The promise vs the punchline — what South Africans really got

Surprisingly well-versed in the Budget, 40-year-old Roger Solomons and his friends near the bus terminus in the Cape Town CBD, plead for shelter: ‘Just give us a place to stay.’ (Photo: Lisakanya Venna)

By Lisakanya Venna

21 May 2025

As Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana unveiled the May 2025 Budget, many South Africans were holding their breath — and their hopes — hoping the government would ease the pinch of rising costs and stagnant incomes. But how did the Budget stack up against the voices we heard just hours before the big reveal?

Daily Maverick took a stroll through Cape Town’s streets and marketplaces to see what was being said, and hold that against what was delivered.

Minutes before the budget speech, Cape Town taxi owner and driver Ashley Jafter had a simple, urgent plea: “They must work on the diesel and petrol [decrease prices].” Jafter, who drives his personal car at least three times a month, said, “The petrol is killing me.”

Fuel for hope — minutes before the Budget is tabled, Cape Town taxi owner and driver Ashley Jafter voices a pressing plea: ‘They must work on the diesel and petrol [decrease prices].’ (Photo: Lisakanya Venna)

However, rather than relief, drivers and car owners face a modest inflationary increase that will inevitably ripple through fares and goods prices. The general fuel levy will increase by 16 cents a litre for petrol and 15 cents for diesel, effective from 4 June 2025.

Nosisa Mcasi, a South African car owner in Cape Town, said the increase wouldn’t make much difference any more.

“They have been increasing it to the point that we don’t care any more,” she said.

Small business left out in the rain

Street vendor Clayton Mathambo, braving Cape Town’s drizzle, hoped for government support to formalise businesses, access loans and have protection from crime. The Budget, however, offered little direct relief for small traders.

While there were some allocations to frontline services and infrastructure, no targeted lifeline for small businesses or crime prevention was announced.

Modest increments, mounting disappointment

Cape Town pensioners Jeremy Adams and Gradin Francis huddle under shelter from the rain, hoping for a grant boost. (Photo: Lisakanya Venna)

Surprisingly well-versed in the Budget, 40-year-old Roger Solomons and friends near the bus terminus in the Cape Town CBD, plead for shelter: ‘Just give us a place to stay.’ (Photo: Lisakanya Venna)

Jeremy Adams and Gradin Francis, pensioners sheltering from the rain, dared to dream of a grant boost. Social grants recipients saw only modest increases, unchanged from those announced in the 12 March budget. The old age grant rose by R130 a month and the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant was extended to March 2026, but there was no radical overhaul or introduction of a basic income grant.

For pensioners, the wait for meaningful relief and housing continues, with inflation still gnawing at their limited incomes.

Nwabisa Gocini, a mother who receives the child support grant, expressed her disappointment with the modest R30 increase.

“It doesn’t make any difference at all from my side … food is very expensive. Some of the parents are unemployed … they need to also make sure their children have warm clothes this winter,” she said. DM

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Business Maverick

Small business left out in the rain

Modest increments, mounting disappointment