The Motor Industry Staff Association (Misa) says finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s recent budget speech brings little relief to workers who are faced daily with the consequences of failing infrastructure, unreliable public transport and weak state capacity.
The association says it’s not convinced the government will be able to turn Godongwana’s promises of maintaining macroeconomic stability, implementing structural reforms, investing in growth-enhancing infrastructure and building state capacity into reality.
Misa says it’s deeply concerned about the increases to the fuel levy, because government did not adhere to its promise to review the country’s fuel-pricing methodology and to include Misa in its task team, a promise made by the National Treasury and the former department of mineral resources and energy (DMRE) in the 2022 budget.
“South Africa urgently needs service delivery. Until infrastructure improves, logistics stabilise and public transport becomes reliable and affordable, workers and jobseekers continue to bear the cost of a state that promises more than it delivers,” says Martlé Keyter, Misa’s CEO of operations.
“Workers already spend a huge portion of their income on transport and any increase in fuel costs pushes them further into hardship. It is a disgrace that the Road Accident Fund (RAF) levy increased while it remains technically bankrupt and has been under sustained financial distress for more than three decades.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa has made ‘turning South Africa into a construction site’ a central pillar of his economic growth strategy in 2024. Yet the realities of collapsing roads, malfunctioning traffic lights and municipalities in distress remains,” Misa added.
Keyter said the budget again promises more than R1-trillion in infrastructure spending, but without a credible implementation track record, workers cannot assume this will translate into safer roads, reliable, uninterrupted electricity or functioning water systems that dealerships and workshops depend on. The lingering water crisis, which is yet to be resolved, is having a devastating impact on businesses and on livelihoods.
“Nothing is done to fix the mismanagement of the RAF or to hold those responsible accountable. Misa cannot support a system where workers are asked to contribute more without any guarantee that the fund will be run responsibly or that road users will receive better protection.”
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