As Mark Twain once famously said, “A lie can travel around the world before the truth is getting its boots on.” When Mark Twain wrote these profound words, he never had to contemplate a world of digital media.
In the days that followed the decision for ActionSA and others to assist the passage of the fiscal framework through parliament, ActionSA was the subjected to one of the largest misinformation campaigns in recent political history.
For those South Africans who believe that the truth must be pursued, and regrettably not everyone does, read on and apply your minds critically to the following set of facts and events which are verifiably indisputable.
The best place to start is to ask the question:
Why are opposition parties having to assist a government, comprising over 70% of the seats in parliament, to end a budget crisis?
You have to admit, it is undeniably a good question. The answer lies in the fact that nine months into the life of this GNU government, parties in government cannot agree on much, including a budget. This is largely due to the next fact that parties in the GNU could only negotiate who would get which cabinet post and not on an agreed set of reforms or a multi-lateral budget process.
This is precisely why a budget crisis developed where, for the first time in our history of bad government, a new layer of instability arose – where government cannot perform its most elementary task to adopt a budget. This is also precisely why parties in the GNU elected to use the national budget as a negotiating chip in order to leverage more power for themselves. ActionSA, just like the reasonable reader out there, takes exception to the idea that our national budget should be held ransom over the insatiable hunger for power of GNU politicians.
When the Finance Minister presented his budget speech on 13 March 2025, announcing a VAT increase of 0.5%, the VAT Act of 1991 prescribed that VAT would go up on the date he announced (1 May 2025). When the Standing Committee on Finance met on 1 April 2025, had the DA’s proposal to amend the fiscal framework carried, the budget process would have been restarted from scratch with a 2-3 month delay and the 1 May VAT increase would have been entrenched. The option that ActionSA followed, to pass the fiscal framework with conditions to reverse the VAT increase, was the option with the quickest route to a VAT reversal.
Like any misinformation campaign, the one launched by the DA contains a hidden secret because every misinformation campaign is ultimately aimed at deflecting people’s attention away from a damaging truth at all costs. In this instance, the concealed truth is that the DA has been exposed as impotent in its ability to effect reforms within the GNU, including its budget, a failure that was further compounded when its plans to hold the national budget to ransom were thwarted by opposition parties. In short, parties with less seats have been more effective in fighting for reforms of the budget from outside of the GNU than it is has managed to deliver inside the GNU.
Subsequent to the votes in parliament, a series of engagements arose between ActionSA, the ANC and the Finance Minister which were aimed at exploring revenue alternatives to the R13.5 billion VAT increase. These engagements have been fruitful both in terms of understanding the complicated fiscal environment in which this budget must arise as well as the willingness of the ANC and Finance Minister to consider alternatives.
ActionSA made submissions of R110 billion in alternative revenue proposals, which will prove instrumental to the eventual reversal of the VAT increase. The major focus was SARS’s enhanced revenue collection ability thanks to the additional R7 billion allocated to the agency over the next three years. According to the SARS Commissioner’s presentations to Parliament, the additional funding will enable the agency to collect R20 – R50 billion more each year. Given that SARS collects R150 of revenue for every R1 it receives, this is the obvious starting point, and why ActionSA has been driving this issue since Day 1.
With that said, there are many options available to cut the expenses of a wasteful government, but these are not likely to be deemed appealing to a GNU government that has demonstrated a willingness to spend big where other governments left off. The largest cabinet in South African history that has amassed an eye watering R200 million in international travel in just 7 months does not look like a probable supporter of ActionSA’s proposal to remove all Deputy Ministers by way of an example.
The reality in a world of coalitions is that a party’s seats must be used to achieve concessions from a governing party that benefits its constituency. In this instance, ActionSA has used its six seats in the opposition benches in parliament to negotiate the reversal of a VAT increase presented by the GNU.
What emerges from any fact-based, reasonable understanding of these events is the undeniable understanding that any increase in VAT on 1 May 2025 is a product of a budget speech presented by an ANC Finance Minister and DA Deputy Finance Minister,and not because of any party in the opposition. Any reversal of this VAT increase will arise from the efforts of ActionSA working alongside others to accomplish it.
VAT Debacle: The Truth Matters, But It Needs Help These Days
As Mark Twain once famously said, “A lie can travel around the world before the truth is getting its boots on.” When Mark Twain wrote these profound words, he never had to contemplate a world of digital media.
In the days that followed the decision for ActionSA and others to assist the passage of the fiscal framework through parliament, ActionSA was the subjected to one of the largest misinformation campaigns in recent political history.
For those South Africans who believe that the truth must be pursued, and regrettably not everyone does, read on and apply your minds critically to the following set of facts and events which are verifiably indisputable.
The best place to start is to ask the question:
Why are opposition parties having to assist a government, comprising over 70% of the seats in parliament, to end a budget crisis?
You have to admit, it is undeniably a good question. The answer lies in the fact that nine months into the life of this GNU government, parties in government cannot agree on much, including a budget. This is largely due to the next fact that parties in the GNU could only negotiate who would get which cabinet post and not on an agreed set of reforms or a multi-lateral budget process.
This is precisely why a budget crisis developed where, for the first time in our history of bad government, a new layer of instability arose – where government cannot perform its most elementary task to adopt a budget. This is also precisely why parties in the GNU elected to use the national budget as a negotiating chip in order to leverage more power for themselves. ActionSA, just like the reasonable reader out there, takes exception to the idea that our national budget should be held ransom over the insatiable hunger for power of GNU politicians.
When the Finance Minister presented his budget speech on 13 March 2025, announcing a VAT increase of 0.5%, the VAT Act of 1991 prescribed that VAT would go up on the date he announced (1 May 2025). When the Standing Committee on Finance met on 1 April 2025, had the DA’s proposal to amend the fiscal framework carried, the budget process would have been restarted from scratch with a 2-3 month delay and the 1 May VAT increase would have been entrenched. The option that ActionSA followed, to pass the fiscal framework with conditions to reverse the VAT increase, was the option with the quickest route to a VAT reversal.
Like any misinformation campaign, the one launched by the DA contains a hidden secret because every misinformation campaign is ultimately aimed at deflecting people’s attention away from a damaging truth at all costs. In this instance, the concealed truth is that the DA has been exposed as impotent in its ability to effect reforms within the GNU, including its budget, a failure that was further compounded when its plans to hold the national budget to ransom were thwarted by opposition parties. In short, parties with less seats have been more effective in fighting for reforms of the budget from outside of the GNU than it is has managed to deliver inside the GNU.
Subsequent to the votes in parliament, a series of engagements arose between ActionSA, the ANC and the Finance Minister which were aimed at exploring revenue alternatives to the R13.5 billion VAT increase. These engagements have been fruitful both in terms of understanding the complicated fiscal environment in which this budget must arise as well as the willingness of the ANC and Finance Minister to consider alternatives.
ActionSA made submissions of R110 billion in alternative revenue proposals, which will prove instrumental to the eventual reversal of the VAT increase. The major focus was SARS’s enhanced revenue collection ability thanks to the additional R7 billion allocated to the agency over the next three years. According to the SARS Commissioner’s presentations to Parliament, the additional funding will enable the agency to collect R20 – R50 billion more each year. Given that SARS collects R150 of revenue for every R1 it receives, this is the obvious starting point, and why ActionSA has been driving this issue since Day 1.
With that said, there are many options available to cut the expenses of a wasteful government, but these are not likely to be deemed appealing to a GNU government that has demonstrated a willingness to spend big where other governments left off. The largest cabinet in South African history that has amassed an eye watering R200 million in international travel in just 7 months does not look like a probable supporter of ActionSA’s proposal to remove all Deputy Ministers by way of an example.
The reality in a world of coalitions is that a party’s seats must be used to achieve concessions from a governing party that benefits its constituency. In this instance, ActionSA has used its six seats in the opposition benches in parliament to negotiate the reversal of a VAT increase presented by the GNU.
What emerges from any fact-based, reasonable understanding of these events is the undeniable understanding that any increase in VAT on 1 May 2025 is a product of a budget speech presented by an ANC Finance Minister and DA Deputy Finance Minister,and not because of any party in the opposition. Any reversal of this VAT increase will arise from the efforts of ActionSA working alongside others to accomplish it.