Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s 2025 Budget Speech has been postponed at the last minute, the first time this has happened in democratic South Africa.
Scheduled to start at 14:00, Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, announced 15 minutes after the hour that the Budget Speech would not take place as scheduled, supposedly over disagreements between political parties represented in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet.
“I have just had a consultation with the whips of the all the political parties, following consultation with the leader of government business in Parliament [Deputy President Paul Mashatile]. In terms of Rule 48 [2], we have decided to adjourn proceedings for a date to be determined by the programming committee,” Didiza said to members of Parliament (MPs).
Ahead of the start of the proceedings on Wednesday, it was revealed that Cabinet members had convened an urgent meeting at Tuynhuys, the president’s residence in Cape Town, following a deadlock over proposed tax increases.
More to come
