South Africa’s Ramaphosa Calls for Compromise on Budget Goals

(Bloomberg) --

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said compromise and trade-offs will be needed to achieve the goals set out in last week's budget.

The plan presented by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will contain spending, increase revenue and encourage economic growth, while helping rein in “precarious and unsustainable” state debt, Ramaphosa said Monday in his weekly statement. Containing the public-sector wage bill is “critical” to stabilizing state finances, he said.

“We are fixing our public finances to make inclusive growth and job creation possible,” Ramaphosa said. “Such times call for us to be realistic, not dogmatic. They call for cooperation, not conflict. Compromises and trade-offs will have to be made.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Paul Richardson in Johannesburg at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Benjamin Harvey at bharvey11@bloomberg.net, Rene Vollgraaff

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