‘We are not scared of the DA’: Mashatile claims it was ANC MPs that wanted budget reassessed

ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile says Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana did not postpone his budget speech earlier this week because of pressure from the DA.

Mashatile was speaking on Saturday at the ANC’s January 8 provincial celebrations in Springbok, Northern Cape.

Mashatile denies DA forced budget postponement

“It is us the ANC that want to redo the budget,” he said.

“The are some people who say we did not pass the budget because we are scared of the DA. No, it is us, the ANC, who want to relook at the budget; no, it is us,” he said.

Mashatile told ANC supporters at the Nama Khai Municipality that Godongwana will return to parliament on 12 March and present the budget.

“We will continue to prioritise the needs and ambitions of our people, and we will not make decisions that will make us lose the progress achieved at the beginning of our democracy,” he said.

‘Pro-poor budget‘

Mashatile said Cabinet had decided that the budget must be reconsidered because of the controversial 2% VAT hike that Godongwana would have announced this week.

“We postponed it to have more time to see how we will pass this budget without increasing the burden on poor people. The budget has to find a way to strike a balance between the objectives of the public, the expansion of the economy, and the maintenance of fiscal stability,” he said.

He told ANC supporters that the party is not “running away” from tabling the budget.

ALSO READ: Budget speech: ‘GNU’s conflicts puts national interests at risk’

ANC needs to work with its coalition partners

Some members of the government of national unity (GNU), such as the DA and Freedom Front (FF Plus), said they objected to the VAT increase because it would have “broken the back of the South African economy”.

However, the ANC claimed that all partners within the GNU were consulted before the budget was finalised.

Political analyst Theo Neethling told The Citizen that the ANC needs to accept that it lost its majority in parliament and is now forced to work with other parties.

Neethling said that in the past, ANC ministers of finance developed budgets that were supported by their members of parliament.

However, this has changed since the ANC lost elections in 2024.

“This budget speech differed from other budget speeches. Previously, the minister of finance did not need to consult Cabinet colleagues. He could table the budget in parliament, and he would have his party’s support,” he said.

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