GNU has a Budget ‘hiccup’

The unprecedented delay in the presentation of South Africa’s budget shouldn’t be seen as a crisis and wouldn’t derail the country’s 10-party ruling alliance, President Cyril Ramaphosa said. 

His comments came a day after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget speech was delayed for three weeks due to a disagreement within the so-called government of national unity over the National Treasury’s proposal to increase the value-added tax rate by 2 percentage points to 17%. 

“Being in a GNU by definition means you have got to work with others, you have to take others along, you have to build consensus,” Ramaphosa told reporters in Johannesburg on Thursday.

“That should not be seen as a crisis. Budgets in many countries are possibly the most important event that happens — even in more mature democracies. They often have budget hiccups.”

“It is in many ways the maturation of our own democracy,” the president added. “This is not one of those crises that will threaten the GNU. It is a hiccup that we will get over.

“In other countries, differences over the budget result in the collapse of government.”