No alcohol price floor in the mini-budget. What's coming instead

Wednesday's mini-budget did not set a minimum price for alcohol, and it did not give a timetable for one. In his Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on 21 October 2026, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana mentioned alcohol only in the context of SARS's fight against illicit trade (MTBPS speech).

The bigger changes for drinkers and liquor traders are coming from elsewhere. A Cabinet package on alcohol-related violence is due within 60 days of the President's instruction, and Gauteng has stopped issuing new tavern licences (Vuk'uzenzele; SABC News).

Last updated: 21 October 2026, 17:34 SAST.

What did Godongwana say about alcohol?

He said SARS is helping to fight the illicit economy, "particularly in alcohol and tobacco". He listed enhanced cargo scanning, track-and-trace systems and stronger frontline enforcement as part of customs and excise modernisation, and promised a fuller update on the National Illicit Economy Disruption Programme in next year's Budget (MTBPS speech).

The MTBPS updates government's fiscal projections and spending plans. Detailed tax changes, such as excise duties, are normally left for the main Budget in February (IOL).

Who wanted a minimum unit price?

Rethink Your Drink, an alcohol harm-reduction campaign run by the DG Murray Trust, asked Godongwana to use the MTBPS to set out a roadmap for minimum unit pricing ahead of the February 2027 Budget (IOL).

Minimum unit pricing sets a floor price based on how much alcohol a drink contains. It targets cheap, strong products. The campaign says moderate drinkers pay about R12 per standard drink, against as little as R1.53 for heavy drinkers. It cites South African modelling that a R3 floor per standard drink could cut heavy drinkers' consumption by 11.9%, compared with 0.3% for moderate drinkers (IOL).

"Every year of delay comes at a cost to lives, public health services and children's futures," project lead Kashifa Ancer told IOL (IOL).

Is government planning new alcohol rules?

Yes, on two fronts.

In his State of the Nation Address in February, President Cyril Ramaphosa called on provinces to limit the density of liquor outlets, restrict trading hours and end the sale of alcohol in large containers. He said national government had proposed minimum unit pricing or higher excise duties, plus tighter limits on alcohol advertising, and was consulting stakeholders (SAnews).

More recently, as part of a plan against gender-based violence and femicide, Ramaphosa directed Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau to bring a co-ordinated legislative and enforcement package to Cabinet within 60 days. Tau must work with the ministers of Health, Social Development, Police and Cooperative Governance. "Harmful alcohol use is a significant aggravating factor in interpersonal violence," the President said (Vuk'uzenzele).

Can you still get a new liquor licence in Gauteng?

Not for a tavern, for now. Premier Panyaza Lesufi said on 4 October that the provincial government had resolved to temporarily stop issuing liquor licences to taverns. "No more new liquor licenses in our province," he said. The decision followed a mass shooting at a tavern in Wedela near Carletonville, where 18 people were killed (SABC News).