Parliament has officially approved the 2025 fiscal framework and revenue proposals, clearing the way for government to roll out its budget plans for the new financial year.
Chaos breaks out after ANC pushes through budget vote 2025 without DA
The vote passed by a narrow margin, with 194 MPs in favour and 182 against. There were no abstentions.
Although the budget only required a simple majority to pass, the result has shaken the political ground beneath the Government of National Unity (GNU).
The Democratic Alliance (DA), the ANC’s largest partner in the GNU, not only voted against the budget but also had its ministers and deputy ministers—including DA leader John Steenhuisen—break ranks during the vote.
The sitting quickly descended into chaos following the outcome, with loud objections and shouting in the National Assembly.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana earlier addressed the tensions, saying:
“It can’t be that the DA votes against the budget but tomorrow they are in the GNU.”
Despite the turmoil, the ANC pushed the budget through with the support of smaller parties, including the IFP, PA, UDM, Al Jama-ah, Rise Mzansi, and ActionSA.
This allowed the ruling party to secure the 194 votes needed to adopt the standing committee on finance’s report and finalise the fiscal framework.
Now that the fiscal framework is passed: Here’s what it means
The budget vote that took place in Parliament this week was about approving the government’s financial plan for the year — this is called the fiscal framework. In simple terms, it’s a document that outlines how much money the government expects to collect (through things like taxes) and how much it plans to spend on services like education, healthcare, grants, and infrastructure.
Now that this budget plan has been approved, the government can go ahead and start implementing those plans.
This includes:
- An increase in VAT (Value-Added Tax) by 0.5%, which would raise the cost of goods and services. This affects almost everything you buy — from food to clothes — although basic food items might still be tax-free.
- A one-year extension of the R350 grant for unemployed people (known as the SRD grant). There’s still no decision about making this permanent or raising the amount.
- Small increases in other social grants (like old age and child support), but many say the increases don’t match the rising cost of living.
- Continued government debt, which means a big chunk of money will go towards paying interest instead of public services.
The vote passed with a very narrow margin — only 12 more people voted in favour than against.
The ANC managed to pass the budget without support from its biggest partner in the coalition, the DA, which voted against it because of disagreements over tax hikes and spending priorities.
This close vote shows that the government is divided, and although the budget has passed, it will be difficult to get future financial decisions approved without strong cooperation among all partners.
For now, the approval means that government departments can start using their allocated budgets to fund schools, hospitals, social grants, and other services — but ordinary South Africans may feel the impact of price increases and ongoing financial pressure as the year goes on.
