Where you can watch the 2024 Budget Speech live

 ·21 Feb 2024

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will deliver the 2023 budget speech on Wednesday (21 February) at 14h00.

The budget speech can be viewed through several channels, including TV services like DStv (channel 408), news channels, and live-streaming sources like YouTube.

You can watch the Budget Speech from the following sources:

The speech can also be streamed below:

The 2023 budget speech is expected to be tense and eventful, with the finance minister in the hot seat to address South Africa’s mounting issues.

At the top of the list of concerns will be debt-servicing costs and possible tax hikes.

Expert estimates show the government is facing a deficit of around R347 billion for the 2023/24 financial year – over 40% more than the previous year.

This is due to government spending significantly outpacing income and lower-than-expected tax revenue in 2023.

This has put Godongwana in a very tight position, said Citadel’s chief investment officer George Herman.

He said the government will get a wake-up call in the Finance Minister’s Budget Speech this week as debt-servicing costs are likely to become the largest spending item in the budget.

More will be spent on servicing public debt than on healthcare, education, and policing.

However, Herman expects to hear populist promises and over-optimism, which is geared more toward voters in the country’s national elections than the financial markets.

“We will need to scrutinise the numbers coming out of the budget very carefully to see if Godongwana’s budget proposals are viable and achievable given the country’s high debt burden and strained tax base,” said Herman.

He does not expect any major tax hikes as it is an election year. Instead, the government may raise sin tax and fuel levies in line with inflation.

They may also rely on ‘bracket creep’ to make up funds. Bracket creep happens when inflation pushes wages and salaries into higher tax brackets without real earnings increasing.

Bracket creep could increase tax take by an estimated R15 billion to R20 billion, which will cover a few holes.

The budget’s main focus will be on government spending. In particular, the public servant wage bill, state-owned enterprise (SOE) bailouts, and debt-servicing costs.

“Eskom’s numbers have been in the budget for quite some time, but more recently, Transnet also asked for bailouts, and the Post Office will need some budget as well,” said Herman.


Read: Rand takes a hit – with all eyes on the Budget

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