With the 2025 National Budget Speech just days away, all eyes are on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana. For millions of South African children, this budget could mean the difference between a brighter future or yet another year of unmet promises.
The Real Reform for ECD movement has a clear message: it’s time to back words with money and prioritize early childhood development (ECD).
South Africa’s Forgotten Future: Its Youngest Children
The statistics are sobering: seven out of ten children in South Africa live in poverty. Even more alarming, 1.15 million children between the ages of 3 and 5 are not accessing any early learning opportunities, leaving them woefully unprepared for school. Of those who do attend ECD programmes, 57% fail to meet learning benchmarks, are stunted, or both.
The consequences of this crisis ripple far beyond childhood, perpetuating cycles of poverty and inequality. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent State of the Nation Address promised to formalize ECD centres and provide them with much-needed resources. But without a significant increase in funding, these promises risk becoming just another set of empty political gestures.
The Vision: Ambitious Plans, Meagre Budgets
The government’s 2030 Strategy for ECD Programmes and its Bana Pele mass registration drive are bold initiatives designed to increase access to quality early learning. Yet, the reality on the ground tells a different story. Currently, less than 0.2% of government spending is allocated to early learning and nutritional support for children aged 0 to 5.
Making matters worse, the ECD subsidy—a vital funding tool for low-income families—has been stagnant at R17 per child per day since 2019. Inflation has eroded its value by 25%, leaving ECD centres struggling to provide meals, maintain facilities, and pay staff fair wages. For many programmes, survival is no longer guaranteed, and the children who rely on them are paying the price.
Real Reform Demands Real Investment
The Real Reform for ECD movement is calling for immediate and meaningful action from the National Treasury to rescue South Africa’s youngest from this crisis. Their demands include:
- Restoring the ECD subsidy to its 2019 purchasing power of R23 per child per day immediately, at a cost of R1.2 billion, and committing to an increase to R46 by 2030.
- Expanding subsidized access to ECD programmes for an additional one million children by 2027.
- Doubling funding for ECD infrastructure and registration support to R300 million in the 2025/26 budget.
The Case for Early Childhood Investment
This isn’t just about early education. It’s about tackling South Africa’s most pressing issues: unemployment, poverty, and inequality. Investing in ECD programmes has the potential to:
- Lay a foundation for improved educational outcomes across the board.
- Create up to 300,000 new care jobs and support 70,000 early learning enterprises.
- Empower up to two million women by easing childcare burdens and enabling their economic participation.
The Time to Act is Now
An investment in ECD is an investment in South Africa’s future—a future where all children have the chance to thrive, and where inequality and poverty no longer hold millions back. As the 2025 National Budget approaches, one thing is clear: the promises made to South Africa’s children can no longer remain empty. This is the moment to turn plans into action, for the sake of the country’s youngest and its long-term prosperity.
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