The latest Mpumalanga budget for the 2025/26 financial year was delivered by the MEC for Finance, Bonakele Majuba.
He touched on the significance of March as Human Rights Month before addressing the provincial economic landscape and outlook, saying it has improved, the result of positive developments such as sustained power supply, despite a relatively short load shedding period recently, lower inflation and job creation in late 2024.
He stressed that challenges such as low growth, high unemployment, poverty and inequality, are persisting. “The relatively low global growth and rising of geopolitical risks are likely to affect the economies of not all provinces in South Africa,” he said.
However, the provincial economy is expected to grow in line with the national prospects, just below 2% annually until 2028. The highest growth rates are expected in the transport and communication industry, finance, construction and trade. This also includes agriculture and agro-processing, manufacturing and tourism which would have a positive effect on job creation efforts.
Majuba said that it is possible for the province to grow its economy by 3% by identifying new export opportunities and markets. He said Mozambican stability is crucial as 60% of Mpumalanga’s foreign arrivals to Mpumalanga from there.
According to the latest Stats SA Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), the province performed well in the job market during the last six months of 2024 with job gains reaching almost 50,000 in the third quarter and more than 13,000 in the fourth; 1.25 million were employed, the highest ever recorded for this province.
This declined however and concerns about the high unemployment figures of women (37%) and youth (48.9%), are of huge concern. The Medium-Term Development Plan set a provincial unemployment rate target of 25%.
This translates to creation of between 50,000 and 60,000 new and sustainable jobs annually for the next five years. Once again, the agriculture, manufacturing, construction trade and tourism and finance sectors would be key to job growth with the informal settlement a strong contender, providing 51,391 jobs during the second to fourth quarter of 2024 (30% of employment at the moment.) The collaboration between government and social partners to meet these targets are considered as of the utmost importance.
The 2025 National Fiscal Framework allocated R369.7 million this year and R1.2 billion to support the province in addressing the additional cost of implementing the wage agreement. Mpumalanga would also receive R1.6 billion due to the impact of the data update on the provincial equitable share formula. The unspent R31 million during the 2024/25 financial year was reallocated to the Departments of Economic Development and Tourism, Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs and Community Safety, Security and Liaison.
The provincial budget for the 2025/26 financial year amounts to R66 billion, 214 million, and 94 thousand, of which R52.4 billion is from Equitable Share, R10.4 billion from Conditional Grants, and R2.4 billion from Provincial Own Revenue.
Spending priorities as endorsed by the Executive Council are:
- Office of the Premier – R493million 827 000, including an additional R12 million to establish a highly specialised Provincial Programme Management unit
- Provincial Legislature – from R519 million 13 000 in the 2024/25 financial year to R549 million 137 000 in the 2025/26 financial year
- Provincial Treasury – from R560 million 178 000 for the last financial year to R647 million 494 000 in the 2025/26 financial year. An additional allocation of R80 million would be used for maintenance of current transversal systems which support all votes in the province, continued investment in ICT infrastructure, roll out new innovations as part of the business automation programme and supporting initiatives to improve financial governance in departments and public entities.
- Co-operative Governance Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs – R2 billion 360 million 127 thousand
- Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs– R1 billion 644 million 634 thousand for the 2025/26 financial year. The Department also received R29 million from the National Disaster Relief Fund.
- Economic Development and Tourism – 5 million.
- R38 million for completion of the Mpumalanga International Fresh Produce Market and R30 million to the Mpumalanga Economic Regulator.
- Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency (MEGA) – 9 million.
- Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) – 6 million for the maintenance of nature reserves, R118 million for tourism development. R31 million to, amongst others, conduct feasibility studies the development of new tourism products.
- Education – largest share of the provincial budget – R28 billion 732 million 641 000
- Public Works, Roads and Transport – R 5 billion 876 million 914 000.
- Community Safety, Security and Liaison – R2 billion 144 million 260 000
- Health – R19 billion 750 million 974 000
- Culture, Sport and Recreation – R812 million 298 000
- Social Development – R1 billion 877 million 527 000
