The Price of Ramaphosa's Presidency: South Africans Pay More and Receive Less (OPINION)

I wanted to understand what has happened to the ordinary household since Cyril Ramaphosa became President in February 2018—not through his speeches or promises, but through the money leaving the taxpayer's pocket. A country does not become unaffordable in one dramatic moment. Under Ramaphosa, the pressure has accumulated through one municipal increase, electricity adjustment, toll tariff and fuel levy at a time. His government presents each increase separately and usually describes it as necessary. But the household experiences them together, all coming from the same salary and leaving less for food, clothing, education and medical care. Ramaphosa did not personally create every pothole, leaking pipe or electricity fault. But after more than eight years as President, he cannot separate himself from the government he leads, the ministers he appoints, the budgets his administration approves or the measurable decline that has continued under his watch. • 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗬𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗠 𝗟𝗢𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗜𝗧—𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘𝗛𝗢𝗟𝗗 𝗣𝗔𝗬𝗦 Under Ramaphosa's presidency, South Africa's municipal water crisis has continued to deepen. Approximately 47.4% of the water entering municipal systems is now classified as non-revenue water. It disappears through leaking infrastructure, illegal connections, inaccurate meters and broken billing systems after already being captured, treated and pumped at public expense. The decline is also visible in wastewater treatment. • In 2022, 334 wastewater systems were classified as critical or were in such poor condition that they could not achieve a valid assessment. • By 2025, under Ramaphosa's administration, that number had increased to 396 systems—62 more in only three years. These systems are meant to prevent sewage from contaminating communities, rivers, dams and drinking-water sources. Yet while this infrastructure deteriorates and communities endure sewage spills, interruptions and dry taps, households are charged more. In Tshwane, the 2026/27 increases added 10% to water and 5% to sanitation. A household previously paying R1,297.57 for both would now pay approximately R1,406.65 for the same consumption. That is another R109 every month, or more than R1,300 a year, without using one additional litre. Ramaphosa's government has presided over a system that loses treated water, allows wastewater infrastructure to deteriorate and transfers the financial consequences to the household. • 𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗧𝗬: 𝗣𝗔𝗬𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗦 When Ramaphosa became President, Eskom was already damaged. But he arrived promising renewal, accountability and competent administration. What followed were some of the worst years of load-shedding in South African history, accompanied by relentless tariff increases. Compounded Eskom tariff adjustments since 2018 have increased the underlying standard price of electricity by approximately 159%. An equivalent R1,000 basket of Eskom electricity in 2018 would now cost roughly R2,590 before municipal mark-ups, fixed charges and inclining-block tariffs are added. For 2026/27 alone, Eskom direct tariffs increased by an average of 8.76%, while municipal bulk tariffs rose by approximately 9.01%. Tshwane increased its residential electricity blocks by 8.8%. For a household spending R2,000 a month, that latest increase adds approximately R176 a month—or R2,112 a year. That excludes the inverters, batteries, generators, solar systems, generator fuel, damaged appliances, spoiled food and lost working hours households funded during Ramaphosa's years of load-shedding. Eskom has made a genuine recent operational recovery, reaching 455 consecutive days without national load-shedding by August 2026. That improvement should be recognised, but removing scheduled load-shedding is not the same as repairing the electricity system. Ageing infrastructure, generation breakdowns, overloaded municipal networks, cable theft and local distribution failures still leave communities without power, sometimes for days. Ramaphosa now wants his administration praised for restoring the grid to the minimum standard South Africans were entitled to receive all along. The improvement cannot refund households for years of damage or remove the backup systems they still require when the local network fails. Under Ramaphosa, taxpayers financed Eskom and its bailouts, paid the rising tariffs and then paid again to create their own electricity supply. • 𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗗𝗦: 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗔𝗗𝗘𝗦 𝗢𝗙 𝗡𝗘𝗚𝗟𝗘𝗖𝗧 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗜𝗟𝗬 𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗨𝗧𝗘 The same household must then travel across a road network with an estimated maintenance backlog of R197 billion. Around 80% of South Africa's roads are reported to have exceeded their original 20-year design life. Ramaphosa did not create three decades of ANC neglect, but he has led the country for more than eight years of it. His administration has not reversed the maintenance backlog or prevented provincial and municipal roads from deteriorating further. This can no longer be blamed on a government that left office in 1994. The ANC has controlled national government for more than three decades, and Ramaphosa has stood at its head since 2017 and at the head of the country since 2018. Routine maintenance was postponed until cracks became potholes and affordable repairs became major reconstruction projects. One pothole can destroy a tyre, damage a rim and harm the steering or suspension. A single impact can leave a household with a repair bill running into thousands—or tens of thousands—of rand. Under Ramaphosa, the motorist pays income tax, fuel levies, vehicle-licence fees and VAT on replacement parts. When the neglected road damages the vehicle, his government does not arrive with a replacement tyre. The household pays again. • 𝗧𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗦: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗚𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗞 While roads deteriorated under Ramaphosa's watch, the price of using selected routes continued to rise. South Africa has more than 50 conventional toll collection points. Toll tariffs increased by 4.85% in 2025 and another 3.12% in 2026. At the De Hoek toll plaza on the N3, a light vehicle paid approximately R47 per crossing in 2018. By 2026, during Ramaphosa's presidency, the same crossing cost approximately R67. For a worker passing through on the way to work and again on the way home, 22 working days a month: • The toll cost approximately R24,816 a year in 2018. • The same commute costs approximately R35,376 a year in 2026. • The annual burden has increased by R10,560. When the monthly payments are added from February 2018 to August 2026, using the tariffs applicable over that period, the worker would have paid approximately R252,000 at that single plaza during Ramaphosa's presidency. That is more than a quarter of a million rand simply to pass through one toll plaza on the way to work and back—before fuel, insurance, servicing, tyres, licensing and repairs are considered. Ramaphosa's government also presided over the final collapse of Gauteng's failed e-toll system. The gantries stopped issuing accounts, but approximately R30.1 billion in national government debt remained. Gauteng accepted responsibility for approximately R12.9 billion in capital and R3.3 billion in interest, with another R4.1 billion committed to freeway maintenance. Ramaphosa's administration did not make the liability disappear. It moved the bill from individual e-toll accounts into government budgets funded by the same taxpayers. • 𝗙𝗨𝗘𝗟: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗔𝗫 𝗠𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗘 𝗔𝗧 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗣𝗨𝗠𝗣 When Ramaphosa became President, inland 93-octane petrol cost approximately R13.90 per litre. By September 2026, it had reached R26.76. The wholesale price of 0.05% diesel climbed from approximately R12.57 to R29.11 per litre over the same period. • Petrol increased by approximately 93%. • Diesel increased by approximately 132%. • A 50-litre petrol tank increased from approximately R695 to R1,338—another R643 per fill. Ramaphosa did not create international oil prices or control every movement of the rand. But his government controls the statutory levies imposed on every litre and carries responsibility for the policies that left South Africa increasingly dependent on imported refined fuel. At the beginning of his presidency, the General Fuel Levy and RAF levy together took approximately R4.78 from every litre of petrol. In 2026, the General Fuel Levy, carbon-fuel levy and RAF levy take approximately R6.54—a government-controlled increase of approximately 37%. For a worker travelling a 40-kilometre return journey, 22 days a month, the same petrol commute that cost approximately R917 a month in February 2018 now costs roughly R1,766. That is another R849 every month, or more than R10,000 a year, to travel exactly the same distance during Ramaphosa's presidency. Diesel spreads the burden further. It powers farms, trucks, construction equipment, generators and the distribution network. Its rising price moves into food, building materials, public transport and almost everything delivered by road. During Ramaphosa's presidency, refinery closures roughly halved domestic operating capacity. By 2025, South Africa was reportedly importing around 75% of its liquid-fuel requirements, leaving the country increasingly exposed to international disruptions and exchange-rate shocks. • 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚 This is where the true price of Ramaphosa's presidency becomes visible. Businesses must pay more for electricity, water, fuel, tolls, security and transport. When public systems fail, they must also fund generators, solar systems, water storage and additional vehicle repairs. Those costs move through the supply chain until they reach the person standing at the till. • The farmer pays more for electricity, diesel and transport. • The truck operator pays more for fuel, tolls, tyres and repairs. • The shop pays more for power, refrigeration, security and deliveries. • The household pays the combined cost in the final price. Here is the kicker: as that final price rises, Ramaphosa's government can collect more tax from the same transaction without increasing the VAT rate. A VAT-inclusive basket costing R10,000 contains approximately R1,304 in VAT. If rising operating costs push the same basket to R12,000, the VAT portion rises to approximately R1,565. The household receives no additional products, but it pays R2,000 more while the state collects approximately R261 more in VAT. Workers may receive salary increases merely to prevent inflation from destroying more of their buying power. When tax brackets are not fully adjusted, part of that increase is also taken through bracket creep. Under Ramaphosa, South Africans received no inflationary adjustment to personal income-tax brackets for two consecutive tax years before relief was granted in 2026/27. The latest adjustment does not return the additional tax already collected during those years. Water, electricity, roads, tolls and fuel may appear as separate charges. Under Ramaphosa's presidency, they have become one continuous withdrawal from the same household pocket. South Africans pay for the public system. When it fails, they pay privately to replace it. As the cost of surviving that failure moves through the economy, Ramaphosa's government collects tax again on the higher price of living. • 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗥𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗦𝗔'𝗦 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗜𝗗𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗬: 𝗠𝗢𝗥𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗘𝗬 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘𝗡 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗔𝗫𝗣𝗔𝗬𝗘𝗥, 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗥𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗩𝗜𝗖𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗧𝗨𝗥𝗡𝗘𝗗. • 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗜𝗠𝗘𝗥 I cannot see who shares this post or monitor the comments made beneath shared copies. 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