Minister Godongwana says only the president can fire him amid VAT hike backlash [SOUND]

# Finance minister Enoch Godongwana says only president Cyril Ramaphosa has the authority to remove him from office. This comes amid public and political backlash over the proposed VAT hike. The minister was responding to calls for his resignation, after initially announcing a 0.5-percentage point VAT increase, which has since been reversed. Godongwana told the media until the new budget is approved, the government will operate under interim rules allowing the use of up to 45-percent of last year’s budget: