In this second instalment of the FW de Klerk Foundation’s Money Smart Week South Africa 2026 series, we move from the money a young person earns to the public money that shapes what that income can do. The first article began with a hard truth: you cannot budget an income you do not have. The second begins with another: when public money fails, families pay twice. They pay through the taxes, tariffs and charges that sustain the common good, then again when they must privately replace a public service that does not work.

Think of two young workers on the same pay. One has dependable transport, clean water from the tap, a clinic that works and electricity that stays on. The other must pay for extra taxis, bottled water, backup power, private medical help or mobile data to finish work that should have been possible at a public facility. On paper, their incomes match. In real life, their freedom does not. One salary can build a future; the other must first repair failing systems.

Tax is not a personal subscription fee and no citizen receives a receipt promising an identical service for every rand paid. Public revenue is pooled to fund shared needs. A young person may not yet pay personal income tax but can still contribute through VAT on taxable goods and services; households may also pay municipal rates, tariffs and other charges. The point is not that each person must get back exactly what he or she paid. It is that every public rand must be used lawfully, honestly and for a public purpose.

The scale of the challenge is not a matter of mood or political slogan. In its report on the 2024-25 financial year, the Auditor-General recorded clean audits at only 39 of South Africa’s 257 municipalities – 15%. A clean audit does not, by itself, prove that every tap runs or every pothole is repaired. But sound records, lawful spending and credible reporting are basic conditions for good service. When those disciplines are absent, citizens are asked to trust promises that public institutions themselves cannot properly measure.

This is where the Constitution turns a complaint into a standard. Section 195 says public resources must be used efficiently, economically and effectively; public administration must be accountable; and people must receive timely, accessible and accurate information. Section 215 requires budgets to promote transparency, accountability and effective financial management. Section 217 requires public procurement to be fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective. Those are not decorative words. They are rules for the journey of a rand – from collection, to budget, to tender, to delivery.

When that journey breaks down, the burden is not shared equally. A wealthy household may install a tank, generator or security system and carry on. A low-income family may lose food money, working hours or a job opportunity. A student may run out of data; a street trader may lose a day’s stock when the power fails. Poor service delivery is therefore not only an administrative failure. It is a cost-of-living issue, an equality issue and a barrier to dignity and opportunity.

Accountability should not begin and end at an election and it should never be reduced to party-political shouting. It begins with a simple question: where did the money go and what did it achieve? Transparency lets us see the plan. Procurement rules help protect the buying process. Audits test whether the records and controls can be trusted. Public participation allows citizens to challenge priorities before failure becomes routine. Following the rand is not cynicism. It is constitutional citizenship.

Young people do not need accounting degrees to take part. Start with what touches daily life. Read the municipal bill. Find the municipality’s budget and the Auditor-General’s outcome. Ask what was allocated to water, roads, waste or electricity and whether the promised project was completed. Report faults in writing and keep the reference numbers. Use ward committees, council meetings and public-comment periods. Ask a councillor for an answer that can be checked. One question may be ignored; a community that keeps records is harder to dismiss.

Institutions must also make accountability possible. Budgets should be published in language ordinary people can understand. Tender and contract information should be accessible. Complaints should receive reasons, not silence. Officials should be protected when they do their work honestly and held responsible when they do not. Contractors paid with public money must deliver public value. Citizens cannot follow the rand if government hides the route, changes the signposts or refuses to say where the journey ended.

Money Smart Week reminds us to learn, earn, keep and grow. Constitutional citizenship adds one more task: shape. We shape our future not only by asking, “What did I do with my money?” but also, “What did public institutions do with ours?” South Africa’s promise will not be fulfilled by good budgeting alone. It will be fulfilled when personal responsibility meets public responsibility – and when every rand, private or public, widens the space in which people can build a life. That is how we stop families from paying twice and make the power of possible real.

For more on this topic read: You Cannot Budget an Income You Do Not Have – https://fwdeklerk.org/you-cannot-budget-an-income-you-do-not-have/