The ball is in Godongwana’s court

South Africa’s cabinet concluded a process of providing input for the annual budget, which Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will present to lawmakers on March 12, the presidency said.

Government ministers held a special meeting on Monday to discuss the “best possible options, under the circumstances,” to fund the 2025-26 and medium-term plan, the presidency said in a statement on Tuesday. 

A team led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile and supported by the National Treasury presented a variety of options that were considered by the cabinet, it said. 

The cabinet mandated Godongwana to select from those options in a manner that takes into account South Africa’s fiscal constraints, mitigates the impact on poor and middle-income households, and supports economic growth, it said.