Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba on Monday announced that he would deliver his inaugural Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) next month on October 25.

The MTBPS is a government report providing information on the country’s economic context, fiscal objectives, and spending priorities over a three-year period.

“We will outline what we will need to do with the money from taxes to support projects in all spheres of government. We will manage the government debt so that it does not burden future generations,” Gigaba said.

Gigaba made the announcement at Masisebenze Secondary School in Tembisa, in Ekurhuleni. He was accompanied by National Treasury director-general Dondo Mogajane, Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina, and Gauteng MEC for Education, Panyaza Lesufi.

In his 2016 MTBPS, former finance minister Pravin Gordhan allocated greater funding to Higher Education, with a further R17.6-billion over three years to subsidise poor students, over and above the additional R16-billion additional funding allocated in February.

Treasury had said that the reason why Gigaba would announce the MTBPS date at a school was to encourage the youth to take interest in the economic and financial developments of the country.

Gigaba encouraged the learners to study hard and aim to become future leaders.

“The next generation of our leaders will be drawn from you. Anyone of you can be the next finance minister. Your background cannot be an obstacle. Study hard and persevere. You can become the next minister of finance,” Gigaba said.

Gigaba is also set to address the South African Institute of Tax Practitioners’ Tax Indaba in Johannesburg later on Monday.