South Africa on Wednesday postponed the coalition government’s first national budget speech to parliament indefinitely, citing internal tensions over tax increases.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana was scheduled to deliver a statement in parliament outlining the government’s economic priorities, including revenue-raising measures.
“We have decided to adjourn proceedings for a date to be determined,” Speaker Thoko Didiza announced after a tense session in the chamber.
She stated that the parties in the executive had not reached an agreement on the budget plans.
The African National Congress (ANC), which had ruled South Africa alone since apartheid ended in 1994, lost its majority in last year’s elections, forcing it to form a coalition.
The ANC formed an uneasy alliance with nine other parties, including its long-time rival, the DA.
“The postponement… is a victory for the people of South Africa,” DA leader John Steenhuisen declared shortly after the announcement.
The party had opposed a proposal to raise the value-added tax from 15% to 17%, he said, adding that it “would have broken the back of our economy.”
The radical-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party opposed the postponement.
“There is no government; it has collapsed,” EFF leader Julius Malema told parliament.
Africa’s most industrialised country is struggling to replenish its coffers after losing US aid, in part due to a recent law that US President Donald Trump claims empowered the government to confiscate land from white farmers.
The economy is dealing with problems on numerous fronts, with inflation ticking up to three per cent in December.
The country has one of the world’s greatest levels of inequality, with poverty affecting more than 60% of its 63 million people.
Unemployment fell to over 32% in the fourth quarter of 2024, the government reported on Tuesday, although it remains among the highest in the world.
