Build One South Africa (BOSA) is alarmed to learn that the government is still paying out Covid-19 relief funds to the taxi industry in the 2025/26 financial year, five years after the height of the pandemic.
In response to a written parliamentary question submitted by BOSA Leader Mmusi Maimane, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy confirmed that the R408 million “once-off taxi gratuity” allocation in the current budget is a residual amount from the Covid-19 Taxi Relief Fund.
While South Africans are being forced into a double whammy of a VAT increase and personal income tax bracket creep, the government continues to disburse pandemic-era funding to a multibillion-rand industry that pays almost no tax.
BOSA finds it unacceptable that public funds continue to flow to a sector without clear transparency, accountability, or evidence of need, especially as essential public services like education and healthcare remain underfunded.
Parliament is currently preparing to finalise the national budget in the coming weeks, and factional battles within the Government of National Unity (GNU) are already delaying progress.
This latest revelation only reinforces BOSA’s position that the current budget has both misguided priorities and questionable allocations.
At a time when our economy demands bold action and strategic investment, continued handouts under the guise of Covid-19 relief is an insult to struggling taxpayers and unemployed citizens.
Media Statement by
Roger Solomons: BOSA Acting Spokesperson
Tuesday 22 April 2025
Media Enquiries:
Roger Solomons – BOSA Acting Spokesperson – 072 299 3551