The Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Monday it expects Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, to focus his Budget on accelerating economic reforms that drive investment, create jobs, and reduce debt, while it strongly opposed any tax increases.

Godongwana will on Wednesday table his first Budget under the Government of National Unity (GNU).

DA Finance spokesperson Dr Mark Burke said the 2025 Budget must be a turning point for the country’s economy and demonstrate a commitment to “serious, fast-tracked” reforms towards growth.

“After a decade of sluggish growth and an unsustainable debt burden, the 2025 budget must be built on the best ideas from within the GNU, as South Africa cannot afford more of the same,” he said.

Burke explained that his party expected Godongwana to focus on unlocking infrastructure investment, policy reform that results in private sector job growth, and improve efficiency through structural reforms.

The party wants Godongwana to announce further port concessions in Cape Town, Richards Bay and Port Elizabeth, with clear timelines to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

“Concession specific freight rail lines to private operators to both increase capacity and lower transport costs. Commit to devolving passenger rail services to capable provinces, with a binding implementation timeline,” he stated.

Burke pointed out that a definitive date for a competitive energy market must be set to grant private producers full access to the grid and enable market-driven electricity pricing.

A major review of the tariff regime also needs to be completed to drive manufacturing and export growth urgently, while a full review of red tape and regulation across government must be undertaken to eliminate frictional costs to the economy, the DA requested.

Burke said the State needed to move to a system of equity equivalence in key sectors such as information and communication technology to attract stronger foreign direct investment inflows and create jobs, while benefitting local communities through upliftment programmes.

Burke said government must conduct a comprehensive spending review to eliminate waste while protecting essential services and also implement meaningful expenditure reforms in the 2025 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement and the 2026/27 Budget.

The State must commit to a clear process and timeline to implement a fiscal rule that would ensure all future Budgets were based on a clearly defined target to contain government debt, he said.

The DA wants government to declare the end of State-owned enterprise bailouts and for them to be self-reliant or face privatisation where they fulfil a critical function, or closure if they do not.

The DA is of the view that South Africa has a spending and growth problem, pointing out that the State needs to act with a duty of care to its citizens by alleviating their financial burdens and by delivering sustainable private-sector jobs to the unemployed.

The DA said it strongly opposed any tax increases and did not support increases to personal income tax, corporate income tax or value added tax.

“We are deeply concerned by reports in the Sunday Times that tax increases may be tabled,” the party said.

BASIC INCOME GRANT

Meanwhile, the GOOD Party wants implementing a Basic Income Grant (BIG) to be priority number one.

“Some politicians say the country cannot afford it, but GOOD says the reason the country can’t afford it is because its budgetary system doesn’t enable it. The money is in the system, but it’s directed elsewhere. Economic research GOOD conducted nearly two years ago pointed to the country being able to afford a R999 BIG if it changed its approach to budgeting,” explained GOOD secretary general Brett Herron.

He said South Africa was Constitutionally obliged and could no longer afford not to implement a BIG of a “quantum sufficient to enable citizens to feed themselves”. 

“Besides the Constitutional imperative, the GNU is bound by its Statement of Intent to social justice, redress and equity, the alleviation of poverty, human dignity and the progressive realisation of socioeconomic rights of all citizens,” he said.