In the wake of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2026 State of the Nation Address (SONA), political party leaders have begun dissecting the economic substance behind the rhetoric.
Songezo Zibi, leader of RISE Mzansi, welcomed the positive fiscal indicators highlighted in the address but struck a cautious tone, reserving final judgment until the national budget is tabled.
Speaking following the speech, Zibi pointed to a significant decline in South Africa’s debt servicing costs as a tangible win for the Treasury’s long-standing fiscal consolidation efforts.
“South Africa has been paying R1.4 billion a day on interest on the debt that we are servicing,” Zibi said. “The finance minister has been talking about fiscal consolidation for a long time. I think we are likely to see debt service costs dropping from R424 billion per year to under R400 billion this year. That’s a very good achievement.”
Zibi also noted the positive movement of the rand against the US dollar, describing it as “important because it affects the fuel price and other imports.”
However, the RISE Mzansi leader cautioned that the benefits of these macroeconomic gains must translate into tangible improvements for ordinary South Africans.
“What’s important is that the money that is saved from there goes to things that matter,” he said. “There are kids who are protesting in this direction. They don’t have university accommodation.”
Zibi acknowledged the President’s announcement regarding new universities but argued that existing institutions require urgent attention.
“Actually, we need to capacitate universities like the University of Limpopo and so on so that kids don’t have to go and study thousands or hundreds of kilometers away from home. So there’s work to be done.”
Concluding his remarks, Zibi remained measured in his assessment of the presidential address.
“A speech is always nice. Let’s check the budget to see what is going to get paid for. So I reserve my judgment until I see what the finance minister is actually going to finance. Otherwise, it’s a nice speech.”
The 2026 national budget is expected to be tabled by the Minister of Finance in the coming weeks.