Budget bungle can't be repeated

Abruptly, in the quiet of midnight, the VAT increase succumbed to its fate. It was an understated death for a beast that has stolen so much South African attention over the past two months.

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The saga represents the worst of our country: an inability to co-operate, political sniping and the prioritising of expediency over governance. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and the treasury, however, will rightly face the sternest criticism.

Wednesday night's ending has cast the minister as the antagonist. Read in black-and-white, the events portray him as an unyielding figure clinging to his desired objective. It was only through pressure from the courts and the public that he eventually loosened his grip. (Although to be fair, the question of where else he can find the money to plug the R75 billion budget shortfall is not easily answered.)