- Government’s Commitment to Economic Growth: Deputy Minister Dr. David Masondo emphasized South Africa’s firm stance on boosting economic growth and addressing structural challenges.
- Addressing Economic Challenges: Masondo acknowledged the economic slowdown over the past decade, attributing issues like unemployment and inequality to high costs, energy prices, and global uncertainty, and committed to reducing these barriers.
- Macroeconomic Stability Measures: The government aims to achieve stability by maintaining a primary budget surplus, controlling debt costs, and ensuring stable inflation to lower borrowing rates and improve fiscal health.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Dr David Masondo, delivered a keynote address at the Moneyweb Economy and Investing Summit on 9 September 2025, affirming government’s firm stance on boosting South Africa’s economic growth and tackling structural challenges.
Masondo acknowledged that economic growth has lagged over the past decade, leading to unemployment, poverty, and rising inequality. He stressed that government is serious about turning this around by reducing the cost of doing business and living. Key barriers include high borrowing costs, energy and data prices, logistics bottlenecks, crime, and global uncertainty.
He pointed to trade diversification efforts such as a new stone fruit export agreement with China, and ongoing negotiations with the USA. Masondo reaffirmed macroeconomic stability as a priority, outlining steps like maintaining a primary budget surplus, curbing debt-service costs, and pursuing stable inflation to lower borrowing costs and build fiscal buffers.
Through Operation Vulindlela, reforms are targeting key sectors: energy (including Eskom debt relief and private generation), logistics (rail and port reforms), water (new infrastructure agencies), telecoms (lowering data costs), and visa processing for skilled workers.
Over R1 trillion is allocated to public infrastructure over the next three years, with private investment encouraged via credit guarantees and blended finance.
On crime and FATF greylisting, Masondo confirmed South Africa has completed all 22 required actions and may be delisted in October 2025, pending the July assessment. He called for continued reform ahead of the 2026/27 Mutual Evaluation.
Masondo concluded with a call for united action between government, business, and labour to revive the economy.
