Latest budget benefits the better-off, squeezes the poor

The 2026 National Budget is criticized for maintaining austerity measures, reducing non-interest spending by R5.2 billion in 2026/27, and failing to address chronic food insecurity and unemployment. The document highlights that real spending on public services, including education and healthcare, is declining, while tax relief is skewed toward higher-income earners. It further critiques the second Gender Budget Statement for being peripheral to fiscal decision-making and failing to address the structural vulnerabilities of female-headed households.

• The 2026 National Budget continues a trend of austerity, reducing non-interest spending by R5.2 billion in 2026/27 and by R14.2 billion in 2027/28 compared to the 2025 budget.
• Public spending is projected to decline in real terms, with a decrease of 2% in 2026/27 and an average decline of 1.7% over the following three years, resulting in R706 less spent per person in 2026/27 than in 2025/26.
• Spending on essential public services is falling: inflation-adjusted education spending per learner is declining by an average of 0.33% over the medium term, and real healthcare spending per user dropped from R4,108 in 2019/20 to R4,028 in 2026/27.
• Social protection is contracting by 0.33% over three years, with the Covid-19 SRD grant remaining unincreased and unfunded in outer years; additionally, SASSA's new biometric capabilities are projected to save R3 billion by cancelling approximately 0.5 million grants.
• The budget prioritizes the wealthy through tax relief, including full inflation adjustments for personal income tax brackets and medical tax credits, while withdrawing a R20 billion tax increase committed to in the 2025 National Budget.
• The debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to peak at 78.9%, higher than the 77.3% anticipated in the 2025 National Budget, due to slower than expected nominal GDP growth.
• The 2026 Gender Budget Statement is criticized for being relegated to a budget annexure and replacing the 'Women’s Economic Empowerment' framework with the more general 'Economic Empowerment' terminology.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2026). Latest budget benefits the better-off, squeezes the poor. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IEJ-Budget-2026-Statement-updated.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Latest budget benefits the better-off, squeezes the poor. 2026. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IEJ-Budget-2026-Statement-updated.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Latest budget benefits the better-off, squeezes the poor |date=26 February 2026 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IEJ-Budget-2026-Statement-updated.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjustice2026latest, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Latest budget benefits the better-off, squeezes the poor}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IEJ-Budget-2026-Statement-updated.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }