What we called for in last week’s Budget Speech 2020 was substance rather than the bluster of words of intent. Tito Mboweni rose to the challenge.

Tito Mboweni has faced up to the challenges and delivered a tough budget that will rescue the state from financial disaster – if it can be implemented.

South Africa’s national finances are in a perilous state and the finance minister will have the difficult task of setting out how they will be managed.

Much is riding in the 2020 Budget speech because a slide into full junk status by Moody’s is a very clear and present danger.

President Cyril Ramaphosa gave a positive SONA 2020 with some real plans to deal with our economic problems. The challenge is implementation.

As much as the government under President Cyril Ramaphosa focuses on drawing investment into the country, it is in matters such as freeing up the private sector, and in particular SMMEs, where we’ll find shorter, quicker pathways to a better growth outlook for the economy.

Broader macro constraints need to be tackled, such as the implementation of measures that will ensure energy security, stabilising the debt pile and consolidating the fiscus. Unless these are addressed, many participants may continue viewing events like the investment conference simply as mere talk shops.

Recovery should kick off with allowing state-owned enterprises to be run like businesses

The MTBPS has brought home how serious our financial predicament is. All social partners, including business, labour and civil society will have to work together to turn around what has become an entrenched low growth trend. BLSA is ready to play its part in developing the solutions needed to put South Africa back onto a growth path that will deliver our people a better future, free of poverty.

In years past, this week’s speech – that doesn’t carry as much weight as the February budget – was primarily seen as a marker in calendars of just when the state would be unofficially going on its summer holidays. It couldn’t be more different now as it will serve as a statement of intent of Ramaphosa’s first administration, and perhaps the constant date changes bear testimony to its importance – we hope.