Right Budget needed to pull SA from doldrums

TODAY, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is set to deliver his maiden Budget speech.

As things stand, power utility Eskom is on the brink of financial collapse, with experts warning that the state-owned entity may need as much as R200billion in order to stay afloat and not go under in April.

The last time Eskom received a bailout was back in 2015, when it was given a lifeline of R83bn.

The company needs almost double that amount to ensure the South African economy does not dip into the doldrums.

South Africans are tired. The past financial year has been one of many excuses and much finger-pointing from politicians, without anyone stepping up to take responsibility.

Load shedding has had a crippling effect in the wake of an incompetent board of directors that does not have the technical expertise required to run a complex entity such as Eskom.

It is evident that cheap politicking and passing the buck has had a negative impact on South Africa’s most strategic asset – so much so that the utility is going to be unbundled, leaving the country on a path to an uncertain future.

When Mboweni delivers his Budget, he will be facing a lot of pressure to ensure that the books and finances balance.

South Africa is in bad shape – the cost of living is at an all-time high, while the economy is not growing at the desired rate.

We are in the middle of an energy crisis that is continuously putting strain on consumers and many businesses, which are experiencing massive financial losses as a result of the gross mismanagement of the utility, which currently finds itself with a debt of about R490bn.

The finance minister will have a lot of pressure to deal with in this Budget speech – as was promised by President Cyril Ramaphosa – and for the sake of all South Africans, the right fiscal policy decisions need to be made in order to pull South Africa out of its economic doldrums.

Mboweni will be facing a lot of pressure to ensure that the books and finances balance