Finance Minister Enoch Godongana forced to slow him down

South Africa Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana was forced to postpone the opening of the national budget after sharp disagreements within the coalition government.

Partners of the coalition derail his budget after opposing his plan to increase the value added tax (VAT), which would see that the prices of goods are rising at a time when South Africans are heavily affected by the life crisis.

Godongwana is a member of the African National Congress (AnC), which was forced to enter a coalition after losing its parliamentary majority of elections last year.

Its failure to dress the budget sent shock waves to South Africa, as this has never happened since the end of the White Minority rule in 1994.

The currency fell to the US dollar as the markets reacted negatively to the news.

The Democratic Union (DA), which is the second largest party in the coalition, was one of the most vocal critics of the budget proposed.

Its leader John Stanhuyzen said the party could not be in a “good conscience” to agree to an increase in VAT from 15% to 17% as it would “break the back of our economy.”

VAT for the last increased in 2018 from 14% to 15%.

Other Coalition Partners of ANC, such as Freedom Front Plus, have stated that they were only told about the proposed hike before Godongwana was due to the budget table.

Godongana told reporters that the planned increase was mentioned in the office last week.

The budget will already be imported on March 12, after more discussions to smooth the differences, he said.

Opposition fighters of economic freedom (EFF) expressed the horror of delay, saying it was “a symptom of weak, indecisive and opportunistic governance.”

But DA welcomed the postponement as a “win” and said it would insist on a budget that was “better for growth and employment”.