MTBPS 2025 | Godongwana allocates R100m for G20 summit

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has adjusted the budget of the international relations and co-operation department by R100m to close the funding shortfall for hosting the G20 leaders’ summit due to take place next weekend.

Godongwana took away from “other departments’ declared savings” to fund the G20 summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in the south of Johannesburg.

Godongwana tabled his 2026 medium-term budget policy statement (MTBPS) in parliament on Wednesday.

His revised spending plans include budget roll-overs of R5.2bn from the previous financial year, including “unforeseeable and unavoidable expenditure of R1.6bn” to fund disaster relief and the Madlanga commission of inquiry into allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system.

“It also includes spending announced at the time of the 2025 budget for the national dialogue, Stats SA, and the office of the chief justice, and confirms provisional allocations for health and education, including early childhood development.”

This will see the Mandlanga commission funded to the tune of R147m.

The national dialogue, slammed as nothing but an expensive talk shop by some sections of society and the political spectrum, has been allocated R132m.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa has also been allocated R1.1bn to help it prepare for the 2026 local government elections.

An amount of R2bn has been channelled towards the rebuilding of large parts of the parliamentary complex in Cape Town, which was gutted by fire in 2022.

Godongwana has also pencilled in the extension of the R350 per month social relief of distress grant.

“The Covid-19 social relief of distress grant will be extended for another year, to March 2027, while proposals are finalised to link the working-age population to skills development and employment programmes.”

The South African Social Security Agency will continue to intensify efforts to eliminate fraud and corruption in the multi-billion rand grants payment system, he said.

“This will strengthen the integrity, efficiency and sustainability of the social grants system. The agency is also expected to realise savings over the medium term after the expiration of the Postbank contract for grant distribution. These savings will help offset the additional costs associated with stricter income verification and beneficiary reviews.”

The National Treasury was also adding just more than R590m to the coffers of the provincial health departments in response to the withdrawal of the US President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief funding.

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