‘Anti-poor’ and ‘pro-privilege’: The Cry of the Xcluded describe the national budget

The Cry of the Xcluded describes the 2026/27 national budget presented by the treasury on Wednesday as a political document that shows whose lives count as the finance minister told the poor that they do not matter. Leaders from The Cry of the Xcluded held a press conference earlier on Thursday to issue their response to the budget speech.

Siyabulela Mama, an activist with The Cry, read the statement: “South Africa is not poor. It is profoundly unequal. This budget entrenches inequality, it prioritises signalling credibility to investors over guaranteeing dignity to citizens. A budget is a political document. It shows whose lives count. This budget tells the poor you don’t count.”

The Cry of the Xcluded is a forum for social movements, and according to Mahlubandile Khuhlane, who chaired the press conference, the formation has a presence in all nine provinces. The group was part of the protest yesterday against budget cuts. The statement by the organisation says that the budget is anti-poor as it does not make provisions for mass employment, hunger, lack of access to housing and high crime rates. The budget, they say, “protects privilege while asking the poor to endure more”.

“You increase medical tax credits by 3,2%, disproportionately benefiting higher-income earners, while the SRD grant remains R370, which is far below the food poverty line of R855. In real terms, the SRD is cut again. The child support grant also remains below the poverty line. Meanwhile, treasury withdraws proposed tax measures that would have raised billions, while celebrating inflationary tax bracket adjustments that mainly benefit the upper middle class,” reads the statement.

The People Against Budget Cuts marched against austerity measures ahead of the budget speech on Wednesday.

The organisation has urged the government to rather tax the rich. “We are told resources are limited, but alternatives exist. Taxing the top 1% could raise approximately R192-billion annually. SARS estimates R600-billion is lost to tax evasion each year. There is R1,8-trillion in idle capital in the economy. The GEPF’s R2.38-trillion in assets could be strategically deployed to finance domestic public investment in green industrilisation,” reads the statement.

SRD grant remains R370

Without an increase in the SRD grant, despite the rising food prices, the outlook for the poor is bleak. “The R370 SRD grant is an insult given that you cannot buy bread, and people are also expected to pay municipal bills. Poeple are expected to travel in search of jobs which they can’t find,” said Matthew Hlabane from Witbank.

The Cry said that they will continue to organise communities to resist budget cuts. “It is important for us to let our communities be aware of the budget cuts and we will organise speak-outs in our communities to understand the austerity budget that Godongwana gives every year. Our people must understand that budget cuts are not only in education but in all social services. People must know that the budget cuts are the reason that potholes are not being fixed in their areas,” said Motse Khokhoma from Botshabelo.

“It is time for us to mobilise and organise our communities and we need to make sure that we also organise women face a lot of issues. The issue of water that the country is facing affects women the most,” said Vuyokazi Made from Gqeberha.