CAPE TOWN - South Africa's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said on Thursday ​that meeting fiscal targets ⁠alone was insufficient to draw investment into Africa's biggest economy, stressing ‌the need for higher economic growth. Godongwana was speaking a day after his ​annual budget showed the country's economy was on track for a third consecutive primary budget ​surplus, where ​tax revenue surpasses non-interest spending, and that debt was projected to peak this year.

"Managing these numerical targets alone is not going ⁠to be enough in the absence of growth," Godongwana told Reuters.

South Africa's economic growth has averaged less than 1% over the past decade, but it picked up slightly last year and is expected to rise ​further to ‌1.6% this year.

The ⁠fiscal picture ⁠also looks brighter thanks to an improvement in domestic demand and strong commodity prices, which ​have helped boost government revenue.

Godongwana said the ‌government's reform agenda was landing well with investors ⁠and expressed hope this would translate into higher levels of fixed investment over time.

"I think we're in a better space now to achieve structural reforms and macroeconomic stability, ... I think all of those things will provide a pull factor for private sector investment."

He told lawmakers on Wednesday that the government was working on a legal "fiscal anchor", a set of rules to try to ensure that public finances are sustainable ‌over the longer term.

He is expected to give more ⁠details at a mid-term budget review due in October ​or November this year.

Godongwana, who was appointed finance minister in 2021, said on Thursday that for now he had no reason not to ​finish his term, ‌which is due to run until 2029.