South Africa: Budget 3.0 - Godongwana Sets New Date Amid Political Turmoil and Economic Uncertainty

At a hastily convened media briefing, Godongwana confirmed that the National Budget would now be tabled for a third time on 21 May 2025. The announcement follows two failed tablings: one blocked by legal action, the other torpedoed by coalition deadlock over the now withdrawn VAT increase.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced today that the third tabling of the Budget would take place on 21 May 2025, following two failed instances given inter-party conflict regarding the now recalled VAT hike.

At a hastily convened media briefing, Godongwana confirmed that the national Budget would now be tabled for a third time on 21 May 2025. The announcement follows two failed tablings: one blocked by legal action, the other torpedoed by coalition deadlock over the now withdrawn VAT increase.

"This decision was shaped not only by political debate, but importantly by the voices of South Africans," said the minister without any apparent irony.

Alongside Director-General Duncan Pieterse, Godongwana described the decision to reverse the VAT hike as both pragmatic and democratic. The task now, he admitted, was to rebuild credibility in the eyes of the public, Parliament, and capital markets -- without resorting to new borrowing or tax increases. The new Budget,...

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