South Africa’s Finance Minister postpones budget presentation

South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has been forced to postpone the unveiling of national budget following sharp disagreements within coalition government.

Coalition partners derailed his budget after opposing his plan to raise value-added-tax (VAT), which would have seen the prices of goods go up at a time when South Africans are hard-hit by cost-of-living crisis.

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

His failure to table the budget sent shockwaves in South Africa, as it has never happened since the end of white-minority rule in 1994.

Democratic Alliance which is the second-biggest party in the coalition, was one of the most vocal critics of the proposed budget as its leader denied a  VAT increase from 15% to 17%