Budget 2026: Civil Society Groups Call For a R1,750-A-Month Social Grant

Activists said unemployment, collapsing services and inequality were driving instability.

Civil society groups gathered in Cape Town on Tuesday to send a message ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget speech: people are struggling and they expect little relief from what they believe will be an “anti-poor” budget.

The groups met as part of a People’s Assembly on Unemployment, Austerity and the Fight for Decent Work. They said the government had failed to deal with high unemployment, growing inequality and poor public services. They want a major shift in how money is raised and spent.

Madoda Cuphe from the Alternative Information and Development Centre said that since 1994 there had not been enough spending on public services, despite promises of “a better life for all”.

He said public transport, education and healthcare had deteriorated. People could no longer afford water and electricity.

Municipal workers had been retrenched and replaced with short-term contract workers. Mass unemployment was creating dangerous levels of instability, he said.

Small increases in spending would not fix “over 30 years of neglect”. “We don’t want handouts, charity or pity. We want the government to meet us halfway. We are prepared to roll up our sleeves … and rebuild an alternative economy together,” he said.

Dineo Motloang from the Botsabelo Unemployment Movement in the Free State, whose organisation helps young people become self-reliant through farming and other projects, said government support is not enough.

Her main demand is an expanded Basic Income Grant (BIG) of at least R1,750 a month. The R370-a-month Social Relief of Distress grant, she said, was “an insult”.

“It cannot even last a month,” she said.

She also called for more funding for services and infrastructure in informal settlements, and better access to land. She said communities should be allowed to use unused land and closed factories for projects. If they failed, the government could step in, she said, “but they must at least be given a chance”.

Motloang said money could be found for these proposals. “The government needs to tax the rich. It’s not like the money isn’t there. The issue is that it isn’t allocated fairly.”

“As the unemployed, we are also paying VAT.”

Thulani Bukani from Cry of the Xcluded said there were not enough police vehicles or officers in areas where crime was the highest. Clinics and hospitals were short-staffed, with workers performing several roles because vacant posts were not filled.

He said government had failed to protect domestic industry from competition from imported goods, businesses were closing, and jobs were being lost. “It’s not because people are lazy or because of foreigners. It’s the failure of the government to create enough jobs.”

Godongwana is expected to deliver his budget speech on Wednesday at 2pm, but these civil society groups say they are already preparing to be disappointed.

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