Cabinet Rejects Enoch Godongwana’s Revised Budget, DA Proposes Alternative Without Tax Increases

• Enoch Gondongwana's revised budget speech was rejected by cabinet after a six-hour-long meeting
• The new budget had no mention of the Value Added Tax (VAT) hike but features cuts to key budgets
• The Democratic Alliance proposed a budget speech which it said featured zero tax increases

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has spent a decade reporting on the South African political landscape, crime and social issues. He spent 10 years working for a community newspaper before transitioning to online

WESTERN CAPE – Cabinet can’t seem to agree on what the 2025 Budget Speech should consist of, but the Democratic Alliance (DA) has ideas.

The party presented its budget proposals on Tuesday, 25 February 2025, calling for zero tax increases.

The DA’s proposals come a day after cabinet failed to agree on a reworked budget, the second time it has been rejected by cabinet within a week. The new date for the budget speech is 12 March.

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DA calls for no tax increase

While unveiling its proposals at a special media briefing, the party said a tax increase of any kind would not happen under its watch. During the media briefing, the DA presented a six-point plan, which included no corporate or personal tax increases and cutting waste.

DA finance spokesperson Mark Burke broke down each point, nothing that number four brought with it a chance to reprioritise R58 billion.

“We need a three-month emergency spending review which must be undertaken to identify wasteful and failing programmes. This will allow the reallocation of funds to essential public services such as health care, policing and education,” he noted.

You can view Burke's speech HERE.

Cabinet rejects Enoch Godongwana's revised budget

The party’s plans come after cabinet rejected Enoch Godongwana's reworked budget speech. The Finance Minister presented an alternative budget, one without the 2% Value Added Tax (VAT) hike at a special meeting on Monday, 24 February 2024. The meeting reportedly lasted over six hours as cabinet members couldn’t agree on the contents. While the new budget didn’t have the 2% VAT hike in it, it did reportedly cut down on other planned increases. This includes money towards the recruitment of 11,000 teachers, as well as cutting funding towards prison warders, a wage increase, and the Department of Defence.

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What you need to know about the budget speech

• Julius Malema claimed that the government had collapsed after the budget speech was postponed
• Khumbudzo Ntshavheni claimed that African National Congress members objected to the VAT hike first
• President Cyril Ramaphosa has broken his silence after the 2025 Budget Speech was officially postponed
• Moeletsi Mbeki weighed in on the 2% VAT hike claiming that the ANC no longer cared about the poor

Ramaphosa says budget speech postponement not a crisis

Briefly News reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa defended the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana.

Ramaphosa defended the minister after the budget speech failed to go ahead on 19 February 2025.

The minister and government received criticism for a proposed 2% Value-Added Tax (VAT) increase.

Source: Briefly News