MTBPS 2026 in a minute

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana bit the bullet and announced much-needed temporary fuel relief measures for South Africans and business when tabling the 2026 Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) in Cape Town on Wednesday.

The fuel levy will be reduced by R3 per litre for diesel and R1.50 per litre for petrol from 4 November, the day of local government elections, up until 1 December 2026.

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Godongwana slashes fuel levies
SA set to tighten budget rules to restrain spending

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The MTBPS – often referred to as the mini budget – is the government’s mid-year update on the country’s spending plans, tax revenue expectations and debt outlook over the next three-years.

Treasury also released a bill for public comment on a fiscal anchor, a financial rule that guides the government on how much it can spend and how much debt it can take on, for public comment.

The MTBPS also noted the government has collected more tax revenue than predicted in the main February 2026 budget – with the R2.1 trillion tax revenue up by R17.1 billion driven primarily by increased corporate tax from the mining sector on the back of high commodity prices.

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Other key highlights: 

Publication of an amended Municipal Finance Management Act for public comment to address weak financial management and strengthen oversight of municipalities by Treasury, which suggests it could play a role in municipal CFO appointments.
SA’s primary surplus, where government revenue exceeds non-interest spending, is projected to grow from 1.7% of GDP this year to nearly 3% by 2030.
Over the medium term, consolidated expenditure grows from R2.7 trillion in 2026/27 to R3.02 trillion in 2029/30, an average increase of 3.6% a year.
The fastest growing spending is capital assets at 5.2% over the medium term as the government commits to infrastructure investment.
Treasury has lowered its GDP growth forecast for 2026 to 1.2 % from 1.6 % forecast in the February budget.
The consolidated budget deficit of 4.3% of GDP is down from 4.5% in 2025 and is forecast to improve, with the government saying the narrowing deficit will enable it to better manage maturing debt.
The government has identified R38.1 billion in savings to be redirected to economic and social priorities over three years – with about R6 billion of the savings generated from stopping grant payment fraud.
The financial position of major state-owned companies and public entities remains a source of fiscal risk – with guarantees of R660 million and $14 million to state arms manufacturer Denel.
A R1 billion guarantee in August 2026 to SAA to support working capital requirements.
R10 billion of extra tax revenue is set aside for response to the El Niño threat.
Over 4 300 high risk or ‘ghost workers’ have been identified on government’s payroll, with an update on action to be taken to be announced in the 2027 main budget.

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Unanimous GNU agreement on fiscal anchor for SA
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