EFF calls for resignation of Godongwana and Treasury DG after VAT hike reversal

The EFF is calling for the immediate resignation of finance minister Enoch Godongwana and National Treasury director-general Duncan Pieterse after the reversal of the proposed VAT hike.

The VAT increase, which was set to take effect on May 1, has been scrapped after extensive consultations with political parties and careful consideration of parliamentary committee recommendations.

“This entire budget fiasco should be a reflection for the finance minister 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,” EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo said.

While the party welcomed the reversal of the VAT hike, Thambo criticised the 2025 budget as “misguided, ill-conceived, and reckless”.

“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. The EFF will consider the written out-of-court settlement proposed by the minister of finance.”

Thambo said the budget failed to address the economic crisis in South Africa and did not respond decisively to the crisis of unemployment and poor economic growth.

“South Africans need jobs and economic growth urgently and the state is the only institution with the capacity to respond — yet the National Treasury remains obsessed with an unscientific fiscal anchor strategy that will only plunge South Africa into a deeper crisis.”

Thambo said the budget process was flawed and the proposals “illegal and unconstitutional” without a full withdrawal and reset.

The proposed VAT hike was opposed by several political parties. The DA and the EFF challenged it in court while other parties including ActionSA, Build One SA and the IFP engaged with the ANC to find alternative solutions to scrap the VAT increase.

Build One SA leader Mmusi Maimane welcomed the VAT hike reversal, praising the negotiations that led to the decision.

“When we voted in support of the fiscal framework, misinformation campaigns came at us fast and loud. But we didn’t waver,” Maimane said.

“We didn’t run away to the courts. We knew that responsible negotiations around the table were the best way to find agreement to stop the proposed 0.5% percentage-point VAT increase — and today, that’s exactly what’s happened.”

TimesLIVE