Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa downplayed the postponement of South Africa’s budget speech, calling it “democracy at work” rather than a crisis.
The delay, the first of its kind in the country, followed disagreements over a proposed 2% VAT increase.
Speaking to the media at the G20 foreign ministers meeting on Thursday at Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, Ramaphosa said that such budget hiccups occur globally and that the Government of National Unity (GNU) requires negotiation and consensus-building.
“This, in many ways, should not be seen as a crisis. Other people describe it as a crisis,” Ramaphosa said.
[WATCH] President Cyril Ramaphosa on the Budget Speech postponement: “We are in the Government of Unity system now, and in the end, no one party can be able to truly impose anything without much negotiation and discussion.” pic.twitter.com/CvAW4ILPIQ
— SABC News (@SABCNews) February 20, 2025
“What happened yesterday, is in many ways, the shortcomings of our own democracy. Some people have said this is democracy at work and I tend to agree and there are many lessons that would have been learned about what happened yesterday.”
“We are in the GNU system now, and in the end, no one party will be able to truly impose anything without much negotiation and discussion.
“GNU means you have to work with others and forge a unity,” the president said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
