South Africa does indeed face what Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has described as a ‘Herculean Task’ if it is to navigate its twin Covid-19 and economic crises, while also avoiding a debt trap. Pencils will have to be sharpened and erasers will have to be on hand if South Africa is to make the future cuts hinted at in the Supplementary Budget. As ever, the real monsters, and their unintended consequences, will lie in the detail, which has not yet been made available.