NEWS ANALYSIS| Improvised, messy, unworkable budget will not stabilise GNU

By Thebe Mabanga

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana finally got to present his budget in what feels like an improvised, messy and unworkable plan that is unlikely to bring stability to the Government of National Unity (GNU) or demonstrate the democratic maturity that the minister craves.

Godongwana now faces the challenge of navigating the budget through Parliament with opposition from within.

The first and biggest problem with this budget is the actual reasons for the VAT hike, beyond the obvious need to plug a revenue hole. In the withdrawn budget speech, Godongwana said the reason for the increase was to fund the public servants wage bill, Early Childhood Development, revitalise passenger rail services and increase grants for the vulnerable.

So the ANC basically used public servants, children, the working class and the poor and vulnerable as an excuse to strain the consumer. Nobody is buying it.

The truth is the public