Minister Wenger tables R32 billion budget to begin the next chapter in healthcare
Today, Western Cape Minister of Health and Wellness, Mireille Wenger, tabled the Department’s 2025/26 Budget. With a total allocation of R32 billion for the 2025/26 financial year, this budget marks the beginning of a new chapter for healthcare in the province—one grounded in the lessons of the past, anchored in present realities, and full of promise for the future.
“This budget is more than a financial plan—it’s a statement of intent,” said Minister Wenger. “It’s about stability, resilience, and hope. It’s about starting a new chapter—together.”
Over the last few years, the Western Cape’s healthcare system has faced immense pressure—from the COVID-19 pandemic to fiscal austerity. Despite these challenges, frontline workers have consistently stepped up, ensuring that essential services continued without disruption.
With this new budget, the provincial department is focused on rebuilding and strengthening the system. “We have unfrozen critical posts, so that our facilities can recruit the staff they need to deliver quality, compassionate care,” said Minister Wenger. “This is the first step in restoring strength to our system—and dignity to the patient experience.”
Over the medium term, the province is investing more than R100 billion to ensure equitable access to quality healthcare. She stated, “We do this because we believe every resident of the Western Cape deserves the opportunity to write their own story—free from preventable illness and supported in moments of need.”
More than 75% of the province’s population relies on the public health system, which spans 561 service points and recorded over 25 million patient contacts last year. Every cent of this budget has been carefully planned to maximise its impact.
Key priorities in the 2025/26 budget include:
- Restoring critical staffing, with over R60.2 billion allocated to employee compensation over the medium term.
- Balancing service delivery needs, with over R30 billion allocated to goods and services, despite increasing cost pressures due to medical inflation.
- Investing in infrastructure, with R1.39 billion allocated to Health Facilities Management this year, supporting 29 active construction projects across the province.
- Scaling up violence prevention, with dedicated safety coordinators already in place and expansion plans to be announced later this year.
The department is also committed to expanding access to services in rural areas through mobile clinics, accelerating the capital build programme, and enhancing healthcare worker training, with R1.39 billion allocated to Health Sciences and Training over the medium term.
Partnership remains central to the Department’s success. Minister Wenger thanked international donors, trusts, academic institutions, and civil society partners for their critical support. “By working together, we expand our reach, improve our services, and deliver better outcomes,” she said.
Minister Wenger said, “Behind every budget line, there is a person—a health hero. This budget is not just about allocations. It’s about aspiration. It’s about rewriting the story of public healthcare in the Western Cape—with people at its centre.”
“Let us write this next chapter together—health workers, officials, partners, and residents. Let us write it with courage, compassion and purpose, so that those who come after us will read it and say: ‘Here, they cared.’”
Minister Wenger officially tabled the 2025/26 Budget for the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness, signaling a renewed commitment to building a healthier, more equitable province for all.
Find the full speech here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i0ZEzR9lsviAkya5EaP9iupKfkeDnP9t/view?usp=share_link
Media Queries:
Robyn Thomson
Spokesperson for the Provincial Minister of Health and Wellness