Deputy president Paul Mashatile says the GNU will be reconfigured to ensure other parties were on board.
Image: File
Despite increasing calls to remove the DA from the Government of National Unity (GNU) following the party's vote against the budget, ANC Deputy President Paul Mashatile, who compared the DA to a crocodile, is still optimistic that the team attending budget discussions will provide favourable results.
The ANC is engaged in ongoing consultations with parties inside and outside the GNU in a bid to resolve the 0.5% value-added tax (VAT).
Speaking at the Assemblies of God church service on Friday, Mashatile asked the congregation in Thaba Nchu, in the Free State, to pray for them so that they can work and deliver services for them.
“They have met all the parties that have agreed to come to the party, so we will know by Monday where to [the way forward] – but I’m positive that we will find a solution,” he said.
This comes amid discussions on ways to avoid the VAT increase, which is set to be implemented on May 1 if parties fail to come up with other fiscal measures.
Mashatile said they will consider other ways of resolving the matter in case the VAT negotiations collapse.
Mashatile said that as part of his responsibilities, he will ensure that government and churches work together to resolve some of the challenges facing the country, including gender-based violence (GBV) and violence towards children.
The ANC managed to get the 2025 budget passed without the DA's support. This led to the DA taking the matter to court to challenge the unlawful passing of the budget.
ActionSA, IFP, PA, GOOD Party, RiseMzansi, UDM, PAC, Al Jamah, and BOSA supported the budget but with terms and conditions.
All these parties demanded that the VAT increase be scrapped or there would be consequences.
While a compromise with the DA may still be possible, the ANC remains wary, closely watching its coalition partner after the DA voted against the very government it is part of.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday in Rosebank, Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi said it’s ‘more than likely’ that VAT will be increased next month.
He is among those who criticised the DA for its stance in the GNU.
“Whoever tells people that it can be switched on and off is really not being honest. It is more than likely that there will be VAT next month,” he said.
The IFP said it would meet with the DA to ensure that they cooperate in the GNU.
uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) have consistently urged the ANC to refrain from collaborating with the DA, a party they have frequently labelled as "racist."
Within the ANC, members of the parliamentary caucus have echoed this sentiment, calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to take decisive action regarding the DA's involvement.
Both Ramaphosa and Deputy President Paul Mashatile have publicly criticised the DA, with Mashatile notably questioning the party's ongoing participation in the GNU.
In a leaked audio earlier this month, Ramaphosa could be heard members that the DA placed itself in an unpleasant position and that it was now up to the party to find its way out.
Mashatile recently condemned the DA ministers for showing up to work after voting against the GNU.
“I can see some of them are working today, they are working as ministers, they are going around. I would be ashamed to do that because where does the budget come from?
“You run to work as a minister, you did not vote for the budget, but you think it’s okay … I am not sure what they are thinking,” he said.
But DA leader John Steenhuisen said his party was open for discussions on the budget.
Meanwhile, IOL reported that analysts said the DA has lost its negotiating power within the GNU.
Independent political analyst Dr. Sandile Swana offered a critical analysis of the decision's implications.
Swane emphasised that the DA’s capacity to influence legislative negotiations with the ANC) has been notably weakened, given that the budget has already been approved.
“If you’re in that situation and say you will not be able to vote for the budget unless some other acts are removed, it will not work because discussions surrounding the VAT hike are effectively off the table for the DA since they decided to use the courts,” Swana explained.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
IOL Politics
