Appropriation Bill passes despite intense debate and deep political divisions

News24

23-07-2025

Supplied
Parliament has passed the 2025 Appropriation Bill, approving over R1.2 trillion in government spending after weeks of tense GNU negotiations.
The Bill passed with 262 votes in favour and 90 against, with support from the ANC, DA, IFP, ActionSA and others; the EFF and MK Party opposed it.
Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo warned that failure to pass the budget would cripple public services and halt government operations by October.
Parliament has officially passed the 2025/26 Appropriation Bill, authorising government to spend just over R1.2 trillion over the current financial year.
The vote, which took place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Wednesday, came after weeks of tense negotiations within the government of national unity (GNU) and fierce opposition from key parties.
The vote succeeded with 262 MPs in favour, 90 against, and no abstentions — exceeding the required simple majority in the 400-seat National Assembly.
The sitting formed the final chapter of the budget cycle and included the tabling of the Standing Committee on Appropriations' report, a debate on departmental allocations, and the Bill's second reading. Voting was conducted manually, with party whips announcing how their members voted. Although MPs were permitted to declare a different vote from their party line, none chose to do so.
Among those who supported the Bill were the ANC holding 159 seats, the DA Alliance with 87 seats, IFP (12), Patriotic Alliance (9), Freedom Front Plus (5), ActionSA (5), ACDP (2), UDM (2), Rise Mzansi (2), BOSA (2), Al Jama-ah (1), PAC (1), and GOOD Party (1).
Opposing the Bill were the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) with 51 seats, the EFF with 36, ATM (1), National Coloured Congress (1), and United Africans Transformation (1).
This passage marks a critical moment in a process that began with the tabling of the main budget speech- three times due to coalition disagreements within the GNU, followed by debates on the fiscal framework and the Division of Revenue Bill.
The Appropriation Bill, which assigns spending to national departments through formal Votes, is the legislative tool that legally authorises public expenditure.
Masondo: 'Delay would gripple government'
Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo warned that failure to pass the bill would have devastating consequences.
This R1.2 trillion is not just a number. It represents school meals, hospital beds, social grants and infrastructure projects.
David Masondo
'Without passing this bill, the government will be without authority for permission to spend beyond last year's allocation. As a result, the government will not fully provide services, including public servants.'
He added that without legal authority, government could only spend 45% of last year's budget until the end of July, and 10% per month thereafter.
'By October, we would have reached 100% of last year's appropriation, and government would effectively be unable to operate,' he said.
The second implication of the delay of the Budget, Masondo said, was that 'critical priorities and new priorities can't be funded'.
Masondo detailed how the bill would fund critical programmes, including:
R6.7 billion for compensation in the health sector, enabling the hiring of 800 doctors and addressing 5 000 vacancies.
R5.1 billion for education, including teacher compensation and early childhood development.
R470 million for digitising Home Affairs operations.
R11 billion towards industrialisation via the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition.
'The most vulnerable in our society — those dependent on clinics, schools, and grants — would suffer most if we fail to act,' Masondo said.
He acknowledged South Africa's stagnant economic growth and overreliance on state-owned enterprises (SOEs), saying government must 'undertake structural reforms' to open up sectors like energy and freight logistics to competition.
READ: Ramaphosa buckles under DA's demands – fires Nkabane, saves the Budget
Maimane: 'Budget must prioritise growth, not bureaucracy'
The Standing Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Build One South Africa leader Dr Mmusi Maimane, presented the Bill to the House.
Maimane framed the bill in stark terms, warning that debt servicing now consumes 22 cents of the national budget.
'61% of our spending is now on the social wage,' he said.
And if we're not careful in how we prioritise budgeting, in the outer year of this medium term, we'll soon be spending more on social grants than on any economic growth drivers.
Mmusi Maimane
He stressed the need for economic reforms and audits of ghost workers, underutilised state assets, and duplicative government agencies.
Maimane welcomed infrastructure investments — including R1.3 trillion allocated to the transport department over the medium term — but noted that less than 1% of the budget went to innovation, small business and trade.
'We have to spend smarter,' he said.
But not all parties were convinced.
EFF: This is a budget of betrayal
The EFF outright rejected the bill, with MP Omphile Maotwe calling it a 'compromise budget negotiated in smoke-filled bedrooms' to keep a sinking coalition afloat.
'This budget will not eradicate pit toilets. It will not hire more doctors or nurses or teachers. It will not grow the economy. It will make the poor even poorer,' she said.
Maotwe accused GNU members of selling out for 'posts and blue lights,' adding: 'Principles have been sold, and economic logic sacrificed on the altar of convenience.'
The EFF argued that even within the constraints of the fiscal framework, government could have funded the employment of 9 000 doctors, eradicated pit toilets in schools, increased SARS capacity, and boosted basic education, but chose not to.
'We did not turn this budget into a political football,' said Maotwe.
'We engaged in a principled manner — and for that, we reject it.'
MK Party: Budget fails the nation
MKP's Sanele Mwali echoed the EFF's rejection, accusing the GNU of clinging to discredited neoliberal policies that had failed since 1994.
'The ANC and the so-called GNU have missed the opportunity to redefine our economic tragedy,' Mwali said.
'They continue to prescribe the same medicine that's killing the patient.'
He decried the government's 'obsession with debt reduction,' citing rising food prices, 60% youth unemployment, and 30% increases in electricity tariffs.
'The MK Party says the economy is about people, not profits,' Mwali said. 'We reject this budget.'
DA: 'Budget must break cycle of dependency'
DA MP Kingsley Wakelin said the country faced a 'dangerous crossroads,' and the budget must choose between 'dependency on the state' and 'investment in economic growth.'
The people no longer trust the ANC to govern alone.
Kingsley Wakelin
'They want jobs, not handouts.'
He criticised government for allocating R700 million to a 'costly national dialogue' project instead of practical interventions like RDP houses, youth job grants or electricity support.
'The DA demands a comprehensive job-seeker's plan, investment in ECD, and the abolition of dysfunctional SETAs,' he added.
Wakelin also accused the ruling party of distractions: 'Internal ANC conflicts, MK's constitutional undermining, and EFF's implosions have diverted focus from what really matters.'
READ: GNU hangs by a thread as DA digs in on budget and ANC heads into crucial NEC
ActionSA: Budget lacks vision and coherence
ActionSA MP Alan Beesley said South Africa was in 'a crisis of unemployment, poverty, and violent crime,' and the budget failed to meet the moment.
'Economic growth is stuck at 0.1%, and the Financial and Fiscal Commission warns of a possible recession. This bill lacks vision, coherence, and urgency,' he said.
Beesley slammed the SETAs for becoming 'cesspools of corruption' and condemned the bloated Cabinet.
'This too is corruption — the systemic abuse of public funds in full view,' he said.
'There is enough money to run this country well. But not enough to run a bloated Cabinet and feed ANC greed.'
He added: 'ActionSA will support departmental budgets that move the country forward. And we will reject those that don't — based on principle, not politics.'
Despite strong opposition, the Bill was ultimately adopted with broad support.
But this support was not automatic. The DA had earlier threatened to block the Bill unless President Cyril Ramaphosa acted against then-higher education minister Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, who the party accused of misleading Parliament over board appointments to Sector Education and Training Authorities (SETAs).
Ramaphosa responded by dismissing Nkabane earlier this week, replacing her with former Deputy Minister Buti Manamela and appointing former KwaZulu-Natal Premier Dr Nomusa Dube-Ncube as the new deputy minister.
The DA confirmed that the dismissal, combined with critical budget allocations, was sufficient to secure its backing.