IMF: South Africa needs decisive efforts to cut spending

South Africa needs more decisive efforts to cut spending and reduce its debt to gross domestic product ratio, which is expected to reach almost 86% by 2029, up from 74% in 2022, a senior International Monetary Fund official said on Wednesday.

Fiscal Affairs deputy director Era Dabla-Norris said it could reduce transfers to state-owned enterprises, rationalize untargeted subsidies and undertake ambitious structural reforms to bolster growth.

The immediate priority was for South Africa to resolve its energy and logistics crisis, she told a news conference.