Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za
3-minute read
22 May 2025 | 13:24 CAT

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivers Budget 3.0 amid political tension and economic uncertainty. (Image: Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg)

South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has once again come under fire after tabling his third attempt at a national budget. With little distinction from its predecessor, Budget 3.0 appears to offer more questions than solutions in an already fragile economic climate.

Wits Professor Jannie Rossouw, speaking to Radio Islam International, did not mince his words, labelling himself a “tired taxpayer” and criticising the redundancy of the repeated budget attempts. “It is really an embarrassment for a finance minister to have a third attempt at the budget,” said Rossouw. “If the fuel levy was the fix, why was it not included in Budget 2.0?”

Although Godongwana insisted this was not an austerity budget, Rossouw agreed only in technical terms. “A minimum requirement for an austerity budget is a balanced budget with no deficit before borrowing,” he explained. “This budget still shows a large deficit. It cannot be called austere.”

Yet amidst the critique, there were a few glimmers of fiscal hope. “The primary surplus is a positive development,” Rossouw noted, underscoring that revenue—excluding interest payments—was finally outpacing expenditure.

Still, the long-term implications remain grim. “We are borrowing from the children and grandchildren to pay for today,” he warned, referring to the spiralling debt burden. The expected R20 billion shortfalls in the next fiscal year could mean further strain on taxpayers, especially with bracket creep likely to continue unchecked.

External pressures further complicate the picture. With the President meeting Donald Trump in Washington, Rossouw believes foreign investors are paying more attention to diplomatic talks than the budget itself. “If AGOA collapses, our exports will fall. And with that, our already low growth,” he said. “We’ve seen unemployment rise again—and still, no real plan to reverse it.”

Rossouw also lamented the absence of an inflation target revision. “I hoped the target would be lowered to 3%. This was the moment to do it.”

As Budget 3.0 attempts to steady a shaky economy, questions linger about whether this latest version offers enough to restore confidence—domestically or abroad. For now, eyes remain on Washington, where outcomes may matter more than numbers inked in Pretoria.

Listen to the full interview on The Daily Round-Up with Annisa Essack and Wits Professor Jannie Rossouw.