Budget 2026: Three experts weigh in

Following the National Budget Speech, here are insights and reactions of three experts across sectors including personal finance, youth employment/entrepreneurship and energy.

Jurgen Eckmann, Wealth Manager at Consult by Momentum

National Budget 2026 picks up where President Cyril Ramaphosa left off his State of the Nation Address (SONA), with Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivering a largely consumer-friendly budget.

However, projections for gross domestic product growth and fiscal health are not exciting, which shows us that while reform momentum is improving, the material impact on growth is still gradual.

Consumers will be cheering about some relief provided in the form of a full inflation adjustment to personal income tax brackets (after two years of bracket creep), while the increase in the tax-free savings account limit and the higher retirement fund deduction cap meaningfully expand tax-efficient saving capacity. For those able to use these tools, this is one of the more favourable savings environments in recent years.

Debt stabilisation and a narrowing deficit are also genuine positives. Lower borrowing pressure and a sustained primary surplus support the case for improved market confidence and interest rate stability.

While the lower inflation environment provides consumers with some support, it softens nominal GDP growth, which slows the pace at which the debt-to-GDP ratio improves.

GDP growth of around 1.6% this year – only gradually rising toward 2% – tells a more restrained story. The credit rating upgrade and withdrawal of proposed tax increases are encouraging, but they do not signal a booming economy.

For households, this is a Budget that rewards discipline. The policy direction is constructive, but wealth creation will depend far more on proactive financial planning than on macro-optimism alone.

Nkosinathi Mahlangu, Youth Employment & Entrepreneurship Specialist at the Momentum Group Foundation

While this year’s Budget is broadly consumer-friendly and fiscally responsible, it does not present tangible new action to address youth unemployment at the scale the crisis demands. But stability alone will not absorb the millions of young South Africans still excluded from the economy.

At SONA, the President called out water and crime as two urgent priorities, but youth unemployment is as pressing a problem and should be tackled equally as decisively.

The R1-trillion infrastructure pipeline presents real potential, but infrastructure spending does not automatically translate into youth opportunity. What I would have liked to see were explicit youth-linked procurement targets, structured apprenticeship mandates tied to public projects, and clear pathways that ensure young people in affected communities are prioritised for entry-level roles and technical training.

It is encouraging that the government has acknowledged the current skills levy and SETA system has not delivered the expected outcomes. Too often, funding has not translated into structured workplace placement, practical exposure or measurable employment outcomes.

The renewed focus on dual training and artisanal development is welcome – but once again, no concrete implementation timeline or funding plan has been detailed.

As new institutions such as the University of Ekurhuleni take shape, there should be a deliberate focus on faculties aligned to scarce and economically relevant skills, rather than duplicating programmes that already exist.

Small business measures – including raising the VAT threshold (thank you, Ms Oosthuizen from Gauteng!) – are steps in the right direction. But youth entrepreneurship requires far more deliberate financing, mentorship and procurement inclusion.

The Social Relief of Distress grant remains unchanged, but it appears to be gradually muted, and it will be important to see whether the government outlines a clearer plan in the next fiscal cycle to repackage it in a way that creates a stronger pathway from income support to sustainable work.

The opportunity is there. What is still missing is deliberate design to ensure young South Africans are not left behind.

David McDonald, CEO at SolarAfrica

While this year’s Budget reinforces the direction of energy reform, it ultimately remains a continuation rather than an acceleration, and does not bring any significant developments for the sector beyond the progression of the Credit Guarantee Vehicle.

If executed properly, this could begin to address the single biggest constraint in the system – grid capacity – through transmission investment. Without expansion, generation reform cannot translate into real competition or price tension, so this is encouraging to see.

The broader infrastructure commitment of over R1 trillion demonstrates that the government understands energy reform must sit within a wider programme of logistics and municipal renewal. In particular, the allocation to performance-linked reform in metro trading services is important. Ring-fencing electricity revenue and improving financial discipline at municipal level is essential if we are serious about long-term system sustainability.

Equally important is what the Budget does not do, and we can draw conclusions from these omissions. It introduces no new adverse fiscal measures for the energy sector, and it maintains policy continuity around private sector participation and market reform. This stability matters for investor confidence.

However, on the downside, what was also absent was detailed timelines for grid expansion and clarity on the longer term tariff trajectory. From where I am sitting, tariff escalations are unlikely to disappear simply because loadshedding has eased. The structural cost pressures in the system – ageing coal assets, maintenance backlogs and the role of higher-cost backup generation – have not gone away, and these will ultimately be passed down to consumers and businesses. The Budget does not contradict that reality.

So yes, as the Finance Minister has said, South Africa is in the process of stabilising energy supply – but now we need tangible action to build a competitive energy market. And transmission expansion and market competition are what will ultimately determine whether electricity becomes affordable again.

Image credit: Freepik/pressfoto