The South African National Budget for 2026, presented by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on February 25, 2026, has drawn a measured response from United Democratic Movement (UDM) Chief Whip Nqabayomzi Kwankwa.
In his reaction, Kwankwa described the budget as “not too bad” and “not too shabby,” noting that it largely succeeds in maintaining the status quo and achieving a limited degree of financial stabilization for the country. He acknowledged that government has made progress in sorting out the nation’s finances through a conservative approach.
However, Kwankwa emphasized that the budget cannot be classified as a growth-oriented one. “It’s very conservative,” he said. “It’s trying to make sure that we sort out finances.”
He welcomed the decision to adjust tax tables for inflation, specifically through bracket creep relief (often referred to as bracket adjustments), which provides some tax relief to South Africans amid rising costs.
Kwankwa raised concerns about the allocation of funds across different spheres of government. He pointed out that the Minister highlighted how nationally raised revenue is distributed, with municipalities (local government) receiving 10%. He questioned whether the current formula for revenue sharing would be tweaked, expressing skepticism that grants alone would sufficiently address municipal challenges.
The UDM representative highlighted the limited revenue-raising capacity of many municipalities and reiterated a long-standing call for reform. “We’ve been talking about the issue around the revenue raising capacity of the different municipalities,” he said. “It doesn’t seem like the formula is going to be tweaked yet. We do not believe that the grants alone are going to help us to address some of these challenges.”
Kwankwa also referenced the UDM’s earlier advocacy for fiscal rules. He noted that as far back as 2019, the party had called in Parliament for the development of clear fiscal targets—such as for the debt-to-GDP ratio and other variables—to prevent fiscal deterioration under future administrations. This was advocated before the introduction of related legislation like a fiscal rules bill or financial responsibility bill. The aim, he explained, is to avoid situations where changes in leadership lead to the kind of financial strain seen over the past decade.
Overall, while crediting the budget for its stabilizing measures and limited tax relief, Kwankwa portrayed it as cautious rather than transformative, with unresolved issues around local government funding and the need for stronger fiscal discipline frameworks.