EFF president Julius Malema, met with negotiators representing the ANC’s Government of National Unity (GNU) to break the ongoing budgetary deadlock.
Image: Facebook/EFF
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has stressed that its recent meeting with the African National Congress (ANC) should not be interpreted as an unsuccessful attempt to undo the proposed increase in value-added tax (VAT).
On Friday, a delegation from the EFF, led by party president Julius Malema, met with negotiators representing the ANC’s Government of National Unity (GNU) to break the ongoing budgetary deadlock.
The EFF, which previously withheld support for the fiscal framework, stated that the current dialogue forms part of a broader budget process.
This includes the upcoming consideration and adoption of the Division of Revenue Bill and the Appropriations Bill.
In the statement, the EFF made it clear that they were under no illusion that there was any legislative possibility of reversing the VAT increases.
“Our engagements with the ANC must therefore not be mistaken as participation in a fruitless exercise to seek alternatives to the VAT increases within 30 days under the false hope that such alternatives will be implemented before May 1.
“This is simply not practical, realistic, or legislatively permissible,” it said.
In a pointed remark, the party dismissed suggestions — most notably from ActionSA — that the proposed 0.5% VAT hike could be rolled back within 30 days.
The EFF maintained that such claims are neither practical nor grounded in legislative reality.
“All political parties which voted in support of the Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposal which included the VAT increases must take responsibility for their actions and desist from giving the people of South Africa false hope that non-binding recommendations can reverse what they supported,” the EFF said.
The ANC is negotiating with other political parties on the budget issue.
This meeting marked Malema’s first return to the negotiating table since the departure of the party's former deputy president Floyd Shivambu, who recently joined the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.
Shivambu previously led the EFF’s negotiation efforts, including during initial GNU discussions initiated by the ANC.
However, internal criticism had mounted over Shivambu’s role in several unsuccessful negotiations, with some EFF members attributing past breakdowns directly to his leadership.
The EFF has made it clear that its involvement in the GNU discussions is not an attempt to craft an alternative to the proposed budget.
Rather, the party insists its engagement is part of a responsible, legislative process that acknowledges the current fiscal realities.
“The EFF engagements with the ANC are part and parcel of the road towards the upcoming budget process, and form part of the ANC's outreach to other political parties in its claimed efforts to reset and/or reconfigure the GNU,” it said.
Additionally, the EFF said it circulated a comprehensive document containing sensible alternative revenue generation mechanisms to the public.
Meanwhile, the EFF and the Democratic Alliance (DA) are currently in court to challenge the passing of the budget by Parliament.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za
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