In this time, where we are supposed to be cautious about how we spend the little borrowed money that we have as a country, Treasury is being arm-twisted into funding the ailing national carrier – a cost the country can ill afford.
The market tends to get anxious in October because of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS). Colloquially referred to as the mini budget, the MTBPS is an update of the Budget Review that is presented by the National Treasury and delivered in February. It also sets out fiscal policy over the next three years and proposes budgetary allocations to the three tiers of government: national, provincial and local.