Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema said the postponement of the 2025 Budget speech rendered Parliament “useless”, arguing that there is no authority for its postponement as the Budget must be tabled so that it can be debated and ultimately adopted.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana was due to table his first Budget under the Government of National Unity (GNU) on Wednesday, but the speaker of Parliament Thoko Didiza was forced to postpone it after Cabinet failed to agree on a two-percentage-point value-added tax (VAT) hike included in the Budget.

The Budget will now be tabled on March 12.

Didiza said the postponement was an unforeseen and unavoidable situation, noting that the postponement was unprecedented.

“We must all know that this is unprecedented, and this is not a practice that we want to set for this Parliament, it is going to be your legacy [Speaker] that during your tenure Parliament could not debate and adopt Budget. We are saying you are denying this body [MPs] an opportunity to receive Budget, debate it, accept it or reject it,” said Malema.

He accused Didiza of subjecting South Africa’s Budget to party politics.

“…let the Budget be presented here and let Parliament decide that this is the decision we are taking as Parliament. You can’t come here confidently and say 'parties, the executives have not agreed',” he said.

He stated that there was no government, it had collapsed and that it had no capacity to present a Budget.

“Today we have witnessed a Government of National Unity, the grand coalition of DA and African National Congress (ANC) collapsing in front of South Africa, something that we said to all of you that it will not last. We will never agree to an increase of 2% on VAT, from 15% to 17%, and that is why they are scared to come here, because it will be rejected,” Malema noted.

GOVERNMENT FAILURES

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said it “unequivocally” rejected the ANC's VAT hike plan.

“The postponement of the Minister of Finance’s 2025/26 National Budget Speech today is a victory for the people of South Africa, as it prevents the implementation of a 2% VAT increase that would have broken the back of our economy,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen.

He claimed that the last minute postponement came about because of the so-called failure by the ANC, and specifically Godongwana, to engage meaningfully with the alternative proposals tabled by the DA.

“Following our defeat of the ANC’s plan to hike VAT, we will now fight with the same vigour to introduce a new budget that is anchored in growing the economy, rather than increasing taxes or debt,” Steenhuisen said.

The party pointed out that if the VAT hike was included in the Budget, it was prepared to vote it down in Parliament.

Steenhuisen highlighted that the postponement demonstrated the “DA’s muscle within the GNU”, stating that for the first time ever, the ANC was prevented from tabling an “anti-growth budget”.

“…now is the time to replace a failed ANC VAT budget, with a brand new GNU growth budget,” he said.

City of Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said on X that the ANC had learnt an “essential lesson" in coalition government, stating that the DA was clear that it would not support VAT increases as it hurt the poor.

uMkhonto weSizwe Party MP Jimmy Manyi said the postponement was an indication of the crisis that the country was facing.

“This country has got no leadership, this is what we are facing. If we say we have democracy, let democracy come and exercise itself here. This is the theatre of politics. Let the Minister of Finance come and say whatever that he wanted to say. We do not want to hear rumours. We hear very disturbing rumours that the VAT would have been increased by 2%, rumours that the ANC-led government wanted to impoverish our people,” noted Manyi.

ActionSA Parliamentary leader Athol Trollip expressed concern at the "GNU’s failure to table a budget", saying the government had let South Africans down and was "more focused on backroom politics".

"The ANC blithely continues as if it still holds a majority. While the Government of National Disunity partners may have pushed back today and seek to claim a false victory, there are no winners—only losers, and the biggest among them are the people of South Africa," he said.