The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) is aware of the significant financial pressure experienced by households and businesses, caused mainly by the increases in electricity, fuel and food prices. The fuel price has increased by an astonishing 43% over the past year. We thus welcome the announced reduction in the fuel levy from 4 November until 5 January 2027, as this will provide temporary relief. We call for the finalisation of the comprehensive review of the fuel price, which has been ongoing for some time.
We note that the revenue outlook is stronger than expected, with an estimated R17.1 billion increase as opposed to the February estimate. These additional funds must be used to reduce cost of living and provide much-needed increases for social welfare grants.
The ACDP remains concerned about the low economic growth rate, now forecast downwards to 1.2% of GDP. This is far too low to address the high levels of unemployment in the country. We support the focus on structural reforms, coupled with strengthening state capability and delivering public infrastructure.
Regrettably, private sector capital investment is still lagging mainly due to policy uncertainty, such as BEE, expropriation of property without compensation, and NHI. This must be addressed to stimulate capital investment from the private sector.
The ACDP supports the concept of a fiscal anchor to stabilise the debt-to-GDP ratio, which was set at 78.4% of GDP last year. A fiscal anchor will assist in reducing government debt and debt service costs (22 cents of every rand collected in tax is spent on debt service costs), freeing up more financial resources for frontline services such as Police, Health, Education and Social Services.
The ACDP has always maintained that the billions of rands lost through wasteful and corrupt expenditure should be recovered for the State, and the guilty parties put behind bars. In this regard, we welcome the additional resources to fight crime and corruption, with R3.8 billion for 3 500 extra social workers and R186 million extra for additional forensic and investigative capacity. We further welcome the targeted savings, which will result in a saving of R12 billion this year and R38.1 billion over the 2027 MTEF period.
Municipal service delivery is weak to non-existent in certain areas. Whilst the Minister has announced additional funding, financial mismanagement and administration must be drastically improved to ensure reliable water, sanitation, well-maintained roads, and safe and lit public open spaces.
While the additional funds allocated to municipalities may be necessary to pay for bulk services, delinquent councillors and officials must be held accountable for looting and stealing of municipal funds.
Lastly, the November 4 local government elections afford voters the opportunity to elect councillors that understand servant leadership and good stewardship of state resources. These are the candidates the ACDP offers and we urge voters to come out in their numbers to support the ACDP on the 4th of November.
