Opposition parties bemoan postponement of Godongwana's budget speech

JOHANNESBURG - Opposition parties in government have bemoaned the executive for failing to agree on the contents of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s Budget Speech.

Godongwana was scheduled to deliver his speech on Wednesday afternoon, but he’ll now have to deliver it on a date that’s yet to be confirmed.

It was postponed because parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU) could not agree on some of the important matters in the speech.

MK Party chief whip Mzwanele Manyi said Godongwana must deliver his speech on Wednesday no matter what.

“Let the minister of finance come and say whatever he wanted to say. We don’t want to hear rumors. We hear very disturbing rumours that the VAT [Value-Added Tax] would have been increased by 2%. We heard rumours that this African National Congress (ANC)-led government wanted to impoverish our people.”

Build One South Africa (BOSA) leader Mmusi Maimane questioned how much longer South Africans would have to wait for the budget speech to be tabled.

“Anytime natural delay that emerges as a function of day does in fact mean that parliament is placed under pressure in not being able to consult with the people, for this is where the people are represented. May I ask that it must not be an arbitrary decision as to when this must be table? We must be given a firm date. So that we can work on a timetable consistent with law. Otherwise, the disagreement that took place today will end up in the court of law.”