By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) federal council chair Helen Zille announced on the DA website, that the party has filed a supplementary affidavit to halt Value Added Tax (VAT) increase with the Western Cape High Court late Friday night.
The DA’s supplementary affidavit asks that the court must specifically issue an order to stop the VAT increase, on the basis that the Fiscal Framework was unlawfully adopted in the both the Finance Portfolio Committee and Parliament itself.
Judge President Nolwazi Mabindla-Boqwana is expected to deliver judgment on Tuesday, 29 April 2025.
The Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana gazetted his intention to introduce a new Bill to Parliament, revising the Fiscal Framework (without the VAT increase).
But Zille said, this is not enough to prevent a VAT increase coming into effect on 1 May, because the new Bill will not yet have been adopted by Parliament.
“The supplementary affidavit is necessary because, despite the developments of the past week, the VAT increase will still come into effect on 1 May, unless the court specifically issues an order to prevent this,” Zille said.
She also said only a court order can now stop the VAT increase from coming into force on 1 May after the fiscal framework, including the VAT increase, was adopted by the finance portfolio committee and Parliament on April 1 and 2 respectively.
Zille noted that Godongwana had issued a statement after the hearing of their application to interdict the VAT increase and also gazetted his intention to introduce a new Bill to Parliament, revising the fiscal framework without the VAT increase.
“However, this is not enough to prevent a VAT increase coming into effect on 1 May, because the new bill will not yet have been adopted by Parliament.
“The court must specifically issue an order to stop the VAT increase, on the basis that the fiscal framework was unlawfully adopted in the both the finance portfolio committee and Parliament itself,” she said.
Zille added that Godongwana and National Assembly speaker Thoko Didiza were given until Saturday to file their replying affidavits.
It seems that the only effective and certain way that the Vat hike can be halted before the 1 May deadline is for the court to make this order on Tuesday 29 April 2025.
Godongwana is now expected to table a revised fiscal framework — it has to be tabled in Parliament’s Finance Portfolio Committee and then go to the Appropriations Committee.
Meanwhile DA leader John Steenhuisen was in high spirits after the meeting with the ANC on Friday, describing it as constructive.”
“We have engaged in a number of issues, including the events of the last few weeks, and how we are going to now proceed and process a Budget for South Africa that is credible, costed, and how we can start contributing to providing a stable platform for growth and jobs agenda. It was very constructive and we are very pleased.”
While the DA says it remains committed to the GNU, there is a strong push from parts of the ANC to have the party removed from government due to its opposition to a series of pieces of legislation, including the Expropriation Act, Bela Act and NHI Act, some of which the DA has taken to court.
The ANC met with political parties that supported the fiscal framework — namely the IFP, ActionSA, PAC, Rise Mzansi, BOSA, UDM, Good, Al Jama-ah, Patriotic Alliance, and the National Coloured Congress. They held a media briefing in Sandton, Johannesburg. Several of these parties called for the DA to be sacked from the GNU.