Finance Minister to Present 3rd Budget Speech, ActionSA Expects More Fanciful Words From Godongwana

• ActionSA has weighed in on the upcoming budget speech, saying it didn’t expect much from the Finance Minister
• Enoch Godongwana will deliver a third speech after the cabinet rejected the first, and a court nullified the second
• ActionSA’s Alan Beesley provided suggestions on how the treasury could cover the expected R75 billion revenue shortfall

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

GAUTENG – The 2025 Budget Speech will be delivered on 21 May 2025, but ActionSA expects very little to change from the previous versions.

There have been two previous versions of the budget, but neither was passed due to the contentious proposed Value-Added Tax (VAT) increase.

With Enoch Godongwana set to attempt to deliver the budget for the third time, Herman Mashaba’s party has weighed in on what it expects from the Finance Minister.

ActionSA expects nothing but fanciful words

Speaking to Sunday World, ActionSA Member of Parliament (MP) Alan Beesley said the party was not optimistic about what was to come. Beesly stated that they expected nothing but fanciful words, as the government offered explanations that lacked substance.

Speaking ahead of the budget speech on May 21, ActionSA MP told Sunday World that the party was not optimistic about what would be delivered.

"Based on Budget 1.0 and Budget 2.0, as ActionSA, we do not believe there will be any radical changes, and therefore, our expectations are not high,” said Beesley.

He added that the country needed radical changes to get the economy in motion.

Shortfall expected due to the absence of VAT hike

One area in which the budget is expected to change is the VAT hike. With the proposed increase set to be scrapped, the treasury will have to find ways to plug the R75 billion expected shortfall.

The Finance Minister previously considered scrapping the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, as this amounted to R108 billion over three years. The grant was introduced as a temporary measure during the COVID-19 crisis, but has since become a permanent source of income for many.

Beesley said he doesn’t expect the SRD grant to be affected, and instead suggested that improved tax collection could cover the shortfall.

Beesley noted that there was R800 billion in uncollected taxes, and this could be recovered by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) if it got increased funding to assist with this effort.

What you need to know about ActionSA and the budget

• ActionSA told the ANC that it would not support the budget in its current form in March 2025
• The party wanted the government to trim the size of the cabinet instead of increasing the VAT.
• ActionSA voted in favour of the budget as it was adopted by the National Assembly.
• ActionSA promised to hold the African National Congress accountable when it came to scrapping VAT.
• Herman Mashaba’s party accused the Democratic Alliance of using the budget speech for political gain.

Finance Minister to present new budget in May

Briefly News reported that Godongwana is expected to present a new budget to the National Assembly on 21 May.

The Finance Minister was forced to draft a new budget after the Western Cape High Court set aside the last one.

The courts got involved after the DA and Economic Freedom Fighters went down the legal route to stop the budget.

Source: Briefly News