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Godongwana sets out reform progress in mid-term budget speech

Published

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament on Wednesday. He said he will withhold funds again from municipalities that misuse public money, and the statement allocates R10bn for temporary fuel levy relief.

Godongwana said the structural reforms are not abstract policy measures. National Treasury documents list progress in electricity, logistics, water, local government, rail and visa reforms. Godongwana said poorly maintained infrastructure, high water losses and weak municipal capacity have undermined service delivery.

Treasury said passenger rail journeys rose from 17 million in 2021/22 to 101 million in 2025/26. It said the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa targets 232 million journeys in 2028/29. Treasury credited signal modernisation, rolling stock replacement and other infrastructure rollouts.

The wholesale electricity market launched internally with 32 participants. The next step is to finalise trading rules and open the market externally in 2027. Eleven private train operators will start running on the freight network in 2027.

Water projects worth more than R60 billion are now in the financing stage. Eight metro municipalities joined the Metro Trading Services Reform programme. Treasury said the White Paper on Local Government will be launched this week.

Key facts

Who
Enoch Godongwana (Finance Minister); National Treasury (department that issued the MTBPS documents)
What
Godongwana presented the MTBPS in Parliament, stressing that structural reforms affect daily lives; the MTBPS documents list reform progress in key sectors this year, along with planned next steps for 2027 and beyond.
When
21 October 2026
Where
South Africa
Status
Reported

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