The finance minister's budget speech normally takes place in February. Parliament Speaker Thoko Didiza said it was the first time that the presentation had been canceled over such a disagreement in the 31 years of South Africa’s democracy after the end of the apartheid system of white minority rule in 1994.

The leader of the Democratic Alliance, the second-largest party in South Africa’s coalition government, will brief the media about its stance on the budget process amid reports the Treasury is about to raise taxes.

Africa's largest economy has faced a burgeoning debt and stagnating economy that threaten to derail the country's coalition government.