The 2023 budget speech delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana brought a fair amount of good news for South Africans.

There will be support for households and businesses installing renewable energy, no income tax increases were announced, and the fuel levy remains unchanged, taking some pressure off people’s budgets.

However, the Minister could not avoid acknowledging that the problems at Eskom are a big challenge to the country’s growth prospects.

“The lack of reliable electricity supply is the biggest economic constraint,” Godongwana said.

He therefore announced that government would be taking over a big portion of Eskom’s debt to take some pressure off the utility, and that a number of steps were being taken to restructure the local electricity industry.

“Establishing a competitive electricity market will enable South Africa to ensure a stable, uninterrupted power supply as it transitions to a clean energy future,” National Treasury stated in its budget review.