South Africa is faces surging debt as the havoc wrought by the coronavirus pandemic compounds a deterioration in public finances caused by overspending, mismanagement and alleged graft during former President Jacob Zuma’s nine-year rule. After cutting borrowing during years of strong economic growth from the late 1990s, the government posted its first post-apartheid budget surplus in 2007. However, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s medium-term budget will show on Wednesday that debt levels are much higher than in 1994, when the ruling African National Congress took over an almost bankrupt state.
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