23 February 2026
South Africans are living under severe economic and social strain. Workers are battling rising food price escalating electricity tariffs, high transport costs and growing household debt. Families are forced to choose between groceries and electricity. Young people remain locked out of the labour market in devastating numbers. Even those with qualifications struggle to secure stable work.
Communities are confronting dry taps, sewage spills, collapsing roads, unreliable refuse removal and failing municipal services. Clinics are overcrowded.
Schools lack infrastructure. Crime and organised syndicates threaten safety in townships, suburbs and rural areas alike. Informal traders and small businesses are squeezed by illicit trade and weak enforcement.
Millions of households survive on social grants not because they want to, but because jobs are scarce and lack of economic growth has translated into the absence of decent work. Inequality remains deeply entrenched. The gap between those who benefit from economic recovery and those who struggle to survive continues to widen.
It is against this harsh reality that the Minister of Finance, Mr Enoch Godongwana, will table the 2026 National Budget on Wednesday. This Budget must respond directly to the lived conditions of workers, the poor and ordinary South Africans. It must demonstrate whether government is serious about rebuilding state capacity, protecting livelihoods and driving inclusive growth that restores dignity.
Water Crisis Must Be Funded and Ring Fenced The President has elevated the water crisis to a national priority as explained during the State of the Nation. That recognition must now be matched by clear, ring-fenced allocations in the Budget.
FEDUSA expects dedicated funding for water and sanitation infrastructure, strong support for maintenance and repairs, and technical intervention in failing municipalities. Revenue collected for water services must be reinvested into infrastructure and not diverted elsewhere. Accountability measures must be funded and enforced. Communities cannot continue to suffer because of poor governance, corruption and neglect.
Water security is not only a service delivery issue. It is a dignity issue. It is a health issue. It is an economic issue. The Budget must treat it as such.
Reject Austerity. Invest in Growth and Jobs
FEDUSA reiterates its rejection of austerity driven fiscal consolidation. South Africa cannot cut public services while expecting economic growth.
The Budget must protect the public wage bill in real terms and strengthen frontline services in health, education and policing. Infrastructure allocations must be credible and additional, not recycled commitments. Investment must prioritise labour intensive sectors and local procurement to ensure that public spending creates decent work.
Workers cannot be told there is no money for services while revenue leakages through illicit trade, tax evasion and corruption persist.
Protect and Grow Local Industry
Government has committed to reviving the ferrochrome industry, protecting jobs in steel and automotive, and closing loopholes in the tariff system. These commitments must be backed by real funding.
FEDUSA expects targeted industrial support for vulnerable sectors such as clothing, textiles and footwear. Trade enforcement and anti-dumping mechanisms must be adequately resourced. Localisation must be measurable and enforceable. Industrial policy must defend existing jobs while building new capacity in beneficiation and green manufacturing. Economic transformation cannot be rhetorical. It must be funded.
Strengthen Labour Inspection and Border Enforcement
The announcement of additional labour inspectors must be supported by budget allocations for recruitment, training and enforcement systems. Labour laws mean little without enforcement. Stronger border management and action against illicit trade require operational funding. Counterfeit goods and illegal imports are destroying compliant businesses and undermining local employment.
Enforcement must protect jobs and revenue.
Skills Development and SETA Reform
The proposed overhaul of the skills development system and reform of SETAs must be matched with governance reform and measurable outcomes. Workers contribute through the Skills Development Levy.
That money must produce artisans, technical skills and workplace training that leads to employment.
Reform must strengthen accountability and maintain meaningful worker representation in the system. Skills development must connect directly to industrial growth and youth employment.
Public Employment and Youth Crisis
Youth unemployment remains a structural emergency. Public employment programmes must be adequately funded and designed as pathways into permanent work.
FEDUSA calls for a review of compensation levels in public employment programmes. It is unacceptable that workers supported by the state such as through the Extended Public Works Programme, trapped in poverty wages. Employment must be decent. Temporary relief without progression cannot solve the crisis.
Cost of Living Relief
Electricity tariff increases and food prices are eroding household income. The Budget must provide targeted relief for low-income households and protect social grants against inflation erosion. However, social protection cannot replace job creation. The central economic objective must remain the expansion of decent work opportunities.
Revenue Justice and Fairness
FEDUSA expects strengthened support for SARS to combat illicit financial flows, under invoicing and tax evasion. Workers must not shoulder the tax burden while revenue leakages continue.
Where additional revenue is required, progressive measures such as windfall or wealth taxes must be considered before any regressive increases that hurt working families.
Municipal Reform and Accountability
Transfers to municipalities must be linked to service delivery outcomes and strict governance standards. Funds allocated for water, sanitation and electricity maintenance must be protected from misuse.
Professionalisation, merit-based appointments and consequence management must be reinforced through fiscal instruments.
Conclusion
The 2026 Budget will determine whether the commitments made in SONA are credible. South Africans are tired of announcements without delivery. Water must flow. Municipalities must function. Jobs must be created. Corruption must have consequences.
Workers and communities cannot continue to carry the cost of governance failures. The Budget must reflect a decisive shift toward inclusive growth, strong public services and protection of decent work. FEDUSA will assess the Budget in full next week and will respond decisively where working people are asked to pay for failures that are not of their making.
END.