Latest news with #AppropriationBill
eNCA
4 hours ago
- Politics
- eNCA
Minister Creecy tables budget before parliament
CAPE TOWN - It was a day for budget votes. Some were more controversial than others after the DA said it would boycott the budgets of at least two departments presided over by compromised minister. It's the final leg of the national budget process because the Appropriation Bill can only be passed if all departmental votes have been agreed to. One of the less controversial budget vote was for transport – although opposition parties criticised none the less.
Eyewitness News
6 hours ago
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Final leg of national budget process in peril amid DA's plans to boycott budgets of compromised ministers
Lindsay Dentlinger 2 July 2025 | 13:24 Picture: @ParliamentofRSA/X CAPE TOWN - The final leg of the national budget process could hit another snag amid the Democratic Alliance (DA)'s plans to boycott the budgets of at least two departments presided over by compromised ministers. A parliamentary legal opinion suggests that the Appropriation Bill can only be passed if all departmental votes have been agreed to. If the DA follows through with this threat, it means the African National Congress (ANC) might again have to shop around for votes to ensure the bill crosses the line when it's put to the vote in three weeks' time. Over the weekend, DA leader John Steenhuisen said that while his party would reject some departmental votes, it would not vote against the Appropriation Bill as a whole. ALSO READ: • MKP, EFF reject transport dept's budget, say it lacks vision for transforming public transport • Majority of political parties in NCOP reject higher education dept's budget, call for Nkabane's axing Steenhuisen said the protest action was in response to the ANC not acting against those fingered in corruption, while firing a DA deputy minister for unsanctioned travel. But a legal opinion to Parliament's Standing Committee on Appropriations advises that all of the 42 separate votes have to be passed first, before the schedule to the bill can be put to the vote. This means if the Government of National Unity (GNU) is not united on even one of the departmental votes, the bill can not be put to the House for approval. "The Public Finance Management Act requires that Parliament first approves the votes in Schedule 1 to the Appropriation Bill and then consider Schedule 1 for approval. The National Assembly rule 328, gives effect to this provision by requiring the same procedure," reads the legal opinion. The DA's latest pushback against the ANC could once again put the ANC in a budget predicament. In March, it had to rely on parties outside of the coalition to shore up the votes needed to pass the fiscal framework, which underpinned a previous version of the budget, which was also rejected by the DA and Freedom Front Plus. Now it may have to do so again to ensure the budgets of all departments, including those run by ministers who don't meet the DA's approval, are passed. The Appropriation Bill must be passed within four months of the start of a financial year, which is the end of July, else departments' spending will be severely curtailed to only 10 percent monthly of the previous year's budget.
Eyewitness News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
DA plans to withhold support on some departmental budget votes as national budget deadline looms
CAPE TOWN - As Parliament heads into the final leg of the budget approval cycle, the Democratic Alliance (DA)'s plan to withhold support on some votes could cause another stumbling block in passing the Appropriation Bill, which apportions money to all national departments. It's the latest salvo fired by the party in response to the axing of its Eastern Cape leader, Andrew Whitfield, as the deputy minister of trade, industry and competition. But the fallout has not taken the DA to the brink of quitting the Government of National Unity (GNU). On Saturday, the party announced that it was withdrawing from the National Dialogue over what it said were double standards being applied by President Cyril Ramaphosa. READ: Steenhuisen labels removal of Andrew Whitfield as a 'calculated assault' by Ramaphosa Parliament will this week get stuck into a tight schedule of departmental budget vote debates as it races towards an end-of-July deadline to get the national budget passed. But DA leader John Steenhuisen said while his party would not reject the budget as a whole, ministers accused of corruption can't expect support from his party when it comes to approving money for their departments. "The ball is in the president and the African National Congress (ANC)'s court. If they want to take a strong stance against us, if they want to stop us from taking a strong stance against corruption, well then they must fire us from the Government of National Unity." READ: 'Even if the DA walks away, GNU will not collapse' - ANC's Mbalula Steenhuisen said that civil society should also rail against the National Dialogue until Ramaphosa fired what the party has termed "delinquents" from the executive. "The president has made a big deal this week about his prerogative. If he feels that we've done something wrong, and that standing up against corruption is something that deserves punishment, then he must exercise that prerogative." Steenhuisen said that tabling a motion of no confidence in the president's ability to deal with corruption was not off the table.
IOL News
6 days ago
- Business
- IOL News
Parliament prepares for crucial budget vote debates as scheduling issues arise
Parliament will start with the budget votes on Friday with Ministries of Small Business Development .and Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment presenting their policy speeches. Image: Jacques Naude / Independent Newspapers Parliament gears up to deliberate on the budget votes for various departments, including the Presidency, as pressure is mounting to meet the end-of-July deadline for the finalisation of the Budget. The budget votes will kick off on Friday with the Small Business Development Department, and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment being the first to present their policy speeches. During a briefing to the National Assembly Programme Committee on Thursday, Cameron Dugmore, the committee whip, outlined that the schedule is expected to run until the end of July. The budget vote for the Presidency will occupy two days of scrutiny between July 16 and 17, and Parliament on July 15, with all deliberations culminating in a vote on the Appropriation Bill in the National Assembly set for July 23. The National Council of Provinces has its programme that will culminate in the passing of the Budget at the end of July. However, not all discussions have been smooth. Dugmore told the MPs that there have been one or two issues the officials were engaging on around scheduling the Sport, Arts and Culture budget vote. 'But we don't need to get into that now, in my view,' he said before outlining some of the budget votes lined up for the week until next Friday. National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza said they had received a request from the Sports Portfolio Committee to look at the amendment of their budget vote schedule for Tuesday. 'We are still waiting to engage the committee and the minister on the issue because it looks like they are not on the same page. The minister is ready to continue on Tuesday, but the committee feels that there is a new document that they need to bring to the committee, and they would like to have some engagement before the budget debate is taken,' she said. 'I just thought it was important to appraise the members to understand why there might be a need to amend that date,' Didiza said. MK Party MK Visvin Reddy raised concerns with the way the committees were structured during the days of the upcoming budget votes. 'I want to appeal to the technical staff that when they schedule the debates, try not to have committees that sit on a Monday and Tuesday at the same time,' he said. 'So you find that there are multiple debates that are stacked across two venues, and with some sessions running right until 6pm. Maybe, if you could please allow the people to start to relook and reconfigure these meetings so that they are manageable,' he said.
Eyewitness News
09-06-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Fiscal framework, revenue proposals underpinning national budget set to be debated by parties
CAPE TOWN - It's a big week ahead for Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana as the fiscal framework and revenue proposals that underpin the national budget face a tough test to meet political muster. Godongwana tabled a new budget in May after the first budget was nixed before it could be tabled, and the second was taken to court after the Democratic Alliance (DA) refused to accept an increase in the standard value-added tax (VAT) rate. While the budget is still expected to face fierce objection from opposition parties when it's debated on Wednesday, it's less likely to be rejected by coalition partners in the Government of National Unity (GNU). Last week, the third version of Budget 2025 passed the crucial first test of meeting the approval of Parliament's finance committees, although not all parties are represented in these structures. ALSO READ: • Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance chair Maswanganyi says debate on fuel levy hike not over • Parliament's finance committee approves fiscal framework, revenue proposals underpinning budget • Main opposition parties reject Treasury's assertion of pro-poor budget The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), however, still vehemently oppose this version of the budget, saying it's one of austerity and not pro-poor. The EFF last week lost a bid to get the minister to scrap the fuel levy increase, which is expected to generate R4 billion in revenue to fund the more than R2 trillion budget. Both houses will sit in separate sessions on Wednesday to approve the fiscal framework and revenue proposals, paving the way for the Division of Revenue and Appropriation Bills to be tabled before the relevant finance committees for consideration. State departments will then also have to appear before Parliament's portfolio committees to detail their expenditure plans for the next year before the Appropriation Bill is considered for approval at the end of July.
