
Budget 3.0 Treasury prepares for tough budget talks
JOHANNESBURG - Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will deliver the third version of the Budget on Wednesday.
Who will carry which costs, what are the expected shifts, and how will government address the revenue gap?
Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Songezo Zibi, had a sit-down with eNCA's Heidi Giokos and unpacked what Parliament is watching, and why it matters.
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Eyewitness News
2 days ago
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Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance chair Maswanganyi says debate on fuel levy hike not over
CAPE TOWN - Chairperson of Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance, Joe Maswanganyi, said the debate on increasing the fuel levy was far from over. The fuel levy had been left untouched for three years until Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana hiked it on Wednesday in efforts to meet the budget shortfall. On Wednesday, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters both rejected it as a revenue proposal in the 2025 budget when the finance committee met to adopt its report on the fiscal framework, in preparation for next week's vote in the National Assembly. ALSO READ: • EFF hellbent on having fuel levy hike scrapped, despite losing legal bid • Godongwana weighed his options before deciding to hike fuel levy: Mashatile • Treasury defends fuel levy increase Maswanganyi has committed to further discussions on the matter. "We had a very lengthy debate about this in 2022. We will look at that in the next quarter when we have Treasury. We will also bring the Department of Energy on board to discuss this matter and see what can be done moving forward. So, we are not dismissing what you are raising Honourable Moatwe, and Honourable Molefe." Meanwhile, ActionSA's Alan Beesley said that given the widespread financial mismanagement at the Road Accident Fund, which is largely funded by the fuel levy, it should be scrapped on that basis alone. "The RAF collects R50 billion of taxpayers' hard-pressed money. It's a cesspool of corruption and incompetence. It has an adverse audit report. The CEO should be fired. The board should be fired, and it's just sad that we are taking money from hard-pressed taxpayers, giving it to the RAF and that money is literally going down the drain."


Daily Maverick
3 days ago
- Daily Maverick
SA almost has a Budget — finance committee adopts fiscal framework, despite MK and EFF rejections
After multiple false starts, a key aspect of the 2025 Budget was adopted in Parliament on Wednesday, with the support of the ANC and DA. When the second iteration of the 2025 Budget came before Parliament's finance committee in April, the divisions in the Government of National Unity (GNU) were on full display. The Democratic Alliance (DA) refused to support the adoption of the fiscal framework and it only moved through the committees and then the National Assembly thanks to the support of non-GNU parties such as ActionSA. On Wednesday, 4 June, the GNU's largest members, the African National Congress (ANC) and DA, finally found each other and the fiscal framework was passed by a vote of seven to three. The passing of the fiscal framework is a key step in the budgeting process. This framework establishes economic policy and revenue projections and sets the overall limits to government spending. This report must be adopted within 16 days after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tables the Budget. While the DA opposed the fiscal framework in Budget 2.0, Wednesday's situation was different, with both the ANC and DA supporting the measure against the opposition of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party. Wednesday's meeting was briefly halted to find a bigger venue in Parliament to accommodate all the MPs, journalists and officials, as well as ensure it was recorded, in line with MPs' requests. There were several comments and queries by MK party MPs, including axed finance minister Des van Rooyen and former Eskom boss Brian Molefe. At one point, Molefe said the fiscal framework should include the expanded unemployment rate (43.1%) rather than the narrow definition (32.9%), but his suggestion was shot down. The MK and EFF also criticised the increase in the fuel levy, with Molefe describing it as 'regressive' and 'not pro-growth'. On Tuesday, the Western Cape Division of the High Court dismissed the EFF's urgent bid to block the fuel levy increase. Issues were raised on whether the Budget was that of an austerity budget, denied by the ANC – an answer the MK party and EFF continued to reject. It was questioned several times during the meeting whether MPs were making points simply to grandstand 'because there were cameras'. This seemed evident when EFF MP Omphile Maotwe raised objections over a section of the report that dealt with 'not providing bailouts' to state-owned entities (SOEs), rather than 'capitalising SOEs'. Maotwe said she was at Transnet when she claimed it had been successful under the management of fellow finance committee member Brian Molefe – the former Transnet CEO turned State Capture accused, and now a member of the MK Party on its parliamentary benches. Next week, the National Assembly will vote on whether to adopt the fiscal framework in a sitting at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. When the fiscal framework is passed, other steps in the budgeting process include the passing of the Division of Revenue Bill and the Appropriation Bill. During the tabling of the fiscal framework in the National Assembly in April, the ANC appeared jubilant when it was passed without the DA's support, while the DA had harsh words for the ANC and other parties who supported that version of the Budget. It's unlikely there will be such acrimony next week. DM

IOL News
3 days ago
- IOL News
Third time's the charm: Godongwana's 2025 budget finally approved
Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana's 2025 National Budget has finally been approved following the adoption of the fiscal framework that is the backbone of the budget. Image: Independent Newspapers Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana's 2025 National Budget has finally been approved following the adoption of the fiscal framework that is the backbone of the budget. This was Godongwana's third attempt to get the National Budget passed after an outcry over two proposals to increase VAT. During a joint meeting with Standing Committee on Finance, and the Select Committee on Finance, Members of Parliament adopted the document that establishes economic policy and revenue projections and sets the overall limits for government spending. The process, which took three hours on Wednesday, was not without its issues, with some members arguing that the process was flawed and that not everyone was able to make their voice heard. Insults also flew, with one member saying that her peers should 'learn to read'. In presenting the May 21 National Budget, Godongwana said there were no austerity measures, although government spending was held back. The fuel levy as well as sin taxes were increased. The budget invests over R1 trillion in critical infrastructure to lift economic growth prospects and improve access to basic services, Godongwana said on May 21. He added that this would be done without compromising the fiscal strategy of sustainable public finances. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Government has achieved its balancing act by reducing additional spending over the medium term by R68 bilion after facing a R75bn revenue hole as VAT was not being increased. In May, Godongwana added that the government would continue to pay large amounts to service debt, which would amount to more than R1.3 trillion over the next three years. 'Put differently, this means in 2025/26 alone we are spending around R1.2bn per day to service our debt,' he said. IOL