In just 10 days, government is expected to pay suppliers and proceed with critical projects after Members of Parliament (MPs) gave Minister of Finance Neal Rijkenberg the go-ahead on budget support loans.
The loans are the African Development Bank’s Enhancing Economic Resilience and Competitiveness Programme (EERCP) Phase II Loan Bill, 2026, and the Standard Bank of South Africa Limited Loan Bill, Bill No. 20 of 2026.
The first one is worth E1.14 billion, the second totals E1.6 billion. Both loans are aimed at paying suppliers and service providers. Government is also seeking a third loan through the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (Mkhondvo-Ngwavuma Water Augmentation Programme) Loan Bill, 2026, Bill No. 19 of 2026, worth E1.05 billion. All three loans amounting to E3.79 billion, were passed by the House of Assembly yesterday.
Moving the report of the committee on the African Development Bank (Enhancing Economic Resilience and Competitiveness Programme) Phase II Loan Bill, 2026, Ministry of Finance Portfolio Committee Chairperson and Lobamba Lomdzala MP Marwick Khumalo said the loans were intended to support the budget where there were funding gaps.
He said the available funds had made it necessary for government to secure loans to bridge those gaps.
Khumalo said the committee had asked the minister about Microprojects funds and was informed that the department would receive the money this month together with payments for other suppliers.
He said the committee had also asked how long it would take for the money to be available after approval.
“The minister said in a week to 10 days, the money will be available and payment of suppliers would have resumed. Some MPs might not understand the situation the country is in and we might end up not getting approval. We are now pushing to get the approval and Senate will sit for only a day or half because of time,” he said.
Khumalo added that the loan would be repaid in 30 semi-annual instalments. He said there was also a five-year grace period as part of the concessionary loans and government would finish paying off 14 loans within that period. Ngudzeni MP Charles Ndlovu said as elected MPs these were bills they had been looking forward to as contractors were no longer on site.
He said the loans were important in restoring government’s image and helping the nation.
Mayiwane MP Sicelo Dlamini said all suppliers should be paid as the money was intended for that purpose.
He said there were concerns that some suppliers received larger allocations and transferred the money outside the country, preventing it from circulating locally.
“Suppliers should receive their money,” he said.
Minister of Health Mduduzi Matsebula said besides Microprojects and construction of roads being affected by the lack of funds, the health sector had also been affected as contractors had left clinics unfinished and service providers remained unpaid. He said suppliers of drugs and medical equipment were also owed, creating service gaps that government had tried to address.
Maseyisini MP Nokuthula Dlamini said the country had been expecting the bill as rains continued to cause damage. She said if the loan arrived on time, RDF projects would also progress. Hhukwini MP Alec Lushaba said he supported the bill. He said besides asking the minister when other loans would be repaid, MPs had asked the accountant general to provide a list of contractors due for payment.
They had seen the suppliers who were owed and the amounts outstanding. Mpolonjeni MP Kwanele Ndzimandze said the loan would help revive many stalled projects.
He welcomed assurances that the funds would be received within two weeks, allowing some projects to move before the end of the month.
“The loan bill also seeks to return drugs to hospitals and we support it,” he said.
MP questions same-day loan approvals
MATSANJENI South MP Sabelo Ndlangamandla says MPs cannot adopt money bills on the same day reports on them are tabled, arguing that the practice is unconstitutional and violates members’ rights.
The MP raised the matter yesterday before reports on three finance bills were debated and adopted.
He said when Speaker Jabulani Mabuza advised MPs earlier in the sitting to read the reports, he did not understand that they would be expected to adopt them during the same sitting. Ndlangamandla said it was impossible for MPs to read and adopt reports that had been tabled only 15 minutes earlier.
He said the reports should instead be deferred to the next sitting. The MP said while the speaker was correct in stating that the bills had been tabled earlier, the reports themselves had not. He argued that Parliament could not be expected to adopt reports that had only just been presented.
“This is a money bill and in our last sitting, the speaker said on matters that include money bills, MPs will be granted enough time. It is unprecedented to table a report and adopt it today. Let’s look at the image of Parliament,” he said.
But the speaker said the exercise was not unconstitutional, adding that Standing Orders allowed MPs to reconsider some procedures because of the urgency of a bill. He had made the request so that the country could progress.
Mabuza said he believed he had been transparent in asking members to consider the loan bills because of their urgency.
MP demands loan audit
A call was made for loans to be audited after a loan bill intended to pay suppliers last year was allegedly not used for its intended purpose.
Matsanjeni South MP Sabelo Ndlangamandla said it was high time Parliament conducted audits on loans, noting that members had previously approved a loan aimed at paying suppliers. He said the money was allegedly used for something else and, for the sake of transparency and accountability, Parliament needed to know who would be paid through the current loan.
“As per Section 115 of the Constitution, we play an oversight role as Parliament and there is nothing wrong with that. We want to know who will be paid and we want this loan to pay those who are owed,” he said.
Meanwhile, Finance Committee Chairperson Marwick Khumalo said they could not publish the list of suppliers. He said all suppliers appearing on the list of those owed would be paid. Khumalo also asked the MP to remind the House of the name of the loan in question, saying he could not agree with the allegations.
Ndlangamandla said it was the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (Fiscal Management and Competitiveness Development Policy) Loan Bill No. 12 of 2025, which had been approved to pay suppliers.
Mayiwane MP Sicelo Dlamini said members might not remember the names of loans, but what Ndlangamandla was raising had happened in the House. He said MPs still had questions about what happened to the loan.
“The loan is there and we might not remember its name,” he said.
Khumalo said the mistake MPs often made was to assume that because some suppliers reported not being paid, no suppliers had been paid at all. He said there was no way government could come to Parliament seeking loans to pay suppliers and then fail to do so.
