Political parties applaud Godongwana's debt-defying 2026 budget

In a rare display of cross-spectrum support, the majority of political parties in Parliament have praised Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s latest budget.

While the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party remains a notable outlier, stating it rejects austerity measures and debt reduction while South Africans live below the poverty line, other parties have welcomed the primary budget surplus and the decision to forgo new taxes.

Parliament's three finance committees met on Friday to interrogate Budget 2026.

During the session, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) received significant praise for sparing taxpayers from a projected R20 billion tax hike.

Historically, the national budget is a point of contention with little praise from the opposition.

However, two days after its tabling, even parties outside the Government of National Unity (GNU) congratulated National Treasury for stabilising the country’s debt for the first time in 17 years.

Despite the praise, ActionSA's Alan Beesley argued that while SARS has proven its efficiency, its capacity to collect revenue must be bolstered further.

"We cannot have SARS underfunded. They’ve shown what they can do, and I think it’s an important issue that gets addressed, and gets addressed quite soon," Beesley noted.

ALSO READ: Godongwana unveils efficiency drive and ghost employee crackdown to curb spending

Sinawo Tambo of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) echoed this sentiment, advocating for maximum support for the revenue service.

"Let’s capacitate SARS as far as possible because a lot of the revenue that is generated is going to help us to invest in service delivery objectives and imperatives," Tambo said.

The African Christian Democratic Party's (ACDP) Steve Swart joined the majority in welcoming the reduction of debt-service costs.

However, Wesley Douglas of the MK Party maintained that positive macroeconomic metrics do not translate to relief for the working class.

"Stabilising ratios is not the same as transforming the economy," Douglas argued. "The lived reality is that people’s salaries have not increased, but their petrol, electricity, and food costs have increased because of this budget."