This comes as the nation awaits an official announcement on the 0.5 percentage point increase in Value Added Tax (VAT), which Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced in the 2025 Budget delivered in Parliament last month. Van der Poel says the outlook for households with the pending VAT hike is bleak.

“We conducted a survey very recently to get an idea of what consumers are going through, particularly looking at the effect of the electricity price hike that has just come in. It has been absolutely shocking to see the choices that consumers are having to make, with people cutting back on essentials like food and transport to keep their lights on. And this was before the electricity hike had even kicked in. Now, with the addition of another 12.7% tariff hike, we have a cost-of-living crisis, lingering effects from past economic challenges, and unemployment. Disposable income is shrinking, and realistically, household finances are crashing.”

--SABC--