Delegates from China, India, Indonesia and Mexico travelling to Johannesburg for the G20 Heads of State Summit in November will be able to apply for travel visas from the comfort of their own homes using a smartphone.

A R182bn tax windfall boosted by a commodity boom has resulted in a slight improvement in public finances, giving the government room to reduce borrowing, narrow the budget deficit, extend social grants and invest in job creating projects.

Discussions are taking place over restructuring the R450bn owed by Eskom, which might see part of the entity’s debt burden moving to the state.

“A surge in commodity prices has significantly improved the in-year revenue outlook, although its effect is likely to be temporary. Revenue collection remains well below pre-pandemic expectations, and in this sense the numbers flatter to deceive."

The Treasury has described continuous power cuts implemented by Eskom as a drag on growth.

DA leader John Steenhuisen believes the timing is right for a strong, centred party in SA that could “break the logjam of politics”.

The government has sounded another debt warning as costs to service its debt soar to just under R1-trillion over the next three years, eclipsing all items except social spending.

The government is also providing a further R13.4bn in tax relief to households through raising personal income tax brackets and rebates by 5%, according to the National Treasury.

The National Treasury has called for “high-level policy discussions” on the size of government departments and public entities; financial support to students in the higher education sector; housing delivery programme; and subsidies to urban transport modes.

The government is projecting tax increases of R5bn in the next financial year as decreasing tax revenue and increasing debt to fund high spending bite.