Cape Town – South African government departments have requested an additional R717 billion from taxpayers over the next three years, but Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says the National Treasury cannot afford the demands without jeopardising the country’s already strained public finances.
The requests, which are over and above existing departmental budgets, translate to an average of R226 billion annually under the medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF).
“In the current budget cycle, the request from departments was for an additional R717 billion over the medium-term expenditure framework,” Godongwana said, according to Daily Investor.
“This translates to an average of R226 billion for each coming year. This amount does not exist in the budget. This is all above the existing baseline.”
The minister said the requests placed Treasury in the difficult position of having to reject funding demands from fellow Cabinet members and government departments, some of which seek additional resources for service delivery and ambitious projects announced without secured funding.
Revenue collections and borrowing requirements
Speaking to 702, as reported by EWN, Godongwana said the process of rejecting requests was taking its toll, adding that some people believed Treasury was concealing money that could be made available.
“People think that there’s some money somewhere within a pot which we are trying to hide,” he said.
He maintained that government was transparent about its revenue collections and borrowing requirements, pointing out that the country was borrowing almost R2 billion a week to finance government operations.
The pressure comes as South Africa’s debt-to-GDP ratio stands at 78.4%, with debt-service costs consuming a substantial portion of public resources and limiting funding available for essential services.
According to the Daily Investor, Treasury approved only R10.6 billion of approximately R200 billion requested through special appropriations during the current financial year.
Of the R717 billion sought over the medium term, only R71.1 billion has been added to main budget spending, with allocations prioritising healthcare, education, infrastructure investment and strengthening state capacity.
Additional funding
In his October 21 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS), Godongwana said government was committed to improving spending efficiency rather than automatically providing additional funding whenever departments experienced operational pressures.
The official South African government MTBPS statement also outlined R38.1 billion in additional savings identified over the 2027 medium-term expenditure period through the reduction of inefficiencies, duplication, fraud and underperforming programmes.
Meanwhile, Business Day reported that government expects tax revenue in the 2026/27 financial year to increase by R17.1 billion above February’s forecast, largely due to stronger corporate tax, dividends tax and VAT collections.
However, Treasury warned that some of the improvement was driven by higher commodity prices and could fade over the medium term.
Godongwana’s position highlights the difficult balancing act facing government: meeting growing demands for public services and infrastructure while containing borrowing, stabilising debt and protecting the country’s fiscal sustainability.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
