Free State budget: wage bill comprises 65% even as economy keeps waning

Image: courtesy of FF Plus

The Free State's budget for the 2026/27 financial year clearly shows that government’s first priority is not developing the province, but keeping the public service afloat.

An eye-watering 65% of the provincial budget goes to salaries, while the sectors that truly drive economic growth are neglected.

Agriculture – central to food security and job creation – receives only 2,3% of the budget, with a meagre R5 million earmarked for the foot-and-mouth disease crisis. Although the visible involvement of the MEC for Agriculture, Ms Elzabe Rockman, on grass-roots level is positive, the reality is that the available resources are simply insufficient to meaningfully address a crisis of this scale.

Meanwhile, nearly half of the Free State’s municipalities are under administration. Unfortunately, restoring them is not reflected as a priority in the budget. The Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) receives just 1% of the budget. This is a clear sign that the issues at the heart of local government crises are not taken seriously or addressed decisively.

Funds for road maintenance decline by an average of 8,7% over the medium term. These funds are reallocated to the so-called Presidential Employment and Stimulus Initiative (PESI) – a programme that has stimulated little to no job creation in South Africa.

This means funds are being poured into a bottomless pit at the expense of roads and infrastructure. It undermines economic growth, making it increasingly difficult for businesses and residents to function normally.

This budget fails to address the root causes of the Free State's problems; it is merely doing damage control, while the economy keeps waning.

Ultimately, residents are paying the price for a government that is only focused on protecting itself, while infrastructure decays and the Free State's economy slowly suffocates.