What investors are watching in Budget 2023: Eskom, budget deficit, water supply, fuel costs – Nezo Sobekwa

In a week that has seen another round of Stage 6 loadshedding with whispers of a dreaded Stage 8, Finance Minister Godongwana faces the task of incorporating a credible debt-relief plan for Eskom, while stabilising government finances in his annual budget, to be presented on Wednesday, 22nd February. Nezo Sobekwa from S&P Global told Biznews that investors would be looking at how the finance minister would be spending more money on Eskom debt, how he dealt with the public sector wage bill and what the country's GDP growth prospects were. Sobekwa said there were positives in terms of revenue collection and the number of jobs that had been created but said that the budget deficit would have to be revised. Eskom was not the minister's only headache, he said, problems with water supply and fuel costs were expected to impact growth. He expected the minister to say that he would not dish out more money to SOEs or salary increase, but that resolve could disappear down the road. And while the timing of a naval exercise with Russia and China was unfortunate while Ukraine marked a year since the Russian invasion, Sobekwa did not expect it to damage relations with the West. – Linda van Tilburg Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices