The government plans to increase its borrowing requirements from R515.6-billion to R563.6-billion during the 2023/24 fiscal year. Debt has become an even bigger and scarier uncertainty for the government.

To shore up revenue and be able to meet the country's growing spending requirements, the government plans to increase its borrowings -- making it difficult to stabilise and reduce its indebtedness.

The government's revenue from tax collections has declined since the February 2023 Budget was presented as economic conditions in SA have since worsened, pushing it to find new sources of money.

To this end, the government plans to increase its borrowing requirements from R515.6-billion to R563.6-billion during the 2023/24 fiscal year, the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) review documents show.

Debt has become an even bigger and scarier uncertainty for the government. Credit rating agencies and economists have warned numerous times about the unsustainability of the government's debt level and need to reduce it, as it crowds out expenditure on crucial service delivery programmes.

The government plans to raise more money in two ways.

First, it plans to raise money in the domestic bond market by issuing bonds (inviting lenders to buy its debt). By doing this, it plans to raise debt or issue bonds that come with shorter repayment terms of up to a year, instead of opting for costly debt that matures at a later period of...