South Africa: 10 billion rand to lower fuel prices, debt stabilized after twenty years

South African Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented the country's Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement on October 21, 2026. In it, he allocates 10 billion rand to a temporary reduction in the fuel levy and announces that public debt has stabilized for the first time in nearly twenty years.

What motorists will pay

From November 4 to December 1, 2026, the tax will be reduced by 1.50 rand per liter of petrol and 3 rand per liter of diesel, according to the Mail & Guardian. The reduction will then be lowered to 1 rand for petrol and 1.50 rand for diesel until January 5, 2027, when it ends. At this initial rate, a 50-liter tank of petrol represents a saving of approximately 75 rand. The price at the pump also depends on the global price of oil and the rand's exchange rate.

The 10 billion comes from an equivalent sum paid into the Central Energy Fund and transferred to the Treasury's contingency reserve. This is being increased to 10 billion rand for 2026/27 to address drought, the El Niño phenomenon, and energy price spikes, the Daily Maverick reports.

Debt stops climbing

"For the first time in nearly two decades," debt has stabilized, Enoch Godongwana declared: it peaked at 78.4% of gross domestic product in 2025/26, below the 78.9% peak announced in February, and is expected to return to 76.6% by 2030. The deficit is narrowing to 4.3% of GDP this year. However, the interest burden remains overwhelming: 441.5 billion rand, or about one-fifth of government revenue for the period.

This respite is partly due to better-than-expected revenue, including 17.1 billion rand in additional taxes, largely driven by the rise in precious metal prices. The Daily Maverick notes that some of these gains are one-off.

Growth, however, is declining

Pretoria is lowering its 2026 growth forecast to 1.2%, down from the 1.6% expected in February, and projects 1.6% in 2027 and then 2% in 2029. "But growth remains too weak," the minister acknowledged.

Regarding social spending, 20.5 billion rand will go to provinces for health and education, 21.8 billion to local authorities for water, sanitation, electricity, and basic waste services, 3.8 billion for the recruitment of more than 3,500 social workers to combat violence against women, and 1.6 billion for the fight against malnutrition.

The question that this budget does not resolve remains: a tax cut that expires in January provides relief to households for six weeks, while the revised growth of 1.2% still does not promise the jobs the country is waiting for.