The Minister of Finance of South Africa, Enok Judongwana, was forced to postpone the disclosure of the national budget after sharp differences within the coalition government.
The coalition partners removed its budget after opposing its plan to raise the value -added tax (value -added tax), which would have witnessed the high prices of goods at a time when South Africa was afflicted with the living crisis.
Godongwana is a member of the African National Congress (ANC), who was forced to enter into an alliance after he lost its parliamentary majority in the elections last year.
He sent his failed budget for a shock in South Africa, as it has never happened since the end of the white fly base in 1994.
The currency fell against the US dollar, as the market reaction was negatively to the news.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), the second largest party in the coalition, was one of the most vocal critics of the proposed budget.
Its leader, John Stinuehon, said that the party cannot agree to the “good conscience” to increase the value -added tax from 15 % to 17 % because it “will restore our economy.”
VAT in 2018 was increased from 14 % to 15 %.
The other coalition partners of the African National Congress, such as Freedom Front Plus, said they were not told only about the proposed height before Godongwana was due to the budget table.
Judinaanna told reporters that the planned increase in the cabinet was mentioned last week.
He said that the budget will now be presented on March 12, after further discussions to settle the differences.
The opposition economic freedom fighters (EFF) expressed their dissatisfaction with the postponement, saying that it was “a symptom of weak, decisive and opportunistic rule.”
But Da praised the postponement as a “victory”, and said he would press for a “better growth and employment” budget.
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/branded_news/e4f2/live/cf55a4d0-eec1-11ef-98e2-8b429dee1814.jpg