South Africa's national budget was postponed on Wednesday because the two biggest parties in the ruling coalition disagreed over raising value-added tax, an unprecedented delay that caused the rand and government bonds to fall.

South Africa’s budget announcement by the finance minister has been abruptly canceled and rescheduled for next month over a dispute among parties in the governing coalition.

South Africa's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has been forced to postpone the unveiling of the national budget following sharp disagreements within the coalition government.

The reason for the abrupt cancellation was the failure of the minister to get cabinet approval for the proposal to raise value added tax (VAT) from 15% to 17%. VAT is the second biggest contributor to tax collection after personal income tax, followed by corporate taxes.

The unprecedented delay in the presentation of South Africa’s budget shouldn’t be seen as a crisis and wouldn’t derail the country’s 10-party ruling alliance, President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

Africa's largest economy has faced a burgeoning debt and stagnating economy that threaten to derail the country's coalition government.

South Africa's rand weakened on Wednesday, after the national budget was postponed until further notice due to disagreements within the coalition government. At 1402 GMT, the rand traded at 18.57 against the dollar,

The leader of the Democratic Alliance, the second-largest party in South Africa’s coalition government, will brief the media about its stance on the budget process amid reports the Treasury is about to raise taxes.

Officials say pro-business Democratic Alliance and senior figures in African National Congress objected to VAT rise

South Africa's rand was little changed early on Wednesday, ahead of the 2025 national budget speech to be delivered by the finance minister.At 0712 GMT, the rand traded at 18.4050 against the dollar,