As the government prepares to deliver the crucial Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), a civil society leader has accused it of prioritizing international investor confidence over the trust of its own citizens, declaring that South Africans are demanding tangible value for their tax money.
In a pointed critique, Budget Justice Coalition chairperson Matshidiso Lencoasa contrasted the government’s swift, focused action to get South Africa off the international financial greylist with its perceived lack of urgency in addressing domestic service delivery failures.
“It was just over a year… there was a lot of political will and urgency to regain those international markets’ trust,” Lencoasa stated during an interview. “I wondered, can we… it would be nice to see a budget and it would be nice to see a national treasury that also has the same kind of urgency in rebuilding ordinary South Africans’ trust.”
The MTBPS, often called the mini-budget, sets out the government’s spending priorities for the medium term and provides a health check on the nation’s finances. Lencoasa positioned it as a pivotal opportunity to re-align the country’s finances to tackle persistent unemployment, a cost-of-living crisis, and deep-seated inequality.
She argued that the current fiscal strategy of pursuing a primary budget surplus has failed to stimulate economic growth and has instead worsened economic hardship for millions. The core issue, she emphasized, is a lack of visible return on the taxes citizens pay.
“Many people even say that as ordinary South Africans we’re overtaxed,” Lencoasa said. “It’s not so much just that we’re overtaxed, but we’d like to see value for that money. Every single rand that we pay… is actually going towards building a public sector that works for all.”
When questioned if the government was seeking the approval of international investors more than that of its own people, Lencoasa agreed, stating it was a key criticism from civil society. She pointed to widespread issues like a lack of water, electricity cuts, and the more than 4,000 informal settlements as evidence of a broken social contract.
“What is the point of an economy? What is the point of paying taxes? What is the point of it all if it’s not to build a nation?” she asked.
Lencoasa called for the government to apply a “22-point action plan” similar to the one used to exit the greylist to fix service delivery at provincial and municipal levels. This plan would need to tackle chronic underspending, corruption, and a lack of accountability to rebuild public trust.
The discussion also touched on monetary policy, with Lencoasa warning that the South African Reserve Bank’s potential move to a stricter 3% inflation target could harm job creation. She explained that the tool to achieve this—increasing interest rates—makes debt more expensive for the government and businesses, limiting their ability to hire more nurses, teachers, and other workers.
“One of our biggest problems in our country is our unemployment crisis. What is our monetary policy doing… to actually solve the problem of unemployment?” she argued.
Ahead of the Finance Minister’s address, Lencoasa outlined five key priorities the budget must address: the triple challenges of poverty, inequality, and unemployment; building state capacity to spend allocated funds; and enhancing accountability to bridge the “trust deficit” with the public.
The MTBPS will be delivered amid high expectations for a budget that not only stabilizes national finances but also demonstrates a renewed commitment to serving the South African people.
