FINANCE minister Enoch Godongwana has written to the National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula requesting that the date for tabling the MTBPS be changed from November 4.
Treasury said the minister will now table the MTBPS in a joint sitting of Parliament on November 11, and not November 4 as per earlier programme.
The postponement was due to the local government elections to be held on Monday, November 1, according to a statement from Treasury.
“The postponement is due to the local government elections which were promulgated for Monday, 01 November 2021. All processes leading up to the finalisation of the MTBPS remain on track,” the Treasury statement said.
Parliament spokesperson Moloto Mothapo took to Twitter on Tuesday to confirm the delay.
Since being appointed as finance minister by President Cyril Ramaphosa in September, Godongwana has spoken at a handful of public events and sent signals of that he looks to lead National Treasury with a business-friendly and pro-growth approach.
This approved request for a change in the date of the joint sitting comes as government is considering how Eskom will be supported in the immediate and medium future and how it can leverage its presence at the Congress of Parties climate change meeting in Glasgow Scotland, to get funding.
Another issue that might be giving Godongwana and National Treasury pause for further reflection is considerations for the Basic Income Grant, which seeks to expand the reach of social supports for poor South Africans to include those between the ages of 18 and 59.
Godongwana is widely expected to continue allocating money to Covid-19 recovery and the vaccine rollout, as this is important to kickstart the economy and sectors which have been the hardest hit.
