ISBN: 978-0-621-50835-2

RP: 05/2023

For more information:

Communications Directorate

National Treasury

Private Bag X115

Pretoria

0001

South Africa

Tel: +27 12 315 5944

Fax: +27 12 406 9055

Email: [email protected]

Budget documents are available at: www.treasury.gov.za

Madam Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula;

His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa;

His Excellency, the Deputy President, Mr. David Mabuza;

Cabinet Colleagues;

Members of the Executive Committees for Finance;

Honourable Members;

The Governor of the South African Reserve Bank;

The Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service;

Deputy President of the Governing Party, Honourable Paul Mashatile and leaders of

all political parties;

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Fellow South Africans:

I am honoured to table the following documents before this House:

We are tabling the 2023 Budget in a difficult domestic and global economic environment.

The global recovery is slowing.

Domestically, load-shedding has become more persistent and prolonged, impacting on service delivery and threatening the survival of many businesses.

This is compounded by disruptions to freight and logistics networks.

Households are under pressure from the rising cost of living, and unemployment remains stubbornly high.

We are navigating this difficult environment with policies that support faster growth and address fiscal risks.

Our pursuit of higher growth remains anchored on three pillars.

Firstly, we are ensuring a stable macroeconomic framework to create a conducive environment for savings, investment and growth.

Secondly, we are implementing growth-enhancing reforms in key sectors, particularly in energy and transport.

And thirdly, we are strengthening the capacity of the state to deliver quality public services, invest in infrastructure and fight crime and corruption.

In this Budget we are allocating additional resources towards these endeavours without compromising the sustainability of public finances.