Ramaphosa: ‘Hands off my minister!’ — Godongwana stays despite backlash

Cyril Ramaphosa
Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana amid political pressure for his resignation over the recent budget impasse, stating that Godongwana will remain in his position.

Speaking at a Workers Day rally, Ramaphosa said the situation offered valuable lessons but did not warrant the minister stepping down.

“On the Budget, that in my view, is the maturity of democracy. In the past, it just used to be a one way type of process. Now the Budget process is being opened up for institutions, political parties, as well as ordinary people to comment,” the president said.

“So we’ve drawn a lot of lessons from all this. And because we are drawing a lot of lessons from all this, this is something that we need to take on board and it doesn’t need to lead to a minister of finance resigning or stepping down, no. It should be on all of us to say: ‘What are we learning from all of this and what is it that we can do to strenghten the budgetary process?’.”

This comes after Godongwana reversed a proposed VAT increase and announced he would present a new 2025 budget on May 21.

While some opposition parties have called for his resignation, Godongwana said he would only step down if instructed by the president.

He is expected to begin new budget consultations soon due to ongoing fiscal challenges.President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana amid political pressure for his resignation over the recent budget impasse, stating that Godongwana will remain in his position.

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