Wednesday, 21 October 2026

Treasury will write a fiscal anchor into law next year, with no numerical debt ceiling. Each incoming administration must prepare a fiscal plan, and deviations must be explained to Parliament.

Municipalities will be required to table funded budgets, with amendments to the Municipal Finance Management Act ending the practice of leaving out known commitments. National Treasury would also sign off metro CFO appointments.

Fuel levy relief starts in November and is reduced in December, but Treasury says it must stay fiscally neutral. Further relief depends on whether fiscal balances allow it if fuel prices rise again.

Consumer inflation rose to 4.5% in September from 4.4% in August, driven mainly by fuel, which is almost 28% higher than a year ago. Electricity is nearly 8% more expensive than last year.

Luno's Marius Retz credited National Treasury for halting its proposed cross-border crypto rules after industry comment, calling it a gracious and public admission that the original proposals would not work.