Free State Treasury has set aside R45 billion for the 2025/2026 financial year. The biggest chunk has gone to Education with R18 billion of that allocation followed by health which has been allocated R14 billion.

The health department has also been allocated a conditional grant of R3,9 billion to focus mainly on maintenance and delivery of infrastructure to name among other critical areas.

Treasury MEC Ketso Makume tabled his 2025/26 budget in the provincial legislature on Tuesday.

The province is set to spend over R5,2 billion on infrastructure investment for this financial year.

Tabling his Budget, Treasury MEC Makume said critical in this budget is stimulating economic growth and creating jobs.

The concern is, however, that the biggest chunk of the allocation across all departments is going into workers’ salaries – the biggest culprits being the departments of health and education.

“The issue of the compensation of employees is a national problem. But there are main departments that are really affected big – the Department of Education and Health. We do have the some of the departments, but in the main, it’s education and health,” says Makume.

Municipalities are still failing to service bulk accounts. They owe billions of rands to water boards and Eskom.

The province also saw a decline in financial management capabilities of most municipalities across the province, including a disregard for the set financial norms.

Opposition parties have expressed mixed reviews.

“What is very important here is that the province is receiving R64 million of the equitable share, that is mainly due to our contribution to the GDP. There’s a decrease in our population, and that contributed to our equitable share being less. Province only spent 82% on the conditional grant. On the year, the concern is money spent on salaries,” says Dulandi Leech, DA Member of Legislature

“You can tell that the man is troubled and for this financial year, he has nothing whatsoever. He has nothing to allocate because of budgetary cuts but we still want him to create jobs as they promised with premier,” says Mapheule Liphoko: Free State EFF MPL.

“We are saying, as the MK, we don’t want to see the figures. We want to see the implementation on the ground. The implementation is about the service delivery that’s supposed to be implemented,” says Molefe Foko, MK MPL.

The ANC is, however, positive that things have turned for the better.

“At least this time around, 10 things for the better, especially on infrastructure allocations as well as education, which has been the primary opportunity given to our provincial government in terms of how we have been performing. But the take-home, in our view, is that the message that indicates the improvement in terms of their audit outcomes is one primary appreciation on our part,” says Polediso Motsoeneng, Free State ANC Secretary.

On the bright side, the province has managed to achieve over 99% of its R1,2 billion revenue collection target. It plans to collect over R3,7 billion in the 2025/26 financial year.

 Video: Discussion – MEC Moses Makume tables 2025/26 finances: