South Africa’s budget postponed amid coalition dispute

South Africa’s national budget presentation was abruptly postponed on Wednesday due to a dispute within the country’s coalition government, marking an unprecedented delay in the post-apartheid era.

National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza told lawmakers that such a postponement had never occurred in the past 30 years. The budget is now expected to be tabled on 12 March.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC), which lost its parliamentary majority in last year’s election, requires support from coalition partners to pass the budget. Its main ally, the Democratic Alliance (DA), opposed the ANC’s proposal to raise value-added tax (VAT) by two percentage points.

The delay rattled financial markets, with the South African rand falling as much as 1% against the US dollar.

Local media reports suggest the proposed VAT hike was intended to address funding shortfalls in education and social programmes. The last increase in VAT was in 2018, but the idea of another rise has faced strong resistance from opposition parties and labour unions.

South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised economy, has struggled with slow growth, rising public debt, and high unemployment in the years following the 2008-09 global financial crisis.