Will the medium-term budget be magic or misery?

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has the tough task of trying to find some relief for struggling households while, at the same time, exploring new ways of generating revenue when he delivers the 2026 medium-term budget policy statement in Cape Town tomorrow.

Government must now either cut spending, raise more taxes, or find other ways to improve its finances to keep its debt stable – a tricky balancing act mainly due to the economic fallout from the conflict in the Middle East.

Motorists have been hit hard by the consistent fuel hikes that, in turn, affects the cost of everything.

Retail strategist Jeri Mookana, founder of Laud Beauty, warned the year is just going to get harder: “Whatever the minister announces, shoppers made their own budget decisions months ago. They’re cancelling subscriptions, cutting extras and asking a much harder question before they spend: is this worth it?

“I spent almost 20 years helping retailers get people to buy more. What the data taught me is that volume is the easiest way to grow and the most expensive way to last.

“Right now, the brands that win won’t be the ones shouting the loudest discount. They’ll be the ones customers trust not to waste their money.”

She added: “Black Friday is the perfect example. Record sales look great on Monday morning. But if shoppers are left with things they didn’t need and retailers are left with stock they had to slash, nobody really won.

“When money is this tight, choice stops feeling like freedom and starts feeling like work. The kindest thing a retailer can do for a South African woman now is to do the hard thinking before a product reaches the shelf, so she doesn’t have to gamble her budget on it.

“My advice this festive season is simple: buy fewer things and buy them on purpose. One good product you actually use is worth more than five bargains you’ll forget about by January.”

We wonder what good or bad surprises Godongwana has in store for us.