Govt’s debt service costs must be renegotiated, says chair of Parliament's finance committee

CAPE TOWN - The chairperson of Parliament’s standing committee on finance, Joe Maswanganyi, believes the government’s debt service costs must be renegotiated. 
 
The country spends R1.2 billion a day paying off its debt. 
 
With the Finance Minister backtracking on a value-added tax (VAT) increase to fund the 2025 national budget, this will widen the deficit and increase public debt. 
 
Responding to the second tabling of a national budget on Wednesday, Maswanganyi said at a parliamentary briefing on Thursday that he believes the third version is credible, pro-poor and pragmatic.

READ IN FULL: The Budget Speech - 21 May 2025

The first parliamentary stop for the new budget will be the finance committee, which now has 16 days to consider the fiscal framework underpinning the money bills.
 
Maswanganyi will want to avoid a repeat of the debacle in March when the process was called into question before the high court. 
 
Maswanganyi said he believes this version will meet the committee’s approval. 
 
“The budget contains hard choices, but it protects the vulnerable and positions our economy for stability and reforms.”
 
But he’s concerned about the country’s spiralling debt. 
 
“Can’t it be negotiated and it be taken down?”
 
The standing committee is expected to table its report on the fiscal framework in the National Assembly on 11 June.

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