Key institution left with murky role, if any, in fiscal policy 14 February 2021 - 00:00 By Sam Mkokeli
A credible plan to halt SA s deteriorating public finances was one of the notable omissions in President Cyril Ramaphosa s state of the nation address on Thursday, experts say, underlining concerns about how SA s public debt has spiralled dramatically in the past decade as the government s economic growth narrative fast loses credibility.
At the root of the concerns is a growing perception that the National Treasury has lost the political clout it once had, and that under finance minister Tito Mboweni it is being reduced to an implementing agency, rather than the engine room of the economy it was once regarded as being.