A weak economy and poor job and pay prospects have pushed the projected revenue shortfall to a cumulative R251bn over the next three years, the Treasury revealed in the medium-term budget policy statement on Wednesday.

The shortfalls, along with R161bn in Eskom bailouts, will see budget deficits climb 2.2 percentage points higher, on average, than finance minister Tito Mboweni projected in February, with the government's debt set to jump to more than 70% of the size of the economy over the three years if nothing is done to arrest the slide...