Rofhiwa Irene Singo, CFO at the Department of Justice and Correctional Services; Alex Smith, CFO at e4; Masilo Makhura, CFO at the Department of Public Service and Administration; and Devrani Moonsamy, head of finance at The Ombud Council share what they would like to hear from Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.
CFOs are eagerly awaiting the 2026 Budget speech, taking place on 25 February in Parliament. The address will outline the government's fiscal policy, tax changes and expenditure priorities for the 2026/2027 financial year.
The budget allocation aims to strike a balance between growing the economy and supporting the vulnerable amid limited resources.
Here’s what CFOs are hoping to hear:
Rofhiwa Irene Singo, CFO at the Department of Justice and Correctional Services says she hopes the minister will allocate funds for job creation.
“Unemployment bothers me a lot. It is too high, especially for these youngsters who have gone to school, done their degrees and now they can’t find jobs. I really want to see something about the youth. I want to see money put in for youth empowerment, small businesses, because I think that is where jobs are going to come from. It really bothers me when young people are not working and cannot join business establishments and earn income. That is why they end up abusing drugs and other things,” she said.
“There are no jobs for ordinary matriculants who are not in college. Every time I see people selling goods on the streets, like fruit and vegetables, I always wonder how much they are making? So even if they cannot access tertiary education, they need to be empowered to do some other work. But most of them have no access to finance. I always say smallanyana money, give someone R20,000 to get the basics. And the government has these facilities, it is also about educating them on how to apply.”
A tough job
Alex Smith, CFO at e4, said that “tax cuts” would be a welcome reprieve in this year’s budget speech, while acknowledging that such relief is unlikely. He added that the minister’s priority should be to stay the course on fiscal discipline.
“The borrowing is starting to stabilise and come down over time. We need policies that will be the trigger for ratings upgrades, that will support the currency and keep interest rates and inflation low. I think that is kind of the secret sauce. The minister has a tough job. I hope he keeps on the same track and does not get distracted by populist demands. One often sees this dynamic in public leadership: as soon as they gain some breathing space, there can be a tendency to use all of it immediately. Effective leadership, however, requires holding something in reserve so you have room to manoeuvre when more challenging moments arrive, particularly in the current global environment.”
For Masilo Makhura, CFO at the Department of Public Service and Administration, setting aside money for infrastructure improvements are paramount.
“The most important thing is maintenance of our infrastructure. Our infrastructure is essentially damaged and the root cause is that there is no maintenance. We have big infrastructure and assets that have just been left to get rotten. And even with new infrastructure, it doesn’t get maintained. So it’s just a merry-go-round. We need investment in infrastructure, capital investment. We also need to fix our roads and make sure that those who do not belong in government are sidelined,” he said.
“Another issue I would like to see in the budget speech is how do we incentivise small businesses through tax incentives to encourage entrepreneurship. This will stimulate economic growth and reduce the burden of unemployment. The reduction of the costly state debt remains a challenge and I wish the minister of finance will come with a pronouncement on how to reduce state debt.”
Uplifting women
Devrani Moonsamy, head of finance at The Ombud Council would like to see significant investment in uplifting women.
“While state institutions have this in their mandates, I think more needs to be done to empower women in South Africa. It will be significantly impactful to develop more women leaders in the public sector to lead with confidence, drive systemic change and build a more ethical, effective and inclusive public sector, ultimately improving service delivery in South Africa,” she noted.
“A wonderful initiative is Agsa partnering with Fassett to empower and develop women leaders in South Africa. They are recruiting 500 dynamic women leaders from across South Africa’s public sector to take part in a prestigious leadership development programme, fully funded by Fasset. So, it's wonderful to hear of such projects supporting women in leadership in the public sector and we welcome more impactful projects like that,” she added.
“Women play an important role in every aspect of society, from family and work to politics. They are caregivers, mothers, leaders, entrepreneurs and activists. Despite the challenges they face, women remain resilient and determined to create a better world for themselves and future generations. So investing in women to lead in the public sector will drive positive change for South Africa.”
“I have personally graduated from a similar executive leadership programme facilitated through the International Women’s Forum South Africa (IWFSA), Fasset and Duke CE, aimed to empower women in the financial and accounting sector and it really had a positive impact on my life and the quality of my work.”
