Particle.news
Download on the App Store
18 ARTICLES
·
last mo.

South Africa Lowers Inflation Target to 3% as Mini‑Budget Sets Path to Stabilise Debt

Markets cheered the shift, with weak growth projections posing execution risk.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana was candid with business at an RMB Think Budget breakfast on 13 November. (Photo: Neesa Moodley)
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has taken steps to identify cases where people are 'double-dipping' in the social grant system. (Photo: Gallo Images / Brenton Geach)
Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana briefs members of the media before tabling the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament, Cape Town, on 12 November 2025. (Photo: Jairus Mmutle / GCIS)
Image

Overview

  • Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s MTBPS formalised a 3% inflation target within a 2%–4% band, a coordinated move with the Reserve Bank.
  • The rand strengthened and government bond yields declined on the announcement, reflecting improved investor confidence.
  • Treasury projects debt stabilisation at about 77.9% of GDP in 2025/26 and a narrowing deficit, though GDP growth is cut to 1.2% for 2025 and averages about 1.8% through 2028.
  • The Targeted and Responsible Savings drive identifies roughly R6.7 billion in medium‑term savings and flags 8,854 suspect payroll cases as part of an anti‑waste push.
  • Revenue estimates were revised up by about R19.3–R19.7 billion, with a possible R35 billion mining‑sector upside not yet built in, as Treasury readies infrastructure financing tools including a planned R15 billion bond and PPP reforms.