakeholders.