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Gayton McKenzie Dismisses DA’s Claim Over Budget Speech Delay
Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie has rejected claims by the Democratic Alliance (DA) that their opposition forced the postponement of the National Budget Speech.
The DA released a statement on social media, attributing the delay to their resistance against a proposed two percentage point increase in Value Added Tax (VAT).
The postponement of the Minister of Finance’s 2025/26 Budget Speech due to the DA’s opposition to the ANC’s VAT increase is a victory for the people of South Africa, as it prevents the implementation of a 2% VAT increase that would have broken the back of our economy.
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— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) February 19, 2025
“The 2025/26 National Budget Speech has been postponed following intense DA pressure against a proposed 2% VAT increase,” the party stated. “The DA unequivocally rejected the ANC’s VAT hike plan. If included in the budget, the DA was prepared to vote it down in Parliament. The DA will keep fighting to protect South Africans from higher taxes and fewer jobs.”
However, McKenzie dismissed this claim, arguing that the delay resulted from broader Cabinet discussions rather than political pressure from a single party.
“This is not true. The majority of Cabinet members opposed the budget, including the Minister of Justice and Minister of Electricity from the ANC. Representatives from the DA, IFP, PA, FF Plus, and PAC also raised concerns,” McKenzie stated.
He stressed that the decision was reached through collaborative discussions rather than political conflict. “It was not a fight. It was us listening to each other without party political heads. The Finance Minister graciously took note of everything that was said.”
McKenzie called on the DA to retract their statement, stating that the Government of National Unity (GNU) functioned as a leadership body, not as a stage for political point-scoring.
“Let us not lie or claim easy victories. The GNU showed leadership and not party politics. Please delete this lie,” he said.
Speaker Thoko Didiza later confirmed that the budget speech had been rescheduled for March 12, allowing the Finance Minister and Treasury additional time to finalise key issues.
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