President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated government’s strategic shift in government spending during his address at the 2025 National Construction Summit in Ekurhuleni, on November 13, promising the prioritisation of long-term investment over consumptive social spending and subsidies.

“We are shifting the composition of spending from consumption to investment. Capital payments are the fastest-growing expenditure item on our national Budget. They are expected to increase to about 7.5% over the medium term,” Ramaphosa said.

His remarks reiterate Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s statements made on November 12 during the presentation of the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement that signalled the recalibration of the government’s fiscal priorities, responding to longstanding criticisms that government funds have disproportionately focused on social grants and subsidies instead of infrastructure and future-oriented development.

Ramaphosa linked this shift in fiscal focus directly to the construction industry, describing it as a critical driver of job creation and economic growth.

“Infrastructure investment is one of the most effective levers for stimulating economic growth. This is evident in the statistics that we have just seen earlier this week. The Quarterly Labour Force Survey indicates a decrease in the official unemployment rate from 33.2% in the second quarter of this year to 31.9% in the third quarter, and long may this continue.

“Construction was the biggest contributor and this gives us hope. This gives us the ability to look forward to greater growth in this industry,” he said.

Ramaphosa said that, by investing in infrastructure and capital projects rather than expanding consumption-based programmes, the government aims to stimulate sustainable economic growth and create employment opportunities, whereby infrastructure can become the “flywheel” for broader development.

He highlighted that more than 250 fully funded infrastructure projects, valued at more than R250-billion were already under way, covering water, energy, transport and digital networks.

Moreover, Ramaphosa highlighted the medium-term R1-trillion commitment by government – announced in May – to support infrastructure development.

“This is the very first time in our country’s history . . . that we have committed such a large amount of money to infrastructure,” he claimed, noting that the funding would not only support public works but also catalyse private-sector participation and innovation.

Alongside public investment, Ramaphosa noted the importance of enabling private-sector participation. He noted amendments to public–private partnership regulations and guidelines for unsolicited bids, which were designed to encourage businesses to propose innovative infrastructure projects, which, if financially viable, would be approved for construction.

“Unsolicited bids mean that when people in the private sector have ideas on how we can improve our infrastructure build, they should come forward. They should be enabled to come forward and present their ideas. And if their ideas are innovative enough and financially sustainable, we will then be able to sign them on and say, ‘Go ahead and construct the idea that you’ve put forward,’” he said.

Ramaphosa emphasised that this focus on long-term growth was paired with a strong commitment by government to protecting infrastructure. He warned that criminal activity, including construction mafias, cable theft and vandalism, would face uncompromising law enforcement action.

“If they continue to do that, they shall be arrested and sent behind bars. The law enforcement agencies will continue to deal with those who break the law. We will not let anyone derail these efforts. We will not negotiate with construction mafias. We will not yield to the cable thieves or those who vandalise infrastructure . . . We have declared war on the construction mafias and they will not stop us,” he vowed.