South Africa's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has been forced to postpone the unveiling of the national budget following sharp disagreements within the coalition government.

Disagreement over a 2% VAT hike within the ruling coalition sees parliament postpone the National Budget Vote at the eleventh hour.

As South Africa approaches the highly anticipated budget speech, economists, Dawie Roodt and Ulricht Joubert, have painted a bleak picture of the country’s economic future, warning that the Minister of Finance faces a difficult and challenging task ahead.

In an unprecedented move, the 2025 Budget Speech for South Africa was rescheduled for March 12, after initially being postponed due to disagreements within the Government of National Unity (GNU). Several parties within the GNU disagreed with the budget proposals.

The leader of the Democratic Alliance, the second-largest party in South Africa’s coalition government, will brief the media about its stance on the budget process amid reports the Treasury is about to raise taxes.

South Africa’s budget announcement by the finance minister has been abruptly canceled and rescheduled for next month over a dispute among parties in the governing coalition

All eyes will be on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana on Wednesday afternoon, when he delivers the 2025 Budget Speech in Parliament, Cape Town.

Mtambo CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's national budget was postponed on Wednesday because the two biggest parties in the ruling coalition disagreed over raising value-added tax, an unprecedented delay that caused the rand and government bonds to fall.

Officials say pro-business Democratic Alliance and senior figures in African National Congress objected to VAT rise