A lively panel of experts provided a critical analysis of Minister Enoch Godongwana's Budget address during the Pitso 2025.4 discussion of the North-West University (NWU) Business School. These experts advocated for significant changes to the way South Africa creates and oversees its national budget, calling for transparency and accountability in policymaking.
The discussion was moderated by columnist Khaya Sithole, and the other speakers were political scientist Prince Mashele and economist Prof Jannie Rossouw from the University of the Witwatersrand.
Prof Rossouw highlighted a crucial requirement that goes beyond financial procedures. He said, "What we need in South Africa is consequence management – at every level,” underlining the ongoing problem of a lack of accountability in many government sectors. He criticised the current governance system, claiming that audit results have lost their significance due to poor follow-through. "It really makes a mockery of the audit report if we see no consequences," he said.
Prince Mashele gave insights into how South Africa's budget process worked prior to the current Government of National Unity arrangement. He claimed that the process would end with decisions being "rammed down our throats" via TV broadcasts, with no chance of political party involvement or public participation.
“Now that politics have changed, the ANC can no longer do it that way, so one thing that must be implemented going forward is transparency. The minister must actually appear in public and outline the budget pillars, and then the political parties must respond to him,” he stated. “Society must also be given a chance to discuss it so that when the budget is eventually presented in Parliament, it is a result of some kind of national consensus.”
Further, Sithole remarked on the budgetary burden that ordinary citizens carry, pointing to the petrol price and unadjusted tax brackets as indirect tax increases. “Either through the fuel levy or through the lack of adjustment of personal income tax brackets, we are paying the price.” This sentiment was a call to adopt a budgeting framework that prioritises fairness and economic well-being over administrative convenience.
In his response, Prof Rossouw stated that South Africans need to see decisive leadership. “We need our President to wake up and start firing incompetent people and getting service delivery going.” His remarks were in line with a broader concern that accountability systems will stay theoretical without political will to implement change.
As the budget passes through the legislative process, Sithole anticipates that the upcoming weeks will provide key details on the aims of the present administration and whether "even its own GNU partners are indeed going to sign up for that".
The panellists agreed that change is necessary for South Africa's budgeting process. Restoring public trust and correcting the nation's economic decline require greater responsibility, stronger leadership and more openness.
