Varied political reaction to Budget Speech

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivering the Budget Speech

2 minutes

Congress of SA Trade Unions (COSATU) says the tabling of the 2025/2026 budget was a difficult one for the Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana.

The labour federation says it welcomes the budget despite the 0.5 percentage point VAT increase.

Parliamentary coordinator Matthew Parks says, “It was a difficult one because we are 27 percent corporate taxed and other countries have actual go below that to 23%. But we focused on two alternatives. We have R3 billion of taxes currently being owed to the state.”

The African National Congress (ANC) welcomed the tabling of the 2025/2026 budget and says it speaks to issues related to social and economic growth.

ANC National Chairperson and Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe, “The budget talks to the issues of our people. I heard the party that says, this budget is not pro-growth. And I ask a simple question, how can you spend money on education, health infrastructure, social grants and say it’s against growth.”

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) says it rejects the VAT increase, with party MP Steve Swart saying the minister could have opted for other alternatives.

“We do not support the VAT increase of one percent over two years. We believe there are other ways of saving money and of collecting the revenue that is due to the South African Revenue Service (SARS). It’s R800 billion that is due to SARS.”

Budget Speech 2025 | Political reactions

The Freedom Front Plus (FFPlus) has attributed the tabling of the 2025/2026 budget to the consensus after negotiations among political parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU).

Reacting on the budget, party MP Wouter Wessels said had it not been due to the compromised reached in the GNU, things could have been far much worse.

Budget Speech 2025 | FF Plus reacts