Unprecedented move in democratic SA as Budget Speech postponed

In an unprecedented move in South Africa’s democratic-era Parliament the Budget Speech has been postponed due to parties that form the Government of National Unity (GNU) failing to agree on how the budget should be constituted.

The Budget will now be tabled on March 12.

Speaker of Parliament Thoko Didiza announced the shocking decision at a sitting in Cape Town, with Members of Parliament expressing frustration.

Didiza alluded to whispers in the media, on what could have caused the cancellation of the budget presentation.

Today’s Budget Speech has been postponed following intense DA pressure against a proposed 2% VAT increase by the ANC.

If included in the budget, the DA was prepared to vote against it.

The DA will keep fighting to protect South Africans from higher taxes and fewer jobs!… pic.twitter.com/lz3nZUtkXs

— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) February 19, 2025

“There has not been agreement in terms of parties in the executive, to actually find one another in proposals of the budget and the executive therefore decided, as some of you already know about where there are possible increases and Cabinet therefore decided not to come and do a presentation of the budget and allow themselves enough time to relook at the budget and come back to this house in March.”

LIVE | Budget Speech 2025:

Secretary-General of the ANC, Fikile Mbalula says they support the postponement of the Budget Speech.

EFF leader Julius Malema accused Didiza of reducing the country’s budget to party politics.

Malema also accused the executive of failing South Africans, adding that this would sully Didiza’s legacy as Speaker.

“It is going to be your legacy Speaker, that during your tenure, Parliament could not debate and adopt the budget. You’re now subjecting the budget of South Africa, to party politics, when the budget is supposed to be above party politics. Let the budget be presented here and let Parliament decide that this is the decision that we’re taking as Parliament, whether to accept or not. You cannot come here and say confidently, that the parties in the executive are not agreeing, what is that? We don’t have parties in the executive, we’ve got the executive.”

Meanwhile, the local currency has taken a knock during today’s trading season. The rand has declined over 0..8 percent since the markets opened.

The local bourse has also traded in the red with the all-share index reversing its all-time high of over 89 000 index points.

With the Resource 10 Index taking the largest knock of almost 2 percent.