Opposition party leaders have slammed the budget tabled by finance minister Enoch Godongwana as “punishing the poor” and being thin on details that would spur a struggling economy.
Nhlamulo Ndhlela, spokesperson of the official opposition uMkhonto weSizwe party, criticised the increase in the fuel levy, saying the budget gave relief to the rich.
To partially replace the revenue forfeited by the reversal of an increase in VAT, the general fuel levy for petrol and diesel will increase by in an inflation-based by 16c to R4.01/l and 15c to R3.85/l, respectively, from June 4. The higher levies are expected to generate R3.5bn in 2025/26.
“This budget continues to punish the poor, nothing else. We need to focus on bringing in investments into the economy and create jobs,” Ndhlela said.
EFF leader Julius Malema said the ANC was stuck and had no programme to grow the economy. “This is an austerity budget. Clearly, this is not a pro-poor budget, that’s why we are not supporting it.”
Malema called on Godongwana to increase corporate and inheritance taxes, and said the SA Revenue Service (Sars) needs to be strengthened to collect more revenue. “To them, the rich are untouchable. They must deal with the illicit financial flows,” Malema said.
Sars is expected to increase debt collection by R20bn-R50bn a year due to an additional R7.5bn allocation over three years and Godongwana expressed confidence it could raise R35bn.
According to budget documents, gross tax revenue of R1.986-trillion is forecast for 2025/26 compared to the March forecast of R2-trillion. Tax measures amounting to R20bn will be proposed in the 2026 budget.
Vuyo Zungula, president of the African Transformation Movement, said the increase in fuel levies would make more South Africans poorer.
“We are spending R1.2bn a day on servicing debt. We must scrutinise aspects of the budget, whether it’s in the best interests of the people, because it does nothing to fundamentally improve the lives of citizens,” he said.
ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the budget would ensure economic growth and prudent spending patterns.
“We are happy that a lot of money is going into infrastructure development,” she said. “It’s a responsible budget. More than 60% of the budget is dedicated to social spending. It has to be welcomed [as it addresses] inequality in our community.”
Freedom Front Plus finance spokesperson Wouter Wessels said the budget was better than its previous versions because it focused on containing costs.
DA finance spokesperson Mark Burke commended Godongwana for presenting a “workable version” of the budget which the party “should be able to support”. Still, he stressed that SA had an expenditure problem and the government needed to invest more in infrastructure.
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