'It is not my intention to resign as Finance Minister'
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says he has no plan to resign over the political impasse caused by the National Budget.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says it is up to President Cyril Ramaphosa to decide whether he remains the finance minister or not but he has no intention to resign at the moment.
Godongwana was responding to questions during a media briefing in Pretoria about whether he would resign or not, following the National Budget impasse.
'That is not my intention [to resign] … That decision does not lie with me it lies with the president. The president understands the nature of the challenges in dealing with this problem,' he said.
'It would be unfair to say to me, having performed in terms of my constitutional obligation of proposing a money bill in Parliament and getting into the multi-party environment, which created large attention and says I must resign.
'I think people must understand this in that context,' he said.
Whether Parliament will approve the budget, Godongwana said he couldn't second guess the house, saying he respects Parliament's role in the process.
This comes after the 0.5% value-added-tax (VAT) hike was scrapped.
The reversal follows a political backlash from the EFF and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, who also called for his immediate resignation.
The MKP has gone a step further, tabling a motion of no confidence in him in Parliament and accusing the minister of fiscal mismanagement and promoting 'neoliberal dogma'.
'South Africans deserve leadership that rejected austerity and market fundamentalism,' the MK Party said.
The party further called for nationalising the South African Reserve Bank and mandating it to focus on growth and employment alongside inflation control.
Meanwhile, Godongwana announced on Wednesday that he will table a new budget on May 21.
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