Finance Enoch Godongwana was forced to postpone his initial Budget Speech, which was meant to take place in February, with members of parliament taking issue with the proposed 2% Value Added Tax (VAT) increase.
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The Economic Freedom Fighters have called for Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to fall on his sword and resign after Treasury announced it was scrapping the 0.5 percentage point VAT increase.
The announcement was made on Wednesday night after weeks of political jostling over the issue, which has caused huge fractures in the Government of National Unity (GNU).
In a statement, EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo described the ploy of a VAT hike as “misguided, ill-conceived, and reckless”.
“The EFF calls for the immediate resignation of the Minister of Finance and the Director-General of the National Treasury.
“This entire budget fiasco should be a reflection for the Minister of Finance and his Director General that they are out of depth and pose a threat to the economic stability of the country and, by consequence, are a threat to the livelihoods of South Africans,” said Thambo.
The EFF has called on Speaker Thoko Didiza to release all correspondence from the Minister of Finance and demands that she convenes a meeting of all leaders of political parties in Parliament.
“Effectively, the country does not have a budget, and the Finance Minister failed to table a lawful budget by the 31st of March 2025, as required by Section 27 of the Public Finance Management Act.
“We call for the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces to convene and adopt resolutions to withdraw the adopted 2025 Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals on the basis that they were adopted following an unprocedural meeting which approved the reports,” said Thambo.
Meanwhile, the ANC, Bosa, Rise Mzansi, Good, the PAC and other GNU partners - except the DA and the FF+, who voted to approve the budget, are hosting a media conference reacting to the latest developments on the VAT hike.
It is expected that the finance minister will table a revised budget.
Regarding the VAT hike, the EFF said they would consider only a written out-of-court settlement proposed by Godongwana.
“However, we maintain that without a full withdrawal and reset of the budget process, whatever follows will remain illegal and unconstitutional,” said Thambo.
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