South Africa announce temporary reduction for price of petrol and diesel
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South Africa govment don announce temporary reduction to di price of diesel and di price of petrol, among oda measures.
Di Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana say effective from 4 November to 1 December 2026, di price of petrol per litre go reduce by R1.50 ($0.09) and di price of diesel per litre go reduce by R3 ($0.18), and govment go continue to reduce di amount until 5 January 2027.
Godongwana wey announce di informate as e dey deliver di Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) for di parliament on Wednesday, 21 October also touch on di kontri revenue, expenditure, savings plus di current status of di kontri economy domestically, wey e say "still remain at elevated risks".
Di finance minister for di presentation tok say di borrowing cost for di kontri don rise sake of di disruption for price of oil globally, wey conflict for di Middle East cause.
E explain say na soon afta dem table dia budget for February, Israel and US go attack Iran, and dat conflict make dem close di Strait of Homuz, wey in turn affect South Africa economy and weaken di kontri domestic growth.
Godongwana explain further say sake of di prolonged kasala for di Middle East, alongside El Niño, economic activity for di kontri already lost some momentum, especially for export-linked sectors.
"We now forecast real economic growth of 1.2 per cent for 2026, down from di 1.6 per cent we project for February", e tok.
Di minister add say despite di setbacks, di revenue outlook for 2026/27 strong pass wetin dem expect, sake of higher collections from corporate tax, dividends tax and VAT.
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Sake of di way wey di economy, di minister say di govment don propose some relief measures for di citizens. E say dis intervention go help ease cost of living pressures witout compromising di sustainability of di budget.
Fuel price reduction
Effective from 4 November to 1 December 2026, govment say di price of diesel go reduce by R1.50 ($0.09) per litre and di price of petrol go reduce by R3 ($0.18) per litre.
Di finance minister say govment go continue to reduce di amount until 5 January 2027.
Di levy on diesel go reduce by R1.50 ($0.09) per litre, and petrol levy go also go down by R1($0.06) per litre, Godongwana add.
E explain say di amount govment go need to fund dis intervention na R10 billion, wey be approximately ($608.64 million), and govment go lose R10 billion revenue sake of di tax breaks plus oda concessions wey dem put in place.
On how di govment go take fund dis relief, Oga Godongwana explain say govment go get di fund money di Central Energy Fund.
"To fund dis relief package, di R10 billion govment transfer to di Central Energy Fund, dem go return am to di National Revenue Fund and put am inside di Contingency Reserve," di finance minister tok.
E add say dis intervention go help ease di cost of living pressures without compromising di sustainability of di budget.
National Online Gambling Tax
For im Medium Term Budget Policy Statement for di parliament, di finance minisyer tok say di National Treasury dey go ahead wit di design of di new National Online Gambling Tax, and dem go release more details on the measure for 2027.
E howeva no mention any nex tax on gambling.
Godongwana tok say di discussion paper wey dem propose for di new online gambling tax bin receive many submissions.
"Consultations dey go ongoing on di proposed tax design, im linkages to di existing regulatory framework, di implications for provinces plus di currently regulated market."
Na for 2025, di govment bin propose one national 20% tax on online gambling profits, wey dem say go double di revenue from di sector to 10 billion rand ($607 million) annually from di 4.8 billion wey e bin dey.
Dem draft di bill and present am to lawmakers for 2026. Di final tax proposal go ready for February 2027, according to di National Treasury.
Crypto regulations
On crypto, di minister tok say di govment go take different approach and rethink their proposal for regulating cryptocurrencies for di kontri.
for im statement, e say dem don receive plenty comments, and e dey clear now say dem need take different approach to di changes dem dey reason.
Earlier dis year, di National Treasury and di South African Reserve Bank bin publish draft capital flow management regulations, wey include di cross-border treatment of crypto assets.
"We must aim to shift away from pre-approvals. Instead, we must assess transactions for legitimacy and tax compliance," e tok.
Dis rethink dey come afta months of resistance from di crypto industry.
Godongwana bin first highlight im plan for im February budget, wen treasury tok say dem go bring crypto assets into di "capital flows management framework", TechCentral.
Di Reserve Bank bin warn at di time say becos "crypto payments no get border, dem present avenue to avoid exchange controls", and dem say dem don move nearly R63-billion from South African bitcoin wallets to foreign wallets since January 2019.
Gender Based Violence and Femicide
Di finance ministry don approve R3.8 billion ($232,134,400) as response to di rising rates of di murder and attacks on women for di kontri.
Di minister tok say following President Ramaphosa announcement concerning di unacceptably high levels of gender-based violence and femicide for South Africa, dem allocate money to hire ova 3,000 social workers and to support oda measures wey go prevent further violence against women.
- R3.8 billion to hire more dan 3,500 social workers especially to strengthen prevention in response to rising murders and attacks on women; and
- Dem allocate R186 million to forensic and investigative capacity,
- Expansion of sexual offences courts from 55 to 101 plus increasing di number of nationwide Thuthuzela Care Centres wey dey provide support to rape victims, from 72 to 80, by 2028/29.
- Allocation of additional R157.4 million to di Department of Women, Youth and Persons wit Disabilities.
Fighting Crime and Corruption
For di Medium Term Budget Policy Statement, di finance minister say govment dey renew and expand South African Police Service (SAPS) vehicle fleet, and dem don set aside R810 million for am next year.
For di judiciary side, govment don add R2.2 billion ova di next few years to make sure say courts and judges fit work more independently and witout interference.
Oga Godongwana tok say in addition to di allocations for di Border Management Authority dis year, govment also dey increase di number of labour inspectors, dis na to strengthen di capacity of di border inspectorate and di immigration officers to address di challenges wit illegal migration.
