Finance Minister Tito Mboweni used his inaugural Budget address on Wednesday to outline the “tough steps” required to fix South Africa’s deteriorating fiscal position and the country’s failing State-owned enterprises (SoEs). He told lawmakers there were “no quick fixes”, while confirming a R23-billion-a-year bail-out for Eskom over three years, which had been made conditional on the unbundling of the power unity into three separate SoEs. The unbundling plan is currently being opposed by several trade unions, which see it as a precursor to privatisation.