Treasury’s May 2026 spending guidelines require departments to fund fuel-levy relief from savings and revenue gains while holding a primary surplus.
Section
Economics
Transport and Food Push Inflation to 4.2% in March
Botswana’s headline inflation rose to 4.2% in March 2026 from 4.0%, with the trimmed mean at 4.8% signalling more durable underlying price pressure.
Ghana’s Postponed Talks Are an Economic Warning, Not Diplomatic Theatre
Ghana’s postponed talks with South Africa are an early economic-fallout signal. Why operators should track cancelled bilateral forums as a risk indicator.
AfCFTA Abroad, Afrophobia at Home
South Africa champions AfCFTA abroad while African migrants face hostility at home. How that contradiction tests policy credibility and market access.
Debt Dragnet: How Treasury Plans to Claw Back R22 Billion Owed to Municipalities
Treasury will deduct R22bn owed to municipalities directly from departments, while municipalities owe suppliers R77bn. Godongwana moves to cut the debt knot.
The Remittance Recession South Africa Could Export
Migrant wages in South Africa fund households across SADC. How displacement could export a remittance recession into regional demand and credit forecasts.
Chinese zones: A modest base for Africa’s export story
Chinese industrial zones are cast as engines of Africa’s export ambitions, but the recorded jobs and investment are modest, and the zones matter more as a template than a triumph.
Industrial parks: Value-chain infrastructure, or just serviced land
Industrial parks are sold as value-chain infrastructure, but a fenced plot with power and a road is only real estate until firms cluster and a supply chain forms inside it.
Trade fairs as pipelines: turning expo handshakes into SME orders
A four-day expo can announce billions in deals. The harder question is how many of those handshakes survive contact with shipping schedules, payment terms and a small firm’s first export.