The COVID-19 and Public Finances in Developing Nations, A Case of South Africa

The Covid-19 pandemic came with serious economic implications for all the sectors of the global economies, affecting private and public-owned companies and affecting the overall health of the economies including public finances. It is against this background that the study sought to investigate the impact of the COVI-19 crisis on public finances with a specific focus on South Africa. A deep analysis of tax revenue collection, employment, gross domestic product, public expenditure, and the national debt was conducted. Using content analysis, the study discovered that the Covid-19 pandemic seriously affected public finances in South Africa. For instance, the study discovered that tax revenue collections were seriously affected in South Africa to an extent that the 2021 budget policy statement projected a revenue shortfall of approximately R213.2 billion rand. Therefore, the study recommends that the government should encourage growth and investment, emphasizing quality of governance through increasing transparency, adopting effective compliance systems and technology and opening the economy to citizen participation among other initiatives that can bring back the health of the economy.