EXPLAINER: Budget speech tabled, but will it be approved without DA’s backing?

With Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana having delivered this year’s budget speech, uncertainty looms over whether Parliament will approve the spending plan.

On Wednesday, Godongwana tabled the 2025/2026 national budget in Cape Town.

However, the proposed budget has already faced opposition from certain political parties, including the DA, primarily due to the 0.5% increase in value-added tax (VAT).

As a result, the budget’s fate remains uncertain as it moves through both houses of Parliament.

What happens after tabling of budget speech?

Now that the finance minister has presented the budget and key money bills, the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) must debate, adopt and pass the annual plan.

Each government department’s budget allocation will be presented and debated in parliamentary committees that oversee specific sectors, such as the Portfolio Committee on Health.

These committees will scrutinise how departments plan to utilise their budgets, whether they met previous financial commitments, and whether taxpayer funds were spent responsibly, based on their annual performance reports.

Once all budget votes have been debated in mini-plenaries, both houses of Parliament must vote on the full budget.

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If approved, departments can proceed with their allocated spending.

However, if the budget is rejected by both the National Assembly and the NCOP, the government could be forced to resign, triggering an election to form a new administration.

Parliament has the power to amend the budget, thanks to the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Amendment Act.

Before this legislation was first enacted in 2009, the national legislature could only approve or reject the budget without making modifications.

Can the budget pass without DA’s support?

At it stands, the ANC needs the support of its government of national unity (GNU) partners to secure enough votes to pass the budget through both houses of Parliament.

The GNU consists of 10 parties: the ANC, DA, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Patriotic Alliance (PA), Pan African Congress (PAC), Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), Rise Mzansi, United Democratic Movement (UDM), Al Jama-ah, and the Good Party.

Together, these parties hold 285 out of the 400 seats in Parliament.

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The ANC is the largest party with 159 seats, followed by the DA with 87 and the IFP with 17.

The PA holds nine seats, while the FF Plus and UDM have six and three, respectively.

Rise Mzansi has two seats, while Al Jama-ah and the Good Party each have one.

Despite the GNU’s overall majority, passing the budget requires a simple majority of 201 votes.

Without the DA’s backing, the ANC would need to seek support elsewhere.

ANC to tap EFF?

There has been speculation that the ANC might approach the EFF for support, but party leader Julius Malema has firmly rejected the idea, citing opposition to the VAT increase.

The EFF will instead present its own proposals in the relevant parliamentary committees and lobby other parties to amend the budget.

The MK party, Parliament’s third-largest party, has also ruled out supporting the budget.

Given this uncertainty, the ANC may continue negotiations with the DA in an effort to reach a compromise, potentially revisiting aspects of the budget, including the VAT hike.

DA leader John Steenhuisen stated that his party remains open to further discussions before Parliament votes on the fiscal framework, the Appropriations Bill, and the Division of Revenue Bill.

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