South African Communist Party

SACP on postponement of budget speech: SACP reaffirms its rejection of the VAT hike and neo-liberal policies

Wednesday, 19 February 2025: - The South African Communist Party (SACP) issued a statement on Monday, 17 February 2025, in advance rejecting the budget that was scheduled for presentation by the Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana to Parliament on Wednesday, 19 February 2025, if it entailed a VAT increase.

The unprecedented postponement of the budget on Wednesday must serve as a lesson against a policy direction that hurts the workers and poor in informal settlements, townships and rural areas. We are referring here to the over 12 million active and discouraged work seekers who are unemployed, to the millions of workers who are in low-wage employment, and to the poor who rely on social grants as their source of income. An increase in VAT will reduce what little basket of goods and services they can access and will compound the social reproduction crisis that is reflected in the ever-rising cost of living that primarily hurts the workers and poor. The SACP reaffirms its rejection of the VAT hike and neo-liberal policies, such as austerity budgeting.

The pursuit of VAT hikes and neo-liberal policies, which hurt the workers and poor, coupled with building reliance on a class collaboration with right-wing parties like the DA, undermines our long-standing Alliance. It is in this context that there was no consultation with the Alliance. It is this new ideological project that suffered a major blow on Wednesday when the presentation of the budget had to be postponed.

The SACP will continue its programme for Alliance reconfiguration, against the undermining of our Alliance, while intensifying its independence in all respects. On Wednesday, a number of working-class organisations, including trade union federations Cosatu and Saftu, progressive NGOs and other civic society organisations, marched in Cape Town ahead of the aborted budget presentation. This march was against a hike in the VAT and austerity budgeting, which involves budget cuts, hurting development and the workers and poor.

The SACP calls upon working-class and other progressive organisations to strengthen and expand the mobilisation. On Tuesday, 18 February 2025, we endorsed the People’s Budget process and its outcomes, which we handed to the government on Wednesday as part of the memorandum of demands.

We reiterate our call for the extension of the Social Relief of Distress Grant and its transformation into a universal basic income grant. Further, we call for a new budget that will prioritise the implementation of the National Health Insurance towards access to quality healthcare for all. The new budget must also support other public programmes, such as public water infrastructure, public energy infrastructure, public education, adequately funding the police and other law enforcement authorities to fight crime and corruption, and adequately funding our South African Defence Force to protect the nation and participate more effectively in peace-keeping missions on our continent.

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Issued by the South African Communist Party,
Founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa.