‘We have learnt our lesson’: Godongwana says budget will not be delayed this year
South Africa – Sandton – Min Enoch Godongwana PMTB – 31 October 2022. Minister o Speaking to IOL on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has promised South Africans that the 2026 Budget will be delivered and passed without any hiccups next month.
Image: Timothy Bernard / Indpendent Newspapers
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has promised South Africans that the 2026 Budget will be delivered and passed without any hiccups next month.
The minister said there would not be a repeat of last year’s fiasco which saw the budget speech postponed for the first time in South Africa’s democratic history.
The delay of almost a month was due to the Government and their GNU partners, particularly the Democratic Alliance, unable to reach consensus on key issues.
“We have learnt a number of lessons from last year, and we are working as much as we can with the relevant parties to ensure that we have a well-supported budget, said Godongwana.
Godongwana was speaking to IOL at the South Africa Night event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. According to Godongwana, South Africa’s message to the world this year is fundamentally different from previous years at WEF.
“We have been making promises that a number of things are going to change in South Africa,” Godongwana said.
“This year, we are at WEF saying those things have changed.”
He pointed to several milestones government believes signal real progress in stabilising the economy and restoring investor confidence.
“We said we were going to come out of the grey listing. We are out,” he said. “We said we would reach a peak in debt and begin to bring it down as a percentage of GDP, and we have achieved that.”
According to Godongwana, these developments strengthen South Africa’s case as an increasingly attractive investment destination at a time when global capital is cautious and highly selective.
However, the minister also acknowledged that South Africa’s outlook cannot be separated from an increasingly volatile global environment.
Godongwana said one of the more dramatic geopolitical threats — US president Donald Trump’s suggestion of invading Greenland, was unlikely to materialise.“My instinct is that is not going to happen,” he said.
“They are likely to find a solution between themselves and the Europeans that helps Americans achieve what they want without annexation,” said Godongwana
IOL News