South Africa: national assembly passes last part of annual budget bill

Relief in South Africa: after months of disagreements, the country's lower house of parliament passed the last piece of legislation for its budget bill on Wednesday afternoon, according to a press release from the South African parliament.

Referred to as the appropriation bill, the legislation had caused political deadlock between the ruling party, the African National Congress, and its biggest coalition partner, the Democratic Alliance.

This had substantially delayed the bill.

The Appropriation Bill is the third major part of the annual budget and determines how much money is allocated to government departments and national programmes.

Parliament said that: "The 2025 budget focuses on reducing government debt, supporting the poor and vulnerable, improving public services such as health and education and stimulating job creation and rebuilding infrastructure."

Total national expenditure for the year will stand at 2.3 trillion rand, according to the government.