Finance minister Enoch Godongwana delivered his 2023 budget speech this past week to a nation battling to keep the lights on and draw investment. The economy is in ICU and there seems little more than resilience keeping it alive.
Increases in social grants and tax breaks may have helped alleviate the burden on consumers, though only slightly, but the minister made it clear the economy was struggling.
Aggressive power cuts remain the biggest hindrance to economic recovery, with high levels of continous load-shedding. The disarray within power utility Eskom was not helped by the dismissal of its already outgoing CEO André de Ruyter with immediate effect this week, just hours after a controversial and explosive interview he did with eNCA was aired.
Possible investment was also threatened when the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the world’s money laundering watchdog, greylisted South Africa as a possible source of funding for terrorism. This also means that South African businesses doing business abroad will come under intensified scrutiny.
However, acting National Treasury director-general Ismail Momoniat said the greylisting won’t affect the country's financial sector.
Despite the crises that plague the country, South Africans remain hopeful and resilient until there is a sign of life again.
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