Yusuf Abramjee, media personality and leader of Tax Justice South Africa, has called for urgent arrests and prosecutions following government’s admission that illicit trade is costing the fiscus billions.
Image: Supplied
Tax Justice South Africa (TJSA) has urged government to move swiftly from words to action after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana acknowledged in his 2026 Budget Speech that illicit trade is robbing the fiscus of billions of rand.
TJSA leader Yusuf Abramjee said the Minister’s admission that illicit trade is bleeding the economy would “ring hollow” unless it is followed by visible arrests, prosecutions and recovered revenue.
“Illicit trade is draining around R100 billion a year from the fiscus,” Abramjee said. “That’s R250 million every single day going to criminals instead of schools, hospitals and policing.
“When three in four cigarettes sold in South Africa are illegal, simply enforcing the law would deliver an economic windfall that could improve millions of lives.”
In his Budget Speech tabled on Wednesday, Godongwana warned that the “scourge of illicit trade represents a major threat” to revenue collection efforts and said it “threatens our economy, endangers consumers, and robs the fiscus of billions in revenue.”
He added that the “sophisticated and organised nature of illicit operations demands an intensified effort to curb this trade, secure prosecutions and dismantle its supply chains.”
The minister said the South African Revenue Service (SARS) has intensified its efforts and would continue joint operations with the Border Management Agency, the South African Police Service and the defence force to stop the illicit trade in tobacco.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivered South Africa’s 2026 national budget speech in Parliament in Cape Town, outlining government’s spending and revenue plans for the year ahead. Godongwana said the budget aimed to balance economic growth with fiscal discipline, focusing on infrastructure investment while working to stabilise national debt. The address, attended by President Cyril Ramaphosa, was closely watched as the country navigated ongoing financial pressures.
Image: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
Abramjee welcomed the commitment to multi-agency enforcement but said South Africans needed measurable outcomes rather than assurances.
“South Africans don’t need more speeches. They need arrests, prosecutions and recovered revenue,” he said. “The Budget must now be followed by urgent, visible action: properly resourced illicit-trade task teams at SARS, specialised SAPS units to dismantle organised crime networks and prosecutors who prioritise kingpins rather than street-level sellers.”
While the Budget increased excise duties on tobacco products in line with inflation — with the tax on a 20-pack of cigarettes rising from R22.81 to R23.58 — Abramjee argued that previous tax hikes had enriched criminal networks by pushing consumers towards the black market.
He also called for immediate transparency measures in the tobacco sector, including granting SARS CCTV access at cigarette manufacturing facilities as a licensing condition.
“Government must turn promises into prosecutions. Reclaiming the billions stolen through the black market would boost the fiscus far better than any tax hike ever could,” Abramjee said.
Tax Justice South Africa said it would continue campaigning for stronger action against organised criminal syndicates involved in the illicit economy, arguing that billions in legally due taxes are lost each year while public services remain under strain.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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