Economic growth was primarily promoted by microeconomic reforms to boost the supply side of the economy, rather than by stimulating demand through rapid increases in expenditure and the lowering of taxes. An important aspect of the budget reform was the adoption of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework in the fiscal year 1998/99 and the Public Finance Management Act of 1999.
The MediumTerm Expenditure Framework consists of three-year rolling expenditure and revenue projections for the national and the provincial governments. This creates greater certainty and transparency to the budgetary process.