Three members of the bank's Monetary Policy Committee preferred the 25 basis points increase, while two members preferred a 50 basis points increase, Lesetja Kganyago, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank, said.
"The revised repurchase rate remains supportive of credit demand in the near term, while raising rates to levels more consistent with the current view of inflation and risks to it," he said in his statement.
"While economic growth has been volatile for some time, prospects for growth appear even more uncertain than normal. A material reduction in load-shedding (power cuts) would significantly raise growth," the governor added.
South African monetary policymakers started raising rates in November 2021 and unleashed their steepest hike in a decade - 0.75 percentage points - in July last year.
The bank said that the economy is expected to grow by just 0.3 percent in 2023 due to the electricity supply crisis plaguing the continent's most industrialised economy.
The economy grew 2.5 percent last year, up from 1.8 percent in 2021.
This report was compiled with data sourced from Reuters and Agence France-Presse.