South Africa sticking with fiscal prudence

In today’s budget speech, South Africa’s finance minister tried (largely successfully) to pull off the difficult task of sticking to fiscal prudence while partly relieving the struggling state-owned electricity company, Eskom, of its debt burden. But with pressures on the fiscal position likely to build, the risk is that the public debt ratio will peak at higher level and later than the government expects.

Africa Drop-In (23rd Feb): We’ll be discussing the key risks around Nigeria’s presidential election – including the prospects for its oil industry – in an online briefing at 09:00 EST/14:00 GMT Thursday, 23rd February. Register here.