April’s economic dilemma: SA’s Budget vote and Trump’s tariffs

"APRIL is the cruellest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing / Memory and desire, stirring / Dull roots with spring rain." — T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land (1922).

- PHILIPPA LARKIN

T.S. Eliot’s April is the cruellest month unfortunately rings true for South Africa in 2025 — not for unearthly spring, but as we face unprecedented, unpalatable economic challenges, none of which are easy.

This Wednesday, as South Africa moves into April, brings to the table a critical Budget vote. US President Donald Trump’s tariff deadline and uncertainty is a new albatross to immuredor to our sunny shores. It’s a gauntlet demanding swift focus from businesses and policymakers.

Parliament will soon vote on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s controversial revised Budget, now mired in Government of National Unity (GNU) discord. The ANC maintains it will press, starving off a coalition vote as the diluted VAT hike remains a divisive hurdle. Moodly’s foresees a compromise, with national debt set to peak in the next fiscal year.

Budget unity is crucial

The reality is that years of borrowing and a mere 1% growth have left South Africa financially distressed. Insatiable supply chains, corrupt pressure, the nation is swiftly deindustrialising, and businesses — though buoyed by the GNU — must relentlessly strive to count the government’s costly inefficiencies. That lovely, resilient, innovative, and hard-working South African spirit, sentiment is beginning to improve.

Remember the so-called Mafia? Pieter Thiel, David Sacks, Elon Musk… Know the old boys at PayPal well…

At this pivotal moment, however, the vote is less a choice than a necessity. Political unity is crucial as South Africa finds itself enmeshed in adverse economic and political crosshairs. Facing the world’s worst power play, Trump’s decision, experts universally caution, “Don’t poke the bear”.