8 things you need to know about South Africa’s fiscal position

This fact sheet by the Institute for Economic Justice analyzes South Africa's fiscal position, challenging the National Treasury's characterization of a 'fiscal crisis' and arguing against significant budget cuts to social spending.

• The anticipated revenue growth of 0.55% for 2023/24 represents a shortfall of R54.2 billion against National Treasury's target, but the Institute for Economic Justice argues this is not a collapse, noting the amount is half of the revenue collected in November 2022 alone. The shortfall is attributed to company tax changes, load shedding, and weak mining industry performance, with VAT underperforming due to refunds for business investments in load shedding solutions.
• Government spending in 2023/24 is expected to exceed the budget by between R67.8 billion and R105.8 billion. This overspend is attributed to National Treasury's planning inadequacies, unfunded budget submissions for social services, and a public sector wage settlement that was higher than expected.
• South Africa's debt-to-GDP ratio is consistent with averages for middle-income countries and emerging markets, and the projected deficit is comparable to peer countries and the 2019/20 deficit. While there is no short-term risk of a debt crisis, the country faces relatively high yearly debt service costs compared to peers, driven by a large share of expensive long-term debt, a decline in demand for emerging economy financial assets, and higher investor interest rates.
• The document argues that the current situation is a long-term structural crisis rather than an unprecedented emergency, noting that similar revenue shortfalls occurred before and during the Covid-19 pandemic. It warns that austerity measures lacking a growth strategy could increase the danger of a future crisis.

APA

iej_admin (2023). 8 things you need to know about South Africa’s fiscal position. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/resource/factsheet/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-south-africas-fiscal-position/

Chicago

iej_admin. 8 things you need to know about South Africa’s fiscal position. Institute for Economic Justice, 2023. https://iej.org.za/resource/factsheet/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-south-africas-fiscal-position/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=iej_admin |title=8 things you need to know about South Africa’s fiscal position |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=24 October 2023 |url=https://iej.org.za/resource/factsheet/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-south-africas-fiscal-position/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{iejadmin2023things, author = {iej\_admin}, title = {{8 things you need to know about South Africa’s fiscal position}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://iej.org.za/resource/factsheet/8-things-you-need-to-know-about-south-africas-fiscal-position/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }