SACP says budget postponement proves ANC must consult with alliance

The South African Communist Party (SACP) says it feels vindicated by the unprecedented postponement of the tabling of the 2025 Budget today.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana was forced to put the tabling of the budget on hold, after parties failed to agree on some of the adjustments.

These included, among others, the National Treasury’s decision to raise the Value Added Tax (VAT) by 2% to 17%.

SACP spokesperson Dr Alex Mashilo says they have rejected the proposal to hike VAT long before the tabling of the budget, but the ANC went ahead with it.

He says this is a lesson to their alliance partner to start consulting with its allies and take their input seriously.

“We are looking for a thorough going consultation within our alliance because the alliance was undermined. There was no consultation with allies. The postponement of the presentation of the budget on Wednesday must serve as a lesson that the alliance has a key role to play. You must not undermine the alliance and throw consultation with the alliance under the bus because alliance partners like the SACP disagree with the DA and policies that irked the workers and the poor.”

Some parties in Parliament say the postponement of the Budget Speech shows that the Government of National Unity (GNU) is working well.

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, John Steenhuisen, Freedom Front Plus leader, Pieter Groenewald and Gayton McKenzie, the Patriotic Alliance leader, say this shows how well the GNU is working.

Steenhuisen elaborates, “Today is very good example working, any observer should take heart, shows in SA have group of parties in government, in charge, taking wise and financially sound decisions.”

While others, like Build One SA leader, Mmusi Maimane, Athol Trollip from ActionSA and Nqaba Kwankwa from the UDM, decried that thing came to this point.

Trollip had this to say, “The whole world’s eyes already on us, with executive orders. years of arrogance, ANC used to stick budget under our nose.  Now it’s a new dispensation. They should’ve sorted this out long ago, lay this at feet of the President and Minister, should’ve finalised long time ago. “

While Maimane reacted by saying the partners in GNU should have organised better.

“It’s the most unprecedented in democratic SA. The GNU was not established yesterday, had 6 months to plan for this. It shows we must solve not for politics; we must solve for the people.”

Trollip warned that the postponement of the budget does not bode well for the country’s international image.

“The whole world’s eyes already on us, with executive orders. years of arrogance, ANC used to stick budget under our nose.  Now it’s a new dispensation. They should’ve sorted this out long ago, lay this at feet of the President and Minister, should’ve finalised long time ago.”

UDM’s Kwankwa blamed the postponement on the lack of consultation by the ANC.

“The ANC has continued to treat this institution as rubberstamps known as budget, but only consultations today. We should have made contributions; we are where we are today because of the failure of that consultation.”

EFF leader Julius Malema didn’t hold back adding that the postponement proves his predictions right that the GNU was never going to last.

“There is no government. If don’t adopt a budget, government collapses, grand coalition collapsed. Told you. never agree to 2% VAT and that is why they’re scared to come here, because will be rejected.”

Member from the MK Party, Mzwanele Manyi, offered a different solution to give already struggling consumers some space to breathe.

“Those people need a breather. You must at the top and adjust corporate tax. They have lower tax on basis that will create jobs. But we have 42% unemployment, so not using the leeway. So, we might as well get more money from them via increase from corporate tax.”

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, says the next Parliamentary budget-sitting will be on the 12th of next month.