South Africa's fiscal discipline in plain view

South Africa's finances have been in good shape for the second year in a row. The country's dedication to fiscal discipline was demonstrated by its first back-to-back primary budget surplus in 16 years. The continent's largest industrialized economy had a primary surplus of 48.9 billion rand or 2.8 billion dollars for the fiscal year that ended in March. That is according to Thursday's South African Reserve Bank Quarterly Bulletin. The country's budget surplus was 0.7 percent of gross domestic product. This comes when income surpasses non-interest spending. While the surplus fell short of the national treasury's projected 61 billion rand, it was in line with their May budget prediction.