By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The postponement of the 2025 budget is “not out of the norm in other jurisdictions”, Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni justified at a cabinet media briefing on Thursday.
She reiterated that the move “is still within the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act [PFMA]” and attempted to reassure the nation that talks within the government of national unity (GNU) are continuing in an effort to reach a resolution.
Ntshavheni briefed members of the media on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday, 26 February 2025.
“Cabinet assures South Africans that deliberations on the 2025 National Budget are continuing, to determine the best ways to fund our national priorities and ensure the budget reflects the aspirations of all South Africans,” said Ntshavheni.
According to Section 27 of the PFMA, the annual budget must be tabled before the start of the financial year. However, in exceptional circumstances, it may also be tabled on a date as soon as possible after the start of that financial year, as the (finance) minister may determine.
The 12 March 2025 deadline for Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to table the Budget in the National Assembly is “cast in stone”, Ntshavheni said on Thursday.
“That’s what the Speaker has announced, and she has announced that with the confirmation of Cabinet.”
Ntshavheni said deliberations within the Cabinet on the Budget “are continuing to determine the best ways to fund our national priorities and ensure the budget reflects the aspirations of all South Africans”.
There would be another special Cabinet meeting on Monday, 3 March to deliberate on ways to balance the government’s books and “finalise our inputs with [National] Treasury”.
Godongwana’s Budget speech was postponed on 19 February because of divisions, largely over an increase in VAT from 15% to 17%, in the Cabinet of the 10-party government of national unity (GNU). He had presented the two-percentage-point VAT increase to GNU partners in a snap Cabinet meeting on the morning of 19 February, resulting in the postponement of the Budget for the first time since 1994.
In a press briefing held after the postponement of the speech, Godongwana and Ntshavheni were at pains to promote a united front in Cabinet, saying the decision to postpone the Budget speech was a Cabinet decision and not due to pressure from any political party. On Thursday, Ntshavheni reiterated that the postponement of the speech on 19 February was the result of efforts by the Cabinet to “collectively address” South Africa’s funding challenges.
“Market-sensitive information will remain market-sensitive information,” Ntshavheni said in response to questions from reporters on the Budget deliberations in Cabinet.
“We have indicated as Cabinet we are engaging and it’s a timeline that we need to comply with, and we are going to comply with, to conclude the Budget process within the mandate of Cabinet,” she said.