SA in a better fiscal position heading into Medium-Term Budget: Absa

Absa says South Africa is in a better fiscal position heading into next week’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop.

The budget will set out the framework for government spending and revenue collection over the next three years.

Absa Senior Economist, Miyelani Maluleke says the unfolding geopolitical conflicts have dealt a major blow to the world economy.

Maluleke says this has also driven down the prices of some of South Africa’s key commodity exports like platinum and palladium while petroleum import prices have risen substantially.

“But we should say that despite this challenging macro environment, we are still encouraged by the fiscal performance that we have seen.

We do remain confident that Finance Minister (Enoch) Godongwana and his team will be able to stick to their consolidation plan, which is anchored around narrowing these fiscal deficits, reducing South Africa’s debt and borrowing costs over time,” explains Maluleke.

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