Budget Speech delay a result of “funding challenges”

Cabinet has reiterated that the postponement of the tabling of the National Budget from 19 February to 12 March is a result of efforts by Cabinet to collectively address the nation’s funding challenges within a constrained fiscal environment.

Cabinet on Thursday assured South Africans that deliberations within Cabinet on the 2025 National Budget are continuing to determine the best ways to fund the national priorities and ensure that the budget reflects the aspirations of all South Africans. 

“The postponement, while it is the first in the history of South Africa, but not out of the norm in other jurisdictions, is still within the provisions of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA),” Cabinet said in a statement after it met on Wednesday. 

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana was scheduled to outline the financial, economic and social commitments that government would prioritise in its planned expenditure as part of the 2025 Budget Speech.

However, in an unprecedented move, it was postponed for further deliberation.

“The annual budget is tabled by the Minister of Finance but it requires the deliberation of the Cabinet before it is tabled in the National Assembly.

“Cabinet considered that although the tabling of the 2025 budget was scheduled for release at 2pm on 19 February 2025, a postponement is needed to allow for further deliberations to take place on the budget. Cabinet is united in the view that the budget must strike a balance between the interests of the public, economic growth and fiscal sustainability,” Godongwana said at a media briefing after the postponement.

Furthermore, the budget is produced and presented before the National Assembly according to the rules outlined in the Public Finance Management Act.

During the Budget Speech, the Finance Minister indicates the allocation of financial resources to the national government’s priorities outlined by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the State of the Nation Address.

Quarterly Labour Force Survey

Meanwhile, Cabinet welcomed the upward trajectory in employment creation following the second consecutive drop in the unemployment rate, which marks the lowest rate since the third quarter of 2023.

“The country’s unemployment rate decreased to 31.9% in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 32.1% in the previous quarter. The number of employed people increased by 132 000 to 17.1 million, while the number of unemployed persons decreased by 20 000 to eight million during the same quarter,” Cabinet said.

Employment over the quarter increased in four of the 10 industries surveyed by Statistics South Africa, including finance (232 000), manufacturing (41 000), private households (18 000) and transport (17 000). 

“Cabinet affirmed government’s commitment to create jobs with a special focus on youth employment programmes. Through the Presidential Employment Stimulus Programme, almost 2.2 million work opportunities have been created for young people,” Cabinet said. – SAnews.gov.za

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