Johannesburg- In South Africa, legislators proposed plans to advance the health and defense budget, but also increased the value -added tax by 0.5 %, which will increase the cost of life as consumers pay high goods, including food and services.
Finance Minister Anuch Godongwana said that another 28.9 billion rand ($ 1.5 billion) was allocated in a budget of 2025 for health expenses. Deduction for help from the United States Under the Trump administration.
The extra money will pay the salaries of about 9,300 medical personnel and about 800 new qualified doctors in clinics and hospitals.
Overall health costs are expected to rise from 277 billion rand in 2024/25 to 329 billion in 2027/28.
This increase has come to the fore among the concerns that South Africa’s health system, which takes care of the world’s largest HIV population, and is 5.5 million people are on living -saving antitrical drugs, US agency for international development will be pressured by USAID deductions.
In early February, the president Donald Trump canceled PepperPresident’s emergency plan for AIDS Relief, which provides more than 400 million annually to South Africa’s HIV programs and NGOs.
Although 74 % of South Africa’s HIV response is provided domesticly, some services depend on the US government’s financing, which is about 17 % of the country’s AIDS response budget.
Despite being one of the most developed countries in South Africa Africa, it struggles with high debt rates and slow pace of GDP.
Ministry spokesman Foster Mohil said Foster Mohil, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said the Ministry of Health would soon begin consultation on distribution of state funds, including allocated to filling the gaps that survived US deductions.
“It is too early for you to tell you how we will help those affected by the frozen,” Mohal said. “But we (soon) will be able to talk about how we use this budget to try to cover some areas of pressure.”
The latest budget has not yet been approved by the cabinet. The parliamentary committees will discuss the budget before voting in front of the entire legislature in the coming weeks. If it passes, the ministries are free to use allocated funds. However, if Parliament rejects it, new elections are called, and the administration resigns.
About 5 billion Rands ($ 271 million) was designed to improve military forces, Godongwana said. Fighting in East Congo intensifies.
To provide financial support for additional costs on health, education, transport and security, the government plans to increase consumption tax, or VAT by half a percent in 2025-2026, which has led to anger from political and urban organizations.
VAT is payable for goods and services, including food and electricity.
Another half percent of points will be introduced in the next year, with the VAT rate of 16 % by 2026-2027.
“VAT is a tax that affects everyone. The Finance Minister, seeking to stop the legislators, said, “By choosing a slight increase in VAT, the impact and impact of its distribution was cautiously considered.” There is also the most effective way to avoid deductions in further costs and enable the expansion of social wages. “
