# Sugar tax showdown before South Africa's mini budget > Health groups want the levy doubled to fight diabetes. Sugar farmers want it scrapped. The finance minister decides Wednesday. - Title: Sugar tax showdown before South Africa's mini budget - Summary: Health groups want the levy doubled to fight diabetes. Sugar farmers want it scrapped. The finance minister decides Wednesday. South Africa's Health… - Keywords: health promotion levy, sugary drinks tax, south africa, enoch godongwana, medium-term budget policy statement, healthy living alliance, sa canegrowers association, diabetes, sugar industry, job losses, news, politics - Source: Daily Maverick — https://dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-10-20-sugar-tax-sparks-health-jobs-affordability-debate-ahead-of-sas-mini-budget - Author: Iman Allie - Published: 2026-10-20T19:06:55+00:00 - Read time: 3 min - Topics: health promotion levy, sugary drinks tax, south africa, enoch godongwana, medium-term budget policy statement, healthy living alliance, sa canegrowers association, diabetes, sugar industry, job losses, news, politics ## Mini budget decision looms Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will deliver the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement to the National Assembly on Wednesday, October twenty-first. Civil society organisations have urged him to address the Health Promotion Levy. ## What the levy does now The Health Promotion Levy, introduced in two thousand eighteen, taxes manufacturers on sugar-sweetened beverages. It is charged at two point twenty-one cents per gram of sugar above four grams per one hundred millilitres, raising prices… ## The levy has not changed since two thousand nineteen The levy was introduced to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and decrease obesity and non-communicable diseases such as diabetes. South Africa's rates of both continue to increase despite the tax. ## Health advocates want it doubled The Healthy Living Alliance has called for the levy to increase from eleven percent to twenty percent. Heala CEO Nzama Mbalati says studies show the levy has decreased consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. ## WHO backs a twenty percent tax The World Health Organization has recommended taxes on sugary drinks be increased to twenty percent. Research shows this could reduce consumption by twenty percent, leading to reduced obesity and diabetes rates. ## Mbalati on diabetes in South Africa Heala CEO Nzama Mbalati said: "We all know that diabetes is the leading cause of death in South Africa and non-communicable disease as a whole. > We all know that diabetes is the leading cause of death in South Africa and non-communicable disease as a whole. ## Revenue should fund health programmes Heala believes revenue from the levy should be earmarked for government efforts to improve nutrition and responses to non-communicable diseases, such as the National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of NCDs or the… ## Sugar industry calls it job-killing The SA Canegrowers Association has called on Finance Minister Godongwana to scrap the Health Promotion Levy entirely. The association claims it has caused thousands of job losses and compounded pressure on canegrowers. ## Canegrowers face multiple pressures The association says canegrowers have faced two years of challenges from heavily subsidised imports from Brazil, Thailand, India and Eswatini, which have displaced locally produced sugar, plus this year's near-collapse of agribusiness sugar company Tongaat… ## Research disputes job loss claims Other studies have reported that the introduction of the Health Promotion Levy is not associated with job losses.Mbalati argues the sugar industry should diversify into sustainable uses of sugar such as biofuel and ethanol innovation. ## Noakes Foundation questions health impact Senior researcher Karen Heath said the foundation had concerns about increasing the levy. Although consumption of sugary drinks decreased after its introduction, this did not necessarily imply a change in health outcomes, Heath said. ## Heath proposes education instead Karen Heath said interventions such as updating South Africa's dietary guidelines and focusing on public health education should be implemented rather than an increase in the levy. ## Working class fears affordability squeeze Student Asriel Abrams said an increase in the levy meant a bigger strain on working class budgets. He noted that healthier beverage options were already priced at a premium compared to sugary drinks. ## Consumers say price won't change habits Wendy Marsh said her family bought about four two-litre bottles of sugary drinks a week. ## Balance needed between choice and access Waghied Hendrick told Daily Maverick he supported the increase to twenty percent if it helped improve people's health. > the important thing is finding a balance between personal responsibility and also government intervention ## Key takeaway South Africa's Health Promotion Levy on sugary drinks faces competing demands ahead of the mini budget: health advocates want it increased to twenty percent, while the sugar industry seeks its removal over job loss concerns.