In his 2022 Budget Speech on 23 February, Enoch Godongwana, the Minister of Finance, indicated that Government was taking steps to support education, health, the fight against crime and corruption, and to improve capital investment, amongst others. Within the global outlook, value chain imbalanced continued to limit the pace of global economic recovery and this, coupled with international restrictions in response to recent CVOID-19 variants, the unrest experienced in July 2021 and re-emergence of electricity supply instability was affecting local recovery.

Health

  • A provisional allocation of R17.5 billion has been set aside for infrastructure catalytic projects which include hospitals and clinics (with the aim to unlock higher levels of employment for those involved in the projects)
  • An additional R15.6 billion was allocated to provincial health departments to support their continued response to COVID-19 and to bridge the shortfalls in essential goods and services.
  • A further R3.3. billion was allocated to absorb medical interns and community service doctors thereby strengthening capacity.

SMEs

  • In an effort to support businesses in distress due to the pandemic, Government will launch a new business bounce back scheme which includes small business loan guarantees facilitated through banks and development finance institutions and the introduction of a business equity-linked loan guarantee support mechanism to be launched in April 2022.

Public Procurement Bill

  • Public Procurement Bill will be tabled before Parliament in 2022/23, however, in light of the recent Constitutional Court judgement on the preferential procurement regulations, and the first Zondo Commission report highlighting abuses in state procurement, Government is revising the Bill to take into account of these developments.

Corporate Income Tax

  • Government will restructure the corporate income tax system to create a conducive environment for businesses to grow, increase investment and employ more people. In line with the 2021 Budget, the corporate income tax rate will be reduced from 28 per cent to 27 per cent, for companies with years of assessment ending on or after 31 March 2023.