EWA

When Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivers the 2021 budget, he will do so fully cognizant that South Africans of all walks of life are being stretched – some beyond breaking point – as businesses take strain and some succumb to the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment figure is alarming and unsustainable, and unless Mboweni and his team manage to implement meaningful stimulus to the formal economy, it is at risk of rising further. Sadly, millions in formal employment are not faring much better. PwC’s Financial Wellness Survey found that 89% of employees in the country were worried about paying off their loans and bills as of August last year.  It would be a brave pundit to presume that figure would be lower in February 2021, just weeks after the traditionall...

When Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivers the 2021 budget, he will do so fully cognizant that South Africans of all walks of life are being stretched – some beyond breaking point – as businesses take strain and some succumb to the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The unemployment figure is alarming and unsustainable, and unless Mboweni and his team manage to implement meaningful stimulus to the formal economy, it is at risk of rising further. Sadly, millions in formal employment are not faring much better. PwC’s Financial Wellness Survey found that 89% of employees in the country were worried about paying off their loans and bills as of August last year.  It would be a brave pundit to presume that figure would be lower in February 2021, just weeks after the traditionall...