South Africa's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is set to deliver the highly anticipated 2025 National Budget Speech.
Image: Phando Jikelo/Independent Newspapers
South Africa's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana is set to deliver the 2025 National Budget Speech at the Dome in Cape Town.
The Budget Speech which will take place at 2pm this afternoon, is when the finance minister will update Parliament and the country on the state of the economy, public finances as well as the progress on the government's objectives.
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The Budget Speech has been postponed. National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza has announced that the officials need time to relook the speech.
The Speaker has announced that the speech will not proceed as Cabinet Ministers in the Government of National Unity could not agree on certain matters. The Speaker has described the events as unprecedented. - Kamogelo Moichela, Sihle Mlambo
In an unprecedent move, IOL's Kamogelo Moichela, reports that for the first time in 30 years of democracy that the Budget Speech has been postponed owing to Cabinet ministers in the Government of National Unity (GNU) being unable to agree to the budget, particularly a 2% increase on the Value Added Tax (VAT).
The Business Report has filed this longer read, reporting: Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, was meant to deliver his much anticipated 2025 Budget Speech in Parliament, Cape Town.
Things took a turn for the worst, however, as it was announced that Godongwana’s Budget speech will be postponed until further notice.
Leaked copies of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's Budget Speech show that Treasury had moved to propose 2% increase on the VAT, which would have raised it to 17%.
The Budget Speech read: "After careful analysis of the trade-offs, we have chosen the most responsible path forward. We propose to raise the VAT rate by 2 percentage points to 17 per cent – a necessary step that will enable us to:
- Fund public sector wage increases for our civil servants
• Expand early childhood development opportunities for our children
• Retain the teachers, doctors, and essential frontline workers that serve our communities
• Revitalise our commuter rail system to better serve working-class families
• Provide above-inflation increases to social grants for our most vulnerable - Sihle Mlambo
Finance Minsiter Enoch Godongwana says the country needs to find ways to fund its priorities. Godongwana was asked during a press conference if the 2% VAT proposal was the only contentious matter on the table during the Cabinet proceedings.
"What we are grappling with is not necessarily the matter of 2%, given the challenges we face as a country, how do we fund them, do we continue cutting expenditure, we need to find ways of funding our priorities," said Godongwana.
Presidency Minsiter Khumbudzo Ntshaveni when asked about the divisions, has shielded the ANC from the 2% VAT proposal, saying Treasury had a responsibility to ensure that it balanced the books and noted that it was a collective decision to postpone the Budget to allow further engagement on the issue. - Sihle Mlambo
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says further discussion will take place in Cabinet for an amended Budget Speech to be tabled on March 12, 2025.
Godongwana read a short prepared statement noting that the Budget was prepared from inputs from the various Cabinet ministers. - Sihle Mlambo
Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni and Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana will brief the media as follows at the Imbizo Media Centre, Parliament, after the Budget Speech was postponed on Wednesday.
For the first time, the Budget Speech has been postponed.
National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza has announced that the Budget Speech will be tabled on March 12, 2025.
"I have listened to the views of all the parties, it is in the interest of all South Africans to postpone to allow Treasury to finalize whatever they need to finalize. As Parliament, we will not compromise our timelines to deal with the budget," said Didiza.
Didiza said only the EFF and the MK Party objected to the postponement in a prior meeting. The house has adjourned. - Sihle Mlambo
GOOD leader Patricia De Lille says all the parties in the GNU have supported the Budget Speech postponement. The PAC has also supported the postponement. - Sihle Mlambo
PA leader Gayton McKenzie says for two weeks, the GNU cabinet we have been busy. This is not a one party state. We are together, these ones will not know. We are the government, the government is taking charge. - Sihle Mlambo
ATM leader Vuyo Zungula calls for the Finance Minister to present his Budget Speech. He says the nlotion of assuring markets is problematic, as the House, belongs to the people.
He calls for the parties to be allowed an opportunity and says an indefinite postponement is unacceptable. He asks what happens if there is no agreement further. - Sihle Mlambo
The IFP says it formed part of the consultation and they have agreed to the proposal to postpone the Budget. They say they view this as a sign of leadership. The IFP supports the proposal to postpone the Budget, said IFP MP Nhlanhla Hadebe.
The MK Party and EFF MPs attempted to drown Hadebe as he stood to support the postponement of the Budget Speech.
The DA said it supported the postponement inorder to allow the Finance Minister to consider all proposals from GNU ministers, particularly their own from the DA. Al-Jama-ah meanwhile has called for a date for the Budget to be presented. - Thabo Makwakwa, Sihle Mlambo
BOSA requests that the Speaker provide a timeframe for the alternative date. - Thabo Makwakwa
A proposed 2% increased on the Value Added Tax is the reason behind the impasse amongst GNU Cabinet ministers. President Cyril Ramaphosa called an emergency meeting to address issues, but they have not been able to reach consensus on the matter. - Kamogelo Moichela
We cannot support a decision we know nothing about, says the UDM's Nqabayomzi Nkwankwa, who asks where the meeting that decided on the postponement of Budget took place. - Sihle Mlambo
MK Party chief whip Mzwanele Manyi has called for the Budget Speech to proceed. - Sihle Mlambo
EFF leader Julius Malema has called for the Budget Speech to proceed, saying the Government of National Unity was now being relegated to petty party politics. He said there was no different parties in the executive, but one executive and the budget should proceed. - Sihle Mlambo
It is now well past 2pm and the much-anticipated budget speech has yet to be delivered. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has not yet arrived in the House, where he is expected to present the speech.
Reports indicate that President Cyril Ramaphosa has called an emergency Cabinet meeting. The timing of the address remains uncertain. - Kamogelo Moichela
Budget is also where money is allocated between the three spheres of government (national, provincial, local) based on revenue collected.
According to the National Treasury, the budget speech aims to balance economic growth and support for the vulnerable in our society despite limited resources.
Government has termed this Budget Speech as a historic moment as it is the first speech under the Government of National Unity (GNU).
The National Treasury also announced that it has received more than 2,000 tips after the finance minister invited South Africans to participate in and share their suggestions on the Budget.
The winning tip will be revealed by the Minister of Finance.
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