Finance minister Tito Mboweni has warned that SA may be headed for a debt crisis and yet in the tabling of his medium-term budget, the minister committed to finding more money for SAA. Government's need to help struggling state owned enterprises has been a key concern for ratings agencies, so what did Moody's make of Mboweni's medium-term budget and government's spending priorities? Business Day TV spoke to Moody's lead sovereign analyst Lucie Villa on SA to find out.​

Finance minister Tito Mboweni presenting his medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) yesterday reminded South Africans that the country’s Aloe Ferox is drought resistant, but the aloe is also bitter and the bitter pill that the country needs to swallow was only partially delivered yesterday. This year 57% of the country’s taxes will go to fund public sector workers. Michael Avery speaks to Mathew Parks, parliamentary coordinator for Costau; Raymond Parsons, of the School of Business and Governance at North West University; Martin Kingston Chair of the steering committee of Business for SA; about Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's wager on wages.

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Soft commodities have mirrored the decline in equity markets as escalating coronavirus related concerns continue to spook investors. Business Day TV discussed the detail with Carlos Mera from Rabobank.​

Afrimat’s diversified portfolio has helped it turn a corner during the half-year. The group is now in a net cash position having bounced back from having a debt pile of close to R146m. Afrimat says this puts the business on a firm footing to make acquisitions. Business Day TV spoke to the group's CEO Andries van Heerden about the expansion plans.

The day of the medium-term budget policy statement reckoning has arrived. Michael Avery discusses how the fiscal crisis will define public policy over the medium term with former head of the Treasury budget office, Michael Sachs, currently an Adjunct Professor at Wits Southern Centre for Inequality Studies; Michael Katz, Chair of ENS Africa, and head of the Katz Commission; and Keith Engel, the Chief Executive of SA Institute of Tax Professionals.

Inflation slowed to its lowest level in 3-months, coming in at 3% year-on-year in September. Business Day TV unpacked the print with Walter de Wet from Nedbank CIB.

Finance minister Tito Mboweni has presented his medium-term budget. The MTBPS puts forward a bold plan to slash government's wage bill over the next three years as a way to reign in a soaring budget deficit. The budget also shows that funding state owned enterprises will come at a sacrifice as government will take money from other departments to support the balance sheets of SOEs. Business Day TV spoke to Isaah Mhlanga, executive chief economist at Alexander Forbes and Kevin Lings, Chief Economist at Stanlib for their take on what was presented by Mboweni.

For every R10 of government expenditure, more than R3 is spent on transfers, about R3 is spent on public servant salaries & R1 on debt. The remaining R3 is supposed to cover goods, services & infrastructure. Transferring money from the wage bill to infrastructure is what the President’s Economic Advisory Council suggests, but will this be politically feasible ahead of the municipal elections next year? Michael Avery speaks to Dr Miriam Altman, Director of Altman Advisory and National Planning Commissioner; Martin Kingston Chair of the steering committee of Business for SA; Mathew Parks, parliamentary coordinator for Cosat​u; & Peter Attard-Montalto, head of capital markets research at Intellidex ahead of tomorrow’s medium-term budget policy statement.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says that government is planning to lessen the country's dependence on Eskom and will be welcoming independently generated solar energy as a solution to the way forward. To unpack Rhamaphosa's green energy plan in more detail Business Day TV caught up with RMB Infrastructure Transactor Daniel Zinman.

Finance minister Tito Mboweni is putting the final touches on his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) and reports suggest that the statement could include financial support for the Land Bank. This would be welcome news for Agri SA as the organisation says that the bank needs to be supported as it's a strategic contributor to agricultural development. Business Day caught up with Agri SA's executive director Christo van der Rheede to discuss the detail