The budget in itself is largely domestically-focused and not that interesting to outsiders. This means South Africa is in effect borrowing about US$100 million per working day of the year, just to get by. That is a huge gamble — Moody's still holds South Africa on an investment grade (albeit the lowest before “junk” status) but avoiding another downgrade is critical to the cost of interest on the national debt. A substantial stay-away of former of potential ANC voters is likely to make a big difference in the poll results. It is a painful pill to swallow but Ramaphosa and his ANC have no choice if they are not going to sacrifice the country to short-term electioneering.

Source: Daily Nation March 22, 2019 17:25 UTC