The Treasury says it will be able to present a national budget on May 21. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana made the announcement at a media briefing in Tshwane on Wednesday.
“Between now and [May 21] I won’t talk to you, it is a closed period. This is my last appearance until the 21st,” Godongwana said.
The termination of the proposed VAT increases by the Western Cape High Court on Sunday paves the way for the Treasury to craft a third budget for the next three years, with the DA expected to increase pressure on the minister to implement its budget priorities.
Godongwana, who has been under pressure due to the postponement of the previous two budgets, added the decision for him to resign lay with President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“We are dealing with uncharted terrain... Now we are in a coalition government. There is a GNU (government of national unity) in cabinet and in parliament there are a number of political parties. I worked within my constitutional parameters as finance minister to present a budget but that process was messy and we have learnt from it,” Godongwana said.
In its own statement on Tuesday, parliament welcomed the court’s decision about a VAT increase.
“The out-of-court settlement reflects the strength of SA’s constitutional democracy and the ability of its institutions to resolve complex matters in the public interest. By avoiding prolonged litigation, parliament has helped ensure legal certainty, fiscal stability and the continued delivery of essential public services. Parliament remains committed to upholding the constitution and serving the best interests of the people of SA,” parliament said in a statement.
On Sunday, the Western Cape High Court ruled in favour of the DA and EFF’s application to suspend finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s VAT hike before its May 1 implementation date. That has set the stage for a high-stakes budget battle within the coalition government, which has been left bruised by the contested and sometimes chaotic budget process.
The Treasury said in a statement that there would be broad consultations.
“The revised budget will adhere to all established technical processes and consultations as set out in the Money Bills and Related Matters Act. This includes formal consultations with the Financial and Fiscal Commission, thorough consultations with all political parties within the GNU as well as Cabinet approval before presentation to Parliament."
It added that there was no crisis in terms of government spending.
“Until the new budget is passed, government services will continue to be funded under section 29 of the Public Finance Management Act. This allows spending of up to 45% of last year’s budget during the first four months, and up to 10% for each month after that,” the Treasury said.
On Tuesday, parliament also committed to working tirelessly to ensure a new budget was passed in the coming weeks.
“It does not require any special ceremonial arrangements beyond what is already budgeted for the routine sittings of the House. Therefore, the delivery of the new budget speech will be accommodated within existing parliamentary resources and schedules,” parliament said in the statement.
But on Wednesday Godongwana said he could not guarantee that parliament would pass the third iteration of the budget.
“I cannot second guess parliament, we will present a case to parliament for them to approve the budget,” Godongwana said.
Parliament will have to meet tight legislative deadlines to pass the budget, the Appropriation Bill and the Division of Revenue Bill required by the Money Bills and Related Matters Act.
On Wednesday, the National Assembly’s programme committee adopted a programme for the next three months, with June 11 set aside for the consideration of the fiscal framework, June 26 for the Division of Revenue Bill and July 23 for the Appropriation Bill.
EFF MPs at the committee meeting objected to what they said was a steamrolled process that could compromise the constitutionally required public participation. National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza said it was not a question of steamrolling but complying with the legislative deadlines.
The act requires that the finance committee and the select committees of finance must, within 16 days after the tabling of the national budget or as soon as reasonably possible thereafter, and report to the National Assembly or the National Council of Provinces on the fiscal framework.
The Division of Revenue Bill must be passed within 35 days after the adoption of the fiscal framework or as soon as reasonably possible thereafter, and parliament must pass or reject the Appropriation Bill within four months after the start of the financial year to which it relates, which means by the end of July.
Correction: April 30 2025
This story has been corrected to show that the budget to be presented will be for three years, the length of the medium-term fiscal framework.
With Linda Ensor
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