By Akani Nkuna
KwaZulu-Natal tabled a R168.2 billion provincial budget for 2026/27 on Tuesday, with Finance MEC Francois Rodgers using the province’s stronger-than-expected funding envelope to target long-standing strains in frontline services, particularly education and health.
Speaking in the provincial legislature in Pietermaritzburg, Rodgers said the province now had more fiscal room than previously anticipated.
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“In 2026/27, the total funding available to fund our frontline and other services amounts to R168.2 billion. This is a significant increase from the R163.9 billion shown as the indicative allocation for 2026/27 when I tabled the budget last year, and results from the significant additional funding we received from National Treasury in this year’s budget process. This is indeed a good story to tell,” he said.
Of the total, R136.4 billion comes from the provincial equitable share and R27.3 billion from conditional grants, with the balance made up of provincial own revenue and cash resources.
Provincial departments are planning to spend R168 billion in 2026/27, while the contingency reserve is set at R149.8 million, rising to R324.6 million over the medium-term expenditure framework.
Education is one of the clearest winners.
The department receives R647.3 million in 2026/27, R676.5 million in 2027/28 and R697.6 million in 2028/29 to help deal with existing compensation pressures caused largely by historic budget cuts.
Rodgers said the department would also receive R29.8 million, R59.5 million and R101.6 million over the MTEF for the progressive equalisation of Grade R teachers’ salaries.
“Grade R is now part of the compulsory phase of basic education and the teachers should be remunerated accordingly. These funds are therefore added to our budget to progressively increase these teachers’ salaries,” Rodgers said.
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Education also receives R70.1 million in 2026/27 for the Presidential Employment Stimulus’s Teacher Assistants Programme, aimed at expanding work opportunities, particularly for young people and women.
Health is also set for a sizeable boost, with the department receiving about R1.4 billion in additional funding per year over the MTEF to help manage salary and accrual pressures. The KZN Treasury statement said Health would also receive a R90.9 million incentive allocation for health facility revitalisation infrastructure.
Together, education, health and social development account for 80.5% of the provincial budget.
Rodgers also said there was a major improvement in conditional grant funding.
The province’s conditional grant allocation increases by R1.7 billion in 2026/27, by R617.3 million in 2027/28 and by R1.6 billion in 2028/29.
This, said the MEC created room for stronger infrastructure and service-delivery spending.
The EPWP Integrated Grant for Provinces increases to R150.4 million, up from R147 million last year, to support job creation programmes across departments.
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The merged agricultural support framework also aims to streamline help for smallholder and subsistence farmers. R108 million has been reprioritised for the sector through the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme arrangement.
School infrastructure also receives a lift. Rodgers said the Education Infrastructure Grant receives an incentive increase of R41.5 million in 2026/27 after the department met required milestones, while the grant increases by R505.3 million in aggregate in 2026/27 as part of the phased merger with the School Infrastructure Backlogs Grant.
Other infrastructure gains include a R427.7 million increase in the Early Childhood Development grant, a R182.6 million increase in the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant to Provinces, and R641.3 million for provincial roads maintenance linked to disaster recovery.
In its accompanying statement to the budget tabling, KZN Treasury said the budget was focused on “stability, recovery and inclusive growth”, and was underpinned by fiscal discipline, improved governance and protection of frontline services.
Rodgers said the budget formed part of a provincial financial recovery plan aimed at restoring confidence among citizens, investors and suppliers.
