BUDGET | Plenty of 'welcome' surprises but did Mboweni dig himself a hole with social grants?

25 Feb 2021

Londiwe Buthelezi and Jan Gerber

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Despite the applause around allocation for Covid-19 vaccines, government debt, the public wage bill and the cut in social grants remain thorny issues in this year's budget. Photo: Jaco Marais

After Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered the 2021 budget on Wednesday, analysts and political parties welcomed the reprioritisation of expenditure towards Covid-19 vaccines.

They were also pleasantly surprised by no tax increases and no introduction of new taxes, even though government has been touting a wealth tax for a while.

However, projections of government debt - though lower than in October 2020 - the public wage bill, and the cut in social grants remain thorny issues

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