Ramaphosa, Steenhuisen to meet on Tuesday to discuss budget

The party also postponed a media briefing where leader John Steenhuisen was due to provide details on the budget negotiations.

Negotiations between the various parties represented in Parliament continued on Tuesday as they scrambled to reach an agreement ahead of Wednesday’s scheduled vote in the National Assembly. 

The government's new fiscal year began on Tuesday without an approved national budget. 

Meanwhile, talks between the ANC and the DA have been ongoing as the two GNU partners seek to find common ground after all major parties in Parliament made it clear they would not support a budget that includes the proposed 0.5% VAT increase.

DA spokesperson Karabo Khakhau says talks between Party leader John Steenhusien and President Cyril Ramaphosa have yet to get underway.

"Nobody has signed on the dotted line yet, and we cannot obviously communicate the speculation of what we believe to be a negotiation without a pen and paper being attached to the conversation.

"I can confirm that right now, today (Tuesday), President Ramaphosa, as well as our federal leader, are scheduled to meet and it is after their meeting that we would know how it is we're going to move forward."

Khakhau said the party remains focused on approving a budget which focuses on economic growth.

"We're supposed to vote tomorrow, and the budget committees are meeting today (Tuesday) at 10 o'clock and the people in there are supposed to have their party lines and their orders from the political parties, how they're supposed to"

"Altogether, it is messy, but at the heart of the Democratic Alliance's fight in this is to make sure that we are able to see a budget that is focused on economic growth, job creation, and the alleviation of poverty, bridging the gap between the poor and the rich in this country.

"That is the commitment that we've made to South Africans. That's why we're in GNU, and it is for that that we'll continue to fight."

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