In an unprecedented move, the 2025 Budget Speech that was supposed to be delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, has been postponed to 12 March 2025.
Godongwana was expected to deliver the budget at 2pm, which was going to be the first under the Government of National Unity (GNU).
There were however delays before the start of the budget, as Godongwana, President Cyril Ramaphosa and other cabinet Ministers were absent.
There were also reports that Ramaphosa had called an urgent Cabinet meeting, to allow GNU partners to deliberate on the matter.
According to the speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, the postponement is because parties in the GNU disagreed on several matters, especially over the proposed 2% VAT increase.
“While today we have been gathered here to have the minister of Finance present the budget to the house that there has not been agreement in terms of parties in the executive to find one another in proposals of the budget.
The cabinet decided not to come and do a presentation of the budget and allow themselves enough time to relook the budget and come back to this house in March, the time in which they will inform us,” said Didiza.
The markets reacted negatively to the postponement, with the Rand losing 1%.
Meanwhile, addressing the media in parliament, Godongwana reiterated that postponement is needed to allow for further deliberations to take place on the budget.
“The Cabinet is united in the view that the budget must strike a balance between the interests of the public, economic growth and fiscal sustainability.
Furthermore, budget is produced and presented before the National Assembly according to rules outlined in the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA).
Section 27 of the PFMA requires that the annual budget be tabled prior to the start of the financial year, or in exceptional circumstances on a date as soon as possible after the start of the financial year, as the minister of finance may, determine.
Therefore, further discussion in cabinet will take place in preparation for a new or amended budget to be tabled on 12 March 2025,” said Godongwana.
Political parties in parliament were divided over the postponement, with those not part of the GNU demanding that Godongwana be called to present the budget, while others welcomed the postponement.
