All eyes were on finance minister Tito Mboweni on Wednesday as he delivered his 2020 budget speech.
The minister expressed optimism that while SA's economy was not in good shape, it could return to its former glory when it achieved consecutive years of strong economic growth between 2003 and 2008.
He also pointed out a need for the government to hire more public servants such as teachers and police to ensure better service delivery.
Here's a summary of his speech in seven key quotes:
Property transfer costs
“To support the property market, the threshold for transfer duties is adjusted. Property costing R1m or less will no longer be subject to transfer duty.”
More public servants needed
“Once we get wage growth, corruption and wasteful expenditure under control, we will focus our attention on hiring in important areas such as education, police and health care. We can hire strategically, and better match skills with opportunities.”
Reserve Bank to remain independent
“The Reserve Bank will continue to undertake its duties in line with section 224 of the constitution, which is to perform its functions independently without fear, favour or prejudice in the interest of balanced and sustainable growth in the republic.”
Youth unemployment
“About 8.2-million young people between the ages of 15 and 34 are not in education, employment or training. Government is committed to helping them. To date, job fund projects have created more than 175,000 permanent jobs and helped 21, 000 people into internships and created 59,000 short-term jobs. Of these, 65% went to youth.”
Keeping the lights on
“The government will do whatever it takes to ensure a stable electricity supply. As I said, it is our number one task. We have allocated R230bn over 10 years to achieve the restructuring of the electricity sector.”
South African Airways
“The SAA sword has now fallen on us. SAA has been placed under business rescue, which will lead to a radically restructured airline. Over the medium term, government has allocated R16.4bn to settle guaranteed debt and interest.”
Sovereign wealth fund
“A wealth fund is an important long-term tool for saving and investment for future generations. It can also contribute to strengthening the fiscal framework. We must learn to save during the good times, and a fund can play a role as a counter-cyclical fiscal tool. Today we announce the wealth fund with a target capital of about R300bn, which converts to about US$20bn.”
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