Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says the National Treasury has the legal right to withhold the equitable share transfer of municipalities without Parliament’s approval.

The National Treasury is temporarily withholding a total of R13.5 billion in July 2026 equitable share financial transfers to 69 municipalities, including Johannesburg.

The action aims to enforce fiscal discipline.

Godongwana was in Parliament yesterday to defend the action.

He says, “I understand them to say that parliament must approve before we proceed. Our view is that we are entitled to go up to 120 days for as long as Parliament has not said stop. That’s why we wrote to parliament about our intentions to convene, and parliament then makes a decision to say ‘no, don’t proceed’ or they may say ‘proceed on the following conditions.’ So that is something that we will be submitting to legal teams in parliament.”

X | @GovernmentZA | WATCH | The Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, and National Treasury Director-General | 

WATCH | The Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, and National Treasury Director-General, Duncan Pieterse, provide a status update on the temporary withholding of the July equitable share transfers to 69 municipalities.

Tune in: https://t.co/dVCE26TvmY #GovZAUpdates… pic.twitter.com/JNPclMOZKm

— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) July 17, 2026

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