By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula is confident the budget would pass, warning that there would be implications for the Government of National Unity (GNU) should their partners not vote in favour of it.
The ANC held a media briefing at Luthuli House in Johannesburg on Tuesday morning.
With the Democratic Alliance (DA) indicating it would not support the budget, the ANC is now counting on smaller political parties such as ActionSA and others to back the budget in Wednesday’s National Assembly vote, while other parties have firmly rejected it.
“There have been issues among GNU parties around the issue of VAT, and as well as those who are outside (the GNU), but we need the budget to be passed in order for us to proceed to govern and stabilise the economy and ensure that the economy remains stable and pursue economic growth,” Mbalula said.
He said the party had disagreed with National Treasury’s proposed 2% increase. He also said the party believed the 0.5% VAT increase would be withdrawn and was not permanent.
He added that the failure to reach an agreement with the DA was due to the party’s numerous demands, which he described as a “catalogue” that they kept pushing back on. The situation was further complicated by the DA leaking details of the talks to the media, which, according to Mbalula, served to polarise the negotiations.
Fullview understands the DA wants the scrapping of import tariffs, accelerating reform at the Cape Town and Richard’s Bay ports, and scrapping the ANC’s localisation policy. A sticking point has been its call to take a stronger role in the economy and to appoint Deputy Finance Minister Ashor Sarupen as co-chairperson of Operation Vulindlela, located in the Presidency.
He explained that some of the issues raised by the DA were not relevant to the Budget, saying parties needed to engage on them.
He pointed out the ANC was all for economic growth.
Mbalula said the ANC had “shown commitment” and that the party was working with all the parties to find solutions to the Budget, noting that his party had a draft framework to engage all parties.
“Having spoken to everybody, we think now there is a basis for us to have an agreement with everyone, not only with the DA but everybody in the GNU and even beyond those who agree with us,” he said.
“We believe that there is a lot that can make us to move all together to cross. We need to pass the Budget for the sake of people of South Africa but at the same time we need to be alive and talk to others and that is what we are clear [about] as the ANC. We are the largest party, we need to talk to others, but it is not really concessions, it is about what the Minister presented before us, that we think does not address most of the concerns most people have raised in their political parties,” he said.
Mbalula expressed confidence that a solution would be reached, and that the Budget would be passed.
He said he believed parties were moving close to each other, saying this closeness would be consolidated into an agreement.
Once Parliament’s joint finance committees consider the fiscal framework and their report is adopted, it will then go to the National Assembly, scheduled for Wednesday.
If the budget is not passed by 1 April, the start of the new fiscal year, the law allows the government to continue spending up to 45% of the previous year’s budget until Parliament approves the new budget.