Deliberations on the future of the government of national unity (GNU), which faced near collapse over the budget impasse, continue this week.
The ANC’s top seven officials, including President Cyril Ramaphosa, will meet on Monday and the only two items on the agenda are the March 12 budget and the GNU.
This will be followed by a meeting of the party’s national working committee (NWC), which is responsible for the daily operations of the ANC, with the GNU once again the subject of discussions.
Business Day understands that after the weekend’s meetings between the ANC and the DA tensions have been defused as the parties realise the GNU is mutually beneficial.
“The fedex [federal executive] will continue to meet and assess the current situation,” DA leader John Steenhuisen said at the weekend during a party campaign in Phoenix, KwaZulu-Natal.
On Saturday, ActionSA presented finance minister Enoch Godongwana with a document outlining options for alternative revenue streams it said would generate R100bn for the fiscus. The party led by Herman Mashaba struck a last-minute deal with the ANC in which it agreed to vote for the fiscal framework in exchange for Godongwana finding alternative revenue streams within thirty days and not implementing the 0.5 percentage point VAT hike for 2025/26.
The squabbles in the GNU, which saw the ANC approach parties outside the coalition government over the VAT hike, combined with the looming tariffs on SA exports to the US, spooked the markets and sparked a huge sell-off on the JSE. The all share index’s 4% plunge on Thursday wiped out almost R1-trillion in value.
The Trump administration’s 31% tariff imposed on SA exports starts on April 9, with widespread uncertainty on the impact of the additional levies. The tariff comes a week after the Trump administration imposed a 25% levy on foreign-manufactured vehicles. According to data from motor industry association Naamsa, SA exported 390,884 vehicles in 2024, of which 25,553, or 6.5%, were to the US.
The departments of trade, industry & competition and international relations & co-operation said on Friday work was under way for SA to diversify its export markets while keeping channels of engagement open with the US.
“The reciprocal tariffs effectively nullify the preferences that Sub-Saharan African countries enjoy under Agoa [African Growth and Opportunity Act]. The sweeping tariff measures will affect several sectors of the SA economy, including the automotive industry, agriculture, processed food and beverages, chemicals, metals and other segments of manufacturing, with implications for jobs and growth,” international relations minister Ronald Lamola said on Friday.
Electricity & energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa will this week head off to China, SA’s largest trading partner, seeking investment in SA’s volatile energy sector.
“With an anticipated rise in electricity demand, particularly in energy-intensive sectors, it is imperative that SA secures the necessary technologies and partnerships to sustain economic recovery while addressing the risk of resurfacing load-shedding,” the minister’s office said in a statement.
National Assembly MPs begin their two week constituency period this week until April 17.
“This is part of the seventh parliament’s rotational approach to the parliamentary programme, where the work is reorganised into three components: committee oversight week, constituency engagement and plenary sittings. This approach enables members to focus fully on each core function to maximise its impact.
“Constituency periods afford MPs ample time to have meaningful and direct engagement with communities and constituencies, where each member utilises their respective constituency offices spread across the length and breadth of SA,” parliament said in a statement.
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