March 2020

Obviously, the major focus for most in March has been responding to the budget speech delivered by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni on March 4.

The theme that most seem to be taking from what Mboweni stated is that now is the time when more needs to be done with less. There is not enough money in government coffers to sustain service levels as they sit currently – something has to give.

Unfortunately, transport, housing, provision of basic infrastructure, education and health will also see reduced spending in the medium term as each sector looks to rein in spending to help balance the books.

The difficult speech for Mboweni was not as bad as many had previously thought, managing to avoid major VAT hikes. But it looks like the country has a long way to go before meaningful spending and growth will return to the market. This confirms what many have been fearing for so long. Let’s hope that the announcement on March 27 from Moody’s will not follow the same route and the country can avoid junk status.

For business, the ‘keep calm and carry on’ mentality is characterised best by SATIB Insurance Brokers, the leading hospitality and tourism risk business, which is still expanding across the continent while celebrating 30 years in business. CEO Dewald Cillie tells us: “As South Africans, we are always positive and optimistic about the outlook and where we can go. If we are left with no option but to fight, then we will fight.”

Other companies with similar feelings featuring this month include Securitas RSA, the global security company looking to dominate the local market by 2023; the Iconic Collective, a leading integrated communications agency looking for international growth to drive its establishment; and Silica, the leading trading tech company, also looking to grow outside of South Africa.

Get in touch and tell us how you view the budget and how your company is planning to mitigate any unwanted impact. We’re online at LinkedIn.