Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will need to answer several questions as the country battles with its infrastructure in some cities.
JOHANNESBURG - South Africans will be watching Wednesday's medium-term budget policy statement very closely, particularly as Eskom battles to keep the lights on.
Investec group chief economist, Annabel Bishop, says it remains to be seen what will happen with the country's debt, which includes Eskom. "The budget is a balancing act. You essentially have to look at what you get in, your revenue, and what expenditure is and obviously borrow the difference and of course, the more you borrow, the bigger the increase in your debt and of course that reduces the quality of your debt and the increase in the supply tends to push up borrowing costs."
She also says the country's growth was predicted at about 1.9%, and this figure should be revised on Wednesday, with a need to increase exports after the Transnet strike. "The bottom line essentially is that South Africa needs to increase its economic growth and production and of course exports in order to have a stronger growing economy, which will mean much more employment."