⁍ Finance Minister Tito Mboweni pledged on Wednesday to freeze the wages of the country’s 1.3 million civil servants.

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⁍ Public sector unions have already taken the government to court for failure to pay wage increases due in April.

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⁍ Fitch, which rates South Africa’s debt at BB with a negative outlook, added: ‘Despite the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan released by the president, Cyril Ramaphosa, in mid-October, growth will remain weak

– South Africa’s finance minister announced a plan Wednesday to freeze the wages of the country’s 1.3 million public sector workers as part of an effort to reduce the country’s yawning budget deficit and bring down debt, Reuters reports. Finance Minister Tito Mboweni pledged to freeze the wages of the country’s 1.3 million civil servants as part of the government’s plan to narrow a yawning budget deficit and bring down debt. Freezing civil servants’ salaries will put the governing party on a collision course with its labor union allies. Public sector unions have already taken the government to court for failure to pay wage increases due in April. “Tensions within the governing African National Congress will also hamper policy-making and exceptionally high inequality raises social pressure for additional spending,” Fitch said in a detailed commentary after publishing a brief statement late Thursday.