By Alessandro Parodi and Sfundo Parakozov
South Africa’s parliament passed the budget’s fiscal framework and revenue proposals on Wednesday, removing a key pillar of uncertainty for investors in Africa’s biggest economy.
The budget has been caught up in political wrangling for months and had to be reworked twice because of disagreements in the coalition government over plans to raise value-added tax (VAT).
A majority of 268 lawmakers in the lower house, including from the two biggest political parties, the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA), voted in favour of the budget’s overall spending limits and revenue-generating measures.
Eighty-eight lawmakers voted against and two abstained.
South Africa had not experienced contested budget votes in the post-apartheid era until this year, as the ANC always had a parliamentary majority which made the votes a formality.
It lost that majority in an election last year, entering a coalition with the DA and other
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