Spectrum auction proceeds to be used to establish SA’s sovereign wealth fund

South Africa will use money from the sale of broadband spectrum and mining royalties to establish a R30-billion sovereign wealth fund, finance minister Tito Mboweni said.

“A sovereign wealth fund is an important long-term tool for saving and investment for future generations,” Mboweni told MPs on Wednesday in his annual budget speech. “It can also contribute to strengthening the fiscal framework.”

The proposed fund comes at a time when South Africa is struggling to contain rising debt amid sluggish economic growth and a budget deficit projected to widen to a near three-decade high of 6.8% in the coming fiscal year. Its establishment was first mooted at least 10 years ago.

The legislative framework for the fund will be submitted to parliament. Funding will come from the government’s plans to sell broadband spectrum this year, along with royalties from petroleum, gas and mineral rights, as well as the sale of non-core assets, future surpluses and savings, Mboweni said.

The government is also pressing ahead with plans to form a state bank that will operate as a retail financial institution premised on commercial principles, he said. The Reserve Bank has yet to grant the proposed lender an operating licence.

“There are market failures insofar as the poor getting better access to the basic banking services so its also an attempt to have financial inclusion,” deputy finance minister David Masondo, who is leading the state-bank project, told reporters in Cape Town on Wednesday.  — Reported by Amogelang Mbatha, (c) 2020 Bloomberg LP