#MTBPS2015: Nene urges SA to get used to tough times
The public sector pay deal loomed large in South African Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene’s medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) which, apart from this one example of what some will see as largesse, struck a sombre, cautious chord.
As widely expected, Nene revised the government’s growth targets down. He said the economy was now expected to grow at 1.5 percent this year, down from the earlier expectation of 2 percent, and by 1.7 percent next year, revised down from the 2.4 percent predicted in February’s budget.
Nene appeared to urge South Africans to get used to the so-called “new normal” of lower growth and higher volatility which, he said, would be features of the world economy for some time to come. Despite the various headwinds, Nene’s message was clear that Treasury was staying the course in terms of its longer term fiscal plans. - ANA
(File photo: Gallo Images)