ActionSA’s Chief Whip and Parliamentary Leader Athol Trollip has described the 2026 national budget as a significant improvement over the previous year’s, highlighting key measures on tax relief, revenue collection, and judicial funding while expressing concerns over insufficient efforts to combat the illicit economy and stimulate economic growth.
In his reaction to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget presentation, Trollip noted that the budget avoids the severe challenges seen in prior years. “It’s a much better budget than last year. We won’t have the kind of budget we had in 2020 and 2021,” he stated.
Trollip expressed particular satisfaction with the decision to impose no additional tax hikes, with any adjustments to tax brackets linked to inflation to prevent bracket creep. This provides relief to taxpayers by ensuring that wage increases matching inflation do not push individuals into higher tax brackets without real income gains.
He credited increased funding for the South African Revenue Service (SARS) as a key factor in stronger performance. “We’ve been calling and championing more funding for SARS. We saw that it was worth it,” Trollip said, pointing out that SARS collected R28 billion more than expected. This additional revenue reduces pressure on ordinary taxpayers, as Trollip emphasized: “The tax man doesn’t have to go to our pockets. They must just get from people who owe SARS, get the money, and we can balance the budget.”
However, Trollip raised serious concerns about the government’s approach to the illicit economy, particularly the trade in counterfeit cigarettes and alcohol. He argued that insufficient funding has been allocated to address this issue effectively. While the Border Management Authority received an additional R990 million, Trollip described this as inadequate. “If we just stop the sale of illicit cigarettes and alcohol, we can get 30 billion rand more for the fiscus,” he said. He called for ring-fenced funding specifically dedicated to tackling the illicit economy, lamenting a lack of sufficient political appetite to prioritize it.
On the broader economic front, Trollip voiced worry over South Africa’s stagnant growth, projected at between 1% and 1.4%. “We are not showing the kind of economic growth that we should be. The economy is stagnant at between 1 and 1.4%,” he said. He noted that this low growth rate cannot absorb new entrants into the job market, including recent matriculants, nor address the needs of the approximately 12 million unemployed South Africans.
Trollip welcomed additional funding allocated to the judiciary, which he said is essential to address dysfunctional courts. “I’m pleased that the judiciary has been given some more money. We’ve seen that our courts are really battling,” he explained, adding that many individuals who should be prosecuted and imprisoned are not reaching court due to systemic issues.
Overall, Trollip characterized the 2026 budget as “a whole different kettle of fish” compared to last year’s and pledged close monitoring of its implementation. “We will monitor carefully how this budget is going to be applied, but it’s much better than last year,” he concluded.
The budget includes measures such as shifting R883.8 million to the Office of the Chief Justice for greater independence and an additional R687 million to expand judicial capacity, alongside allocations to security services to combat organized crime.