Treasury-plus

With the movement of South Africa's budget from deficit into surplus during 2007, the priorities of its National Treasury have also shifted. By Mark Pengelly

South Africa's government has made impressive strides in building the country's economy since coming to power in 1994. In its 2007/08 budget, the National Treasury projected the country's first surplus in recent memory, at 0.6% of GDP, a far cry from the deficit it inherited from the former apartheid regime.

For the Treasury, these changed circumstances have given rise to a different set of priorities. "The budget surplus has led to new thinking on the role of debt management," says Anthony