Build One South Africa (BOSA) cautiously welcomes today’s National Budget delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in Parliament.
The budget reflects signs of fiscal stabilisation as the narrowing deficit and declining debt-service costs indicate progress in restoring financial discipline. However, South Africa still has a long road ahead before citizens experience real economic relief and more opportunity.
Unemployment remains the country’s entrenched challenge. Four in ten working-age adults cannot find work. A budget that stabilises finances but fails to decisively expand employment is not yet a budget that changes lives.
The projected economic growth rate of 1.6–2% over the medium term is far too low. At 1.6%, growth is less than half the global average of 3.3%, meaning South Africa will continue falling behind peer economies. Although debt-service costs are falling, public debt remains dangerously high at 78.9% of GDP.
Marginal tax relief for small businesses is welcome, but it is not transformative and will not unlock township economies at scale.
Structural change requires bold instruments to fundamentally shift the composition of growth. This includes township-focused special economic zones and a Jobs and Justice Fund.
We are concerned that administered costs continue rising, particularly fuel taxes, which will place additional pressure on inflation and household budgets.
While we welcome targeted and responsible savings of R12 billion, these must be the beginning of expenditure reform. Eliminating ghost workers, reducing the number of deputy ministers, and addressing suspended officials who remain on the state payroll would free billions more for frontline services.
BOSA wants to see government rationalise the nearly 700 state entities and agencies and urgently review excessive VIP protection costs, which alone drains roughly R4 billion from public funds.
On safety, BOSA welcomes the additional R1 billion allocated to policing. These resources must be directed to visible crime-fighting capacity: more detectives, modern technology, and operational tools for officers on the ground.
Education spending remains insufficiently targeted. Less than R10 billion has been allocated for salary support, yet teacher shortages remain acute and class sizes in poorer schools can reach 60 learners. This is an injustice.
Investment must prioritise hiring more teachers and expanding access to mathematics and science, especially when around 500 schools still cannot offer mathematics to matric learners, and 800 do not offer physical science.
We note the financial support provided to Sentech, but stress that any bailout must be accompanied by a full review of its business model to ensure sustainability and accountability.
We welcome the withdrawal of the R20 billion in tax increases that had been provisionally included in last year’s framework, as well as the full inflation adjustment of personal income tax brackets and rebates. These measures provide relief to households already under severe pressure.
The continuation of the Social Relief of Distress grant is also welcome. Social assistance is a moral imperative in a country with massive poverty. But grants cannot become a substitute for jobs. South Africa cannot sustainably expand welfare if it does not simultaneously expand employment.
The country requires faster growth and a relentless focus on job creation. Only then will fiscal stabilisation translate into real economic hope for millions of citizens.
Media Enquiries:
Roger Solomons
BOSA Spokesperson
072 299 3551