Godongwana unveils fuel relief and R10 billion El Niño buffer

News Changemakers Lifestyle Farmer’s Inside Track Food for Thought No Result View All Result News Changemakers Lifestyle Farmer’s Inside Track Food for Thought No Result View All Result No Result View All Result in News Godongwana unveils fuel relief and R10 billion El Niño buffer Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has announced key measures to buffer South Africa’s agricultural sector against global oil shocks and El Niño risks. His midterm budget highlights include temporary fuel levy reductions and R1.5 billion over three years to hire extension officers by Tiisetso Manoko 21st October 2026 Finance minister Enoch Godongwana announced a fuel levy relief in the medium-term budget. Photo: Pexels

Share on TwitterShare on WhatsApp The prolonged conflict in the Middle East, alongside El Niño and its likely impact on producer costs and output, could further weaken domestic growth, finance minister Enoch Godongwana said today.

Godongwana presented his medium-term budget in parliament, Cape Town, emphasising that his department was on course to healthier public finances.

The minister said the fuel levy would be reduced by R3 per litre for diesel and R1.50 per litre for petrol from 4 November to 1 December 2026 to provide temporary relief.

“Thereafter, the relief will continue at a lower amount until 5 January 2027. The diesel levy will be reduced by R1.50 per litre and the petrol levy by R1 per litre. These measures will provide R10 billion in support, at a fiscal cost of R10 billion in foregone revenue.

“To fund this relief, the R10 billion that was transferred to the Central Energy Fund will be returned to the National Revenue Fund and put into the Contingency Reserve. This intervention will help ease cost of living pressures without compromising the sustainability of the budget,” he explained.

The minister said the Middle East conflict led to the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor connecting oil suppliers to the world. “The interruptions to global oil supply have caused prices to rise sharply, particularly food and energy prices.”

Godongwana further announced the allocation of the contingency reserve increases to R10 billion to respond to the potential threats associated with the El Niño and other risks.

“In the budget we had in February we had R5 billion, it has exhausted, so we are worried about the El Niño impact, that is why we have put an amount of R10 billion to deal with the impact of this El Niño in December and January,” he said.

Meanwhile, following President Cyril Ramaphosa announcement in 2025 State of the Nation Address (Sona) of hiring 10 000 extension officers, Godongwana said there will be an additional R1.5 billion over the next three years for additional extension officers in the agricultural sector where they will continue to provide crucial support to farming communities.

Addressing the ageing infrastructure especially in the water sector, Godongwana said poorly maintained infrastructure, high water losses and weak municipal capacity have undermined service delivery.

“Too many households and businesses still face unreliable water supply. Government’s response through the National Water Action Plan focuses not only on infrastructure, but on fixing institutions responsible for delivering water services.

“The priority is to restore operational performance, strengthen governance and technical capacity, reduce water losses, improve revenue collection and reform the way water infrastructure is financed.”

Gondongwana emphasised that by addressing both infrastructure and institutional weaknesses, the government is laying the foundation for reliable water services and stronger local economies.

“Infrastructure is a catalyst for economic growth. It remains at the centre of government’s reform agenda. Every rand invested must deliver greater economic returns, attract private investment and improve the quality of life of South Africans,” he said.

READ NEXT: Patensie claims Agri’s Got Talent crown for second year running

Tiisetso Manoko is a seasoned journalist with vast experience in community media. He possesses diploma in media studies majoring in journalism, certificate in civic leadership. He loves news from all angles with particular interest in local government, agriculture and politics. He is a staunch Mamelodi Sundowns Football club supporter.

Farmers and agribusinesses seeking growth, funding, and stronger market connections can engage with industry leaders at the Agda Annual Stakeholder…

Join Food For Mzansi’s WhatsApp channel for the latest updates! JOIN NOW! THE NEW FACE OF SOUTH AFRICAN AGRICULTURE

With 21 global awards in the first six years of its existence, Food For Mzansi is much more than an agriculture publication. It is a movement, unashamedly saluting the unsung heroes of South African agriculture. We believe in the power of agriculture to promote nation building and social cohesion by telling stories that are often overlooked by broader society.

Contact usOffice: +27 21 879 1824News: info@foodformzansi.co.zaAdvertising: sales@foodformzansi.co.za

Contact usOffice: +27 21 879 1824News: info@foodformzansi.co.zaAdvertising: sales@foodformzansi.co.za

This feature generates automated answers summarised from Food For Mzansi articles. By using it, you are interacting with an AI system (provided by Google), not a human. AI can make mistakes. Please refer to the source articles for verification and citation purposes.

Our staff do not check or moderate Lerato’s answers in advance, but may review some later. Our journalists continue to write and edit all the articles Lerato uses as sources.

To estimate unique and returning web users, we store a random browser ID in this browser. WhatsApp users are counted by phone number. The same person using both channels may be counted twice.

We use cookies to improve your experience on our site. By using our site, you consent to cookies.

Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the proper function of the website.

Google Tag Manager simplifies the management of marketing tags on your website without code changes.

Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us understand how visitors use our website.

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that tracks and analyzes website traffic for informed marketing decisions.

Service URL: policies.google.com (opens in a new window)

Jetpack’s built-in visitor analytics. It records page views, referring sites, search terms, and outbound link clicks, and also carries the shared visitor-tracking library used by Jetpack Instant Search and WooCommerce Analytics.

Service URL: automattic.com (opens in a new window)

Google reCAPTCHA helps protect websites from spam and abuse by verifying user interactions through challenges.

Marketing cookies are used to follow visitors to websites. The intention is to show ads that are relevant and engaging to the individual user.

Facebook Pixel is a web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic.

Service URL: www.facebook.com (opens in a new window)