SAfm, Wednesday evening

T's and C's apply. The market update Monday to Thursday, 6 to 7 p.m. Okay, let's get you more on the medium-term budget policy statement that was delivered by National Treasury this afternoon. Many website editor Reik Fanny Cark is in conversation with the Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. Minister, thank you so much for joining us. I think we can describe the 2026 medium-term budget policy statement as the fiscal industry.

MTBPS and I think you've announced very very good news but we still need to see the final outcomes of the debt to GDP ratio but do you think we've reached that genuine turning point? Yes we've done we've done if you read I mean you can check the book the chapter the relevant chapter will show the graph I saw the graph and I see some really ambitious targets of reducing the ratio to around 66% in 2035 that is what's it nine ten years from now yeah so the fiscal anchor you've announced

It's a principle-based fiscal anchor, and I think it's a very, very welcome introduction into our fiscal policy. How do you foresee it work in practice? In practice, it's the following: fiscals, we will have a fiscal sustainability as a standard, broadly. What then happens is that every administration will have to meet fiscal sustainability. It must produce a fiscal plan, say in 2021, a new administration.

Comes in in twenty twenty nine. It must produce a document which is called a fiscal plan, and that fiscal plan must meet fiscal sustainability. For it to fiscal finance certainty test is going to be done by the fiscal and financial commission. The fiscal and financial commission will then evaluate and assess whether that plan meets fiscal sustainability standards. I see that there are reports that the government of national unity and the cabinet have approved this plan.

Unanimously. I don't think that has ever happened in the recent past. Was there robust debate within Cabinet regarding the proposed anchor? No, not too much, other than people were worried you might be closing space for Future Government to make it whereas when we tried to fight, everybody was happy. Why did you choose the option of a principle-based fiscal anchor? There were proposals from organisations such as the IMF to have a more concrete anchor, such as a fixed proposal.

Of say 70% of GDP. Why did you take that route, the principal based route? The problem with a more concrete one, they are all collapsing across the globe as we speak. Because you set yourself an unrealistic target, whereas your target must be based on the economic assumptions at the time. Minister, the government has provided guarantees to the SIA and denial 1 billion rand to the SIA and 660 million plus for