South Africa pays R2.5 trillion in debt costs as borrowing hits R3.8 trillion
· Citizen
A parliamentary reply has revealed that South Africa’s growing debt burden is placing increasing pressure on public finances, with the country having borrowed R3.81 trillion since 2017/18 while paying R2.53 trillion in debt-service costs over the same period.
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MK (uMkhonto weSizwe) Member of Parliament (MP) Sanele Greegory Mwali asked the Minister of Finance how much the government has borrowed since 2018 and how much has been paid in debt service costs.
SA borrows R3.8 trillion in 9 years
“Government’s total gross borrowing requirement over the period 2017/18 to 2025/26 (estimate) amounted to R3.81 trillion,” said Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana.
“The total debt‑service cost over the period 2017/18 to 2025/26 (estimate) amounted to R2.53 trillion.”
In simple terms, the country is spending more and more money on interest, without reducing the debt. This can suggest that servicing this debt leaves less money for healthcare, education, and infrastructure.
The reply included the below breakdown showing debt‑service cost per financial year:
R billion2017/182018/192019/202020/212021/222022/232023/242024/252025/26Debt service cost162.64181.85204.77232.60268.07308.46356.11385.84420.61Tackling the rising national debt
In a separate parliamentary question by MK MP Mariam Be Be Muhammad asked Godongwana how the government plans to tackle the rising national debt without compromising essential public services.
Godongwana said the 2026 Budget continues a balanced fiscal strategy that prioritises debt stabilisation, and support for economic growth and the most vulnerable.
“Government’s medium-term fiscal strategy aims to stabilise the debt-to-GDP ratio in the current year and to reduce it through the rest of the decade by growing the main budget primary surplus,” he said.
“Debt-service costs also peak in 2025/26 as a percentage of GDP and revenue.”
Funds shift from debt to services
He added that by achieving a primary budget surplus, the government is halting the “crowding out” of service delivery, ensuring that fiscal resources are redirected away from debt-service costs to the essential infrastructure and frontline services required for national development.
“The 2026 Budget is the first budget this decade in which debt-service costs grow slower than social spending and infrastructure investment,” Godongwana added.
He noted that the fiscal system remains highly redistributive. “The social wage accounts for approximately 60 per cent of consolidated non-interest spending over the medium term,” said Godongwana.
Spending on social wage
Social wage includes spending on education, skills development and public employment; the provision of housing, public transport and free basic services; and healthcare.
Godongwana said basic education, health and social protection constitute 70.3% of the social wage in 2026/27, providing support to 13.6 million schoolchildren, healthcare services to 84% of the population and 26.5 million social grant beneficiaries.
“Spending on social development increases from R412.2 billion in 2025/26 to R466.4 billion in 2028/29,” he added.
“Allocations for health, education, and social protection over the 2026 MTEF period grow faster than inflation, safeguarding the purchasing power of social grants and the quality of frontline services.”
Government spending shifts
“The composition of spending shifts towards capital investment with payments for capital assets being the fastest-growing item by economic classification, increasing at a nominal annual average of 9.7 per cent over the next three years,” said Godongwana.
“The withdrawal of previously announced tax increase of R20 billion in 2026/27 enables the 2026 Budget to achieve a redistributive balance that fosters both social equity and sustainable economic growth.”
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