Cape Times 2026-02-27

South Africa’s business community has broadly welcomed the 2026 Budget delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, describing it as credible, reform-oriented and supportive of renewed macroeconomic stability, even as economists caution that growth remains too modest to transform the economy. Godongwana on Wednesday said the government debt would stabilise for the first time in 17 years as the budget deficit narrows and debt-service costs ease. The 2026 Budget Review projects the debt-to-GDP ratio peaking at 78.9% in 2025/26, slightly above prior estimates due to weaker nominal growth and higher borrowing. However, debt-service costs as a share of revenue are expected to fall to 20.2% by 2028/29. In separate statements, Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA), Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), and South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) all endorsed…

Finance minister tells the media that the budget is not a panacea for solving all social and economic challenges in one stroke Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has mounted a robust defence of government’s fiscal strategy, arguing that macroeconomic stability, structural reform, infrastructure investment and improved living standards form the backbone of South Africa’s economic turnaround. Speaking on Thursday during a media engagement following the tabling of the 2026 National Budget Review, Godongwana said the Budget is not a panacea for solving all social and economic challenges in one stroke. He said the Budget was not designed to fix every problem at once, but to stabilise the foundation of the economy. At the centre of that strategy is macroeconomic stability, the first of what he called government’s four pillars. “Our critics…

Government has placed the fight against organised crime and the multibillion-rand illicit economy at the centre of its strategy to reduce unemployment and accelerate economic growth, arguing that criminal syndicates are undermining investment, destroying jobs and draining the fiscus. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni on Thursday said Cabinet believes economic recovery cannot be sustained without restoring the rule of law and dismantling criminal networks that fuel illicit trade. Briefing the media following the latest Cabinet meeting, Ntshavheni said the fight against organised crime and weaknesses in the criminal justice system are being driven through a multi-pronged strategy, including the implementation of the National Organised Crime Combat Plan. This includes deploying the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in gang-ridden hotspots and re-vetting members of the police, metro police and…

Big tobacco industry’s push for regulatory separation between cigarettes and non-combustion nicotine products was shot down yesterday by the National Department of Health (NDoH) which however agreed to consider new clauses on dealing with illicit trade. The Department of Health said it supported a single, consolidated tobacco regulatory framework, saying in parliament that there are no benefits to “coming up with many pieces of legislation” that will require separate legislative processes. “We can put all tobacco and related products in one Bill and if there is a need to differentiate between them, we can do so in different sections of the same Act. This clearly does not call for separate legislation,” said the department in response to issues raised by stakeholders. It added that differentiation could be achieved within different…

When Tongaat Hulett announced restructuring that could cost as many as 40,000 jobs, it was not merely a corporate failure. It was a structural alarm. In a country where official unemployment exceeds 30% — and youth unemployment remains persistently above 50% — the loss of tens of thousands of jobs is more than an economic shock. It exposes a deeper question: At the same time, artificial intelligence is accelerating labour market disruption faster than policymakers anticipated. The convergence of industrial decline and technological automation is reshaping employment at unprecedented speed. AI Is Compressing White-Collar Employment Across boardrooms and professional services firms, artificial intelligence is already performing tasks once reserved for highly trained white-collar workers. AI systems are: n Drafting contracts n Analysing financial models n Producing legal research n Generating…

Absa's latest Merchant Spend Analytics data released on Wednesday indicated that there was an uptick in consumer activity in December, with card spending rising by 10% and transaction volumes up 7% compared to November. Absa, however, said that year-on-year, the data indicates a subdued demand environment: spending declined by 3% y/y compared to December 2024, and the number of transactions fell by 4%. Absa said that the final stretch of 2025 brought a familiar rise in consumer activity, as South Africans stepped up their year-end spending across Black Friday and the festive season. “While Absa’s latest Merchant Spend Analytics report shows a clear seasonal lift in both transaction volumes and value on a month-to-month basis, the broader year-on-year picture points to a more cautious consumer,” it said. Absa added that…