22 cents of every rand collected spent on debt servicing: Godongwana

South Africa’s debt servicing costs are projected to reach R426.3 billion in the current financial year.

According to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, this means that 22 cents of every rand collected in revenue will go toward paying off debt.

Godongwana made the announcement while presenting the 2025/26 National Budget in Parliament on Wednesday.

However, Godongwana says government remains committed to reducing debt servicing costs with the aim of stabilizing debt at 77 percent in 2026 – higher than previous estimates.

“In 2025/26, government debt is projected to stabilize at 77.4 per cent of GDP. While this is 1.2 per cent higher than projected in the March 12 budget, it is mainly due to lower nominal GDP. The main budget deficit decreases by R8 billion over the MTEF, compared to our estimates in March. This narrower deficit is enabled by the steadily expanding primary surplus.”