Cyril Ramaphosa vows to deliver a budget that benefits everyone

President Cyril Ramaphosa in a statement on Wednesday evening moved to assure the nation that cabinet’s continuing deliberations on the 2025 Budget will deliver outcomes that will protect vulnerable citizens and lay a platform for economic growth.

This as cabinet on Wednesday postponed the tabling of the 2025 Budget Speech by the Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana to Wednesday, 12 March 2025.

The minister was scheduled to outline the financial, economic, and social commitments that the government would prioritise in its planned expenditure as part of the 2025 Budget Speech in the National Assembly at 14:00.

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

‘Result of a disagreement’

President Ramaphosa said the postponement of the tabling of the Budget in Parliament “was the result of disagreement but also collegial and mature consensus within cabinet that Budget proposals be worked through comprehensively and productively to secure the wellbeing of the economy and individual citizens”.

“We are called upon as the national leadership to pursue all initiatives aimed at growth in order for us to increase employment and alleviate the effects of poverty.

“The Government of National Unity will in the coming days and week intensify our efforts to balance the imperatives that drive the fundamental growth objectives of this administration with the realities of a constrained fiscal environment.

“We are working as partners to ensure that the Budget is one that works for individuals and investors alike,” said the President in the statement.

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.

He provides a detailed plan for 2025 spending, including proposals for revenue collection to help fund the government’s planned interventions and commitments.

The Budget Speech, among others, aims to balance economic growth and support for the vulnerable in our society despite limited resources.