‘We pay too much’: Public funds wasted on inflated government costs, says Zibi

Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi has criticised the government for wasting public funds by overpaying for goods and services, and failing to hold officials accountable for wasteful spending.

His comments came during a media briefing by parliament’s finance cluster on Thursday, a day after South Africa’s third national budget was tabled.

The latest fiscal plan outlined R68 billion in spending cuts over the next three years.

The reductions aim to address revenue losses caused by the government’s decision not to increase the value-added tax (VAT) rate.

‘Pro-poor’ budget

During Thursday’s briefing, Joe Maswanganyi, chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, described the 2025/2026 budget as “pro-poor”.

“The budget, we believe, will bring inclusive growth even under constrained conditions,” he said.

“The budget contains hard choices, but it protects the vulnerable and positions our economy for stability and reforms.”

ALSO READ: Pressure on Sars to prevent tax increases in 2026

Maswanganyi also praised the R7.5 billion allocated to the South African Revenue Service (Sars), aimed at boosting revenue collection.

“This reinforces fairness in our tax system, ensuring that all citizens and companies, especially the wealthy, pay what they owe.”

However, he raised a red flag over the country’s debt costs, pointing out that South Africa spends R1.2 billion per day on servicing debt.

“That needs to be addressed.”

Watch the briefing below:

Budget should prioritise solving real problems

Zibi, the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), spoke of the positive elements in the budget process, especially the growing engagement of South Africans.

“Taxpayers finally said, ‘No more money. We make do with what we already give you’.

“This is a very good thing because people can now appreciate that the government, and that means taxpayers themselves, do not have limitless resources.

READ MORE: Sensible or underwhelming? Economists react to Godongwana’s Budget 3.0

“Money does not fall from trees. So you cannot commit to do everything, pay for everything, and not have problems thereafter.”

He argued that the controversy over VAT had detracted from the real purpose of a national budget, which is setting expenditure priorities.

“Budgets are meant to solve problems. The debate around budgets is supposed to be about the order of those priorities and whether these allocations are sufficient or to be spent in an efficient manner.”

Government wasting money

Zibi highlighted flaws in how the government allocates and manages expenditure, pointing out that over R820 billion is spent on salaries, R440 billion on social grants, and R424 billion on debt servicing.

The Rise Mzansi leader criticised government inefficiency and overspending, particularly in the procurement of goods and services.

“We pay too much because some of them are poorly conceived, poorly planned, poorly managed and often there is corruption.”

READ MORE: Budget 3.0: not austerity budget, but a redistributive budget

He called for expenditure reviews to ensure that “every rent goes as far as possible” and also questioned whether the government remains fit for purpose. 

“Do we have the right number of civil servants doing the kind of work that needs to be done? Or are we trying to fit a square into a circle?”

Zibi called for stricter financial discipline and proposed the introduction of benchmarks to curb excessive spending.

“We need to set benchmarks where the government does not spend more than 100% of planned project spend, and staff are incentivised for projects that are completed on time and within budget.

“We cannot have civil and construction projects lasting double or triple the time, at double or triple the cost that was initially planned. That is not value for money.”

Budget expenditure review

Zibi further recommended “centralising” project management to improve oversight and reduce inefficiencies.

“Consulting engineers, we’ve learned, are a massive weakness, failing to ensure that the work is of the right quality, payments are only made when the work is done, and when those payments are made, they’re in line with what we should be paying.

“Fighting corruption is a priority to the minister reaffirmed yesterday.”

Zibi added that both National Treasury and the Government Technical Advisory Centre (GTAC) have done work in recent years to better understand public expenditure patterns.

He revealed that he has invited Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana for further engagements on the matter.

“We will look at exploring a joint sitting between the finance committees where he will lay out for two days, the areas where the government since 2013-2014 has been spending money, where that expenditure has been efficient, whether that expenditure has not been efficient, and what some of the critical interventions that can be made are.”

NOW READ: Godongwana cuts zero-rated food basket in Budget 3.0