OP-ED | How much of a say do South Africans have in the budget?

From a threatened 2% VAT increase that would have deepened the crisis for low-income households, to a disputed fiscal framework passed despite widespread concern, this year’s budget has unfolded amid growing tension between power and participation. The Finance Minister openly mocked calls for public input, likening it to “holding rallies everywhere.” And yet, for the first time in our democracy, Parliament’s Standing Committee on Appropriations Finance held a public hearing on the Division of Revenue Bill outside Cape Town – in Limpopo. The contradiction is telling. Budget decisions are still largely made behind closed doors, even though the money being allocated belongs to the people of South Africa. The near-passage of a VAT hike with devastating consequences shows just how urgently the budget must be grounded in public voice and democratic will. This year has laid bare the need for a budgeting process that is truly by the people, for the people; not only in moments of crisis, but as a matter of principle.

Why South Africans Have So Little Say in the Budget

While South Africa is correctly praised for its budget transparency, public participation remains its weakest link. Tools like Vulekamali.org.za and civil society initiatives such as Imali Yethu have helped make budget information more accessible, yet access alone is not enough. The Open Budget Survey ranks South Africa among the top globally for transparency, but in 2023 the country scored just 26 out of 100 for public participation – well below the global average of 45. The attempt to push ahead with a VAT increase despite public backlash exposes the gap in our budget process: while South Africans may access budget documents, we are rarely invited to shape the decisions behind them. Participation occurs only once the budget has already been tabled in Parliament, through formal submissions and rushed public hearings. By then, the fiscal framework and expenditure ceilings have already been decided. What we observed is that at best, the public is commenting on what has already been allocated – and our voices are side-lined regarding what should be prioritised.

The result is a budgeting process that too often feels disconnected from the people it affects. Rural communities and informal groups face the greatest barriers to participating meaningfully, with little access to information, transport, or submission platforms. In addition, input from civil society is also routinely overlooked. This year, 49 out of 51 submissions on the fiscal framework opposed the proposed 0.5% VAT increase and suggested alternatives, yet the framework was passed unchanged. More tellingly, National Treasury scrapped its pilot pre-budget consultations, a move that echoed the Finance Minister’s own scepticism about public engagement. With no formal mechanisms for communities to share their priorities during the drafting phase, it is clear that the public’s voice remains a low priority in shaping the national budget. 

South Africans Deserve to Shape the Budget Before It is Too Late

The lack of early and meaningful participation undermines the legitimacy of the budget and weakens public trust. The public outcry, contested fiscal framework, and threatened VAT increase we are currently witnessing are not signs of disorder – they are the predictable result of shutting people out of the budget process from the start. These difficult conversations and competing priorities should have surfaced last year, during the conceptual phase, when there was still time to shape a Budget truly responsive to people’s needs. Instead, South Africans are being asked to weigh in only after the fact – when the stakes are highest and the decisions largely finalised.

From Parliament to Polokwane – a Step Toward a People’s Budget

Still, there is hope. The deep contestation surrounding this year’s Budget created a rare moment of democratic openness: a public hearing outside of Parliament. According to the Standing Committee on Appropriations, the hearing held in Limpopo marked the first time in democratic South Africa that a public hearing on the Budget took place beyond Cape Town. It was a small but important shift — a recognition, however belated, that budget decisions must be shaped by the people whose lives they affect.

However, as the Budget Justice Coalition, we observed that the process was far from perfect. Many participants, particularly women, expressed discomfort speaking in the presence of traditional leaders. Several communities just kilometres from the venue were unaware the hearings were even taking place. Meanwhile, many attendees had been bussed in – largely through traditional leadership structures, and in some cases political parties – leaving little room for dissenting or unaffiliated voices. It may appear that communities do not participate, but the real issue is how the information reaches them. Without meaningful efforts to address social, cultural and logistical barriers, public hearings risk becoming symbolic exercises – participation in name, not in practice.

Towards a Budget by the People

If South Africa is serious about building a Budget that reflects the needs and priorities of its people, public participation must be embedded from the very beginning – not added on at the end. As the PSAM has noted, limiting access under the guise of “market sensitivity” reinforces a process where decisions are made behind closed doors and presented to the public only for comment – not collaboration.

There are straightforward ways to draw people into the Budget. The government must begin where people live, through accessible tools that allow ordinary South Africans to express their priorities in their own words. Parliament must also engage communities with greater intention, recognising that traditional leadership does not always speak for those who survive on social grants or side-lined to the informal economy. This is particularly true for women, whose insights are consistently sidelined.

The right to shape the Budget is not a favour; it belongs to the people whose lives it impacts. Treasury must reopen and strengthen pre-budget consultations. The government must ensure that those most affected by budget decisions are heard first, not last. A Budget that serves the people must start with the people.

Lencoasa is a budget analyst at SECTION27 and a steering committee member of the Budget Justice Coalition and Imali Yethu. Xezwi is the organiser for the Budget Justice Coalition.