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The South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) has noted the postponement of the Finance Minister’s Budget presentation. We are concerned that the apparent lack of agreement by the Government of National Unity (GNU) partners, and other political parties with sufficient votes to pass the budget, will lead to uncertainty, and an inherent perception of political instability in the ruling coalition government of South Africa.

We urge the political parties to bring a high level of maturity and seriousness in the negotiations, to get to an acceptable conclusion.

We hope such a conclusion will not lead to an increase in any direct, or indirect taxes at this time, as an increase in the costs of doing business will be retrogressive and detrimental to business confidence, economic growth and also worsen unemployment.

The government must seriously explore options of cutting down on the fat and wasteful expenditure in government.

No evidence has been provided to show that enough has been done, in a systematic and scientific way, to find savings, without necessarily cutting down on critical social services, and infrastructure expenditure. We should focus more on efficiencies and raising the levels of productivity.

South Africa’s democracy is indeed maturing. As South Africans we should also avoid the self-created negativity of assuming our problems are unique, and we should exercise calm judgement and good stewardship.

Failure to pass a budget, on time, is not an abnormal occurrence, as it happens in other advanced democracies of the world.

We will recall, amongst other examples, the German coalition government that collapsed in November 2024, due to differences of opinion between the former Finance Minister Christian Lindner and German Chancelor Olaf Scholtz. The disagreement that led to the departure of the Finance Minister was over the Budget.

The former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, also failed in 2022 to get her proposed corporate tax cuts approved, as they would have led to an unfunded £45bn hole. She was forced to reverse the tax cuts.

The United States of America (USA) Congress and Senate have failed for many years to pass a budget on time, due to similar issues relating to the Budget and appropriations.

We make these examples not to minimise the seriousness of the situation, but to highlight that our South African situation is not unique. Our democracy is vibrant and full of vitality. We as South Africans, should avoid creating a negative sentiment that is not necessary.

We call on those who are decision makers to bring a level of diligence and speed to avoid uncertainty and rebuild confidence. ‎

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Issued by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry