Some of the windfall would have been due to improved revenue collection on the part of the SA Revenue Service. As for spending, it was only R106m above government's original target of R233,5bn, which is as close to a bull's eye as you will ever get in an annual budget. The National Treasury did not increase its estimate of GDP worth R897,9bn, in current rand, when it revised revenue and expenditure figures last week. But it had already revised GDP upwards in February 2001 from the original R885,2bn in February 2000. But it probably came within striking distance.
Government now faces a new challenge.
Having succeeded in establishing fiscal discipline, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel announced in February he would allocate additional resources to human and physical infrastructure. R2bn on the SA Revenue Service and Home Affairs, while an additional R2,6bn will go to local government for infrastructure and R16bn to provincial social services. It will be as important to spend the additional funds as it was, in the past, to contain government spending.