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Brief note intended as a more regular interface with our clients. The emphasis is to provide our interpretation of important economic events, such as South African Reserve Bank interest rate statements, and key data releases, including GDP growth figures.
Newly appointed Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene faced a really tough test in his first Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) yesterday. For starters, he had to deal with a significantly weaker macroeconomic backdrop than was projected at the time of the February Budget. Furthermore, the credit rating agencies and financial markets were looking for credible proposals to contain government spending in the face of very high civil servant salary demands and sustained high unemployment. In the event the minister certainly rose to the occasion.
