South Africa’s lower house of parliament passed the crucial Appropriation Bill on Wednesday, marking a significant moment after months of disagreement within the coalition government.
The two largest parties finally found common ground, enabling the bill—which allocates funds to government departments and entities—to pass by a majority vote in the 400-seat National Assembly.
The budget for Africa’s largest economy faced repeated delays and revisions this year, becoming a central issue in a power struggle between the ANC and the DA.
The Democratic Alliance, once the main opposition party, initially refused to support the budget due to a proposed value-added tax increase. That measure was ultimately withdrawn by the ANC after it failed to gain sufficient support from coalition partners.
The DA then said it wouldn’t approve budgets for departments led by ANC ministers they accused of misconduct. A breakthrough came Monday when President Cyril Ramaphosa dismissed one such minister, prompting the DA to offer its support.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana acknowledged the difficulty of managing the budget process under the new coalition. The year-old coalition government replaced three decades of ANC dominance, which began after the end of apartheid in 1994.
On Wednesday, the National Treasury released updated technical guidelines to improve next year’s budget planning process. The guidelines emphasise the need for “continuous political endorsement” to avoid future deadlocks within the coalition.