Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has claimed the DA’s opposition to the Budget speech was not about the VAT increases, but “about reversing the gains of transformation”.
Ntshavheni briefed journalists in Cape Town on Thursday, 13 March 2025, one day after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabled the Budget.
While most government of national unity (GNU) parties indicated they would support the Budget (with conditions for some), the second-largest party in the GNU said it would not.
Read more: Several GNU and opposition parties throw a spanner in the works for Godongwana
Ntshavheni described the DA’s opposition as anti-poor and anti-middle class.
“It’s about reversing the Expropriation Act… and it’s a pity that they’ve got the megaphones and the scribes who can make their voices very loud,” she said.
“They’ve come out and said it themselves. It’s not me, it’s John Steenhuisen yesterday when he did a post-Budget interview to say their issue is with the Expropriation Act.”
During a News24 budget briefing on Thursday, Godongwana said the DA had tabled the issue of the Expropriation Act, which it opposes, during Budget negotiations, which the minister said was unrelated.
On Wednesday, just as Godongwana started speaking, Steenhuisen posted on X that his party was not in support of the Budget.
Good afternoon, South Africa. The DA will not support the budget in its current form. We will continue to fight for economic growth and jobs. ??
— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) March 12, 2025
While Steenhuisen had told journalists after the Budget speech that the DA was against the VAT hikes and any increase in taxes, it was willing to continue talking. The party had called for cutting inefficient spending and major reforms to grow the economy.
Steenhuisen had told Newzroom Afrika that the party made several concessions on several key issues and it was time other parties made similar concessions too.
He said a deal might be put back on the table, but this included possible discussions and concessions around the contentious Expropriation Act. Steenhuisen described this as an “impediment to investment in SA” which could not be “divorced from the Budget”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkZZqFRVDqw&ab_channel=NewzroomAfrika
Ntshavheni said about the DA: “You cannot hold the country ransom on the budget because you’ve got other political things to deal with.”
Now, whether the Budget will be passed is up to parliamentary committees and eventually a vote in Parliament.
Read more: What happens next for a contested Budget?
Touching on this, Ntshavheni said that, as required by legislation, the Budget had now been tabled.
“And as the speaker has announced, the National Assembly has referred the Budget to the various committees of the National Assembly to deliberate.
“They must be given space to deliberate and scrutinise that Budget.”
Asked what would happen if the Budget were not passed before the new financial year, Ntshavheni said a clause in the Public Finance Management Act allowed funds to be drawn temporarily under the provisions of the previous Budget.
Later on Thursday, both the ANC and DA are expected to brief the media on their positions on the tabled Budget. DM
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