By Akani Nkuna
MK Party leaders warned during a march on the Treasury and the SA Reserve Bank in Pretoria on Monday that if the government increased VAT in the Budget, they would consider bringing the country to a standstill.
“If the government of GNU goes ahead with a VAT increase, which harms the poor and already financially burdened citizens, we will organise a national protest with all our members from all over the country,” said the convenor of the party’s National High Command deployees to Gauteng, Luther Lebelo.
“This march is just a warm-up and serves as a warning to the government. They dare not try us because we have the numbers and might to shut down the country against exploitation.”
Lebelo emphasised that they recognised the immense challenges of confronting a government that prioritised the interests of capital over the needs of the poor, however, they were determined too not back down.
“They could have increased corporate income tax, they could have introduced the wealth tax, they could have strengthened SARS to collect the R400 billion that is hidden by white financial institutions… but they [instead] choose solutions that affect our poor people,” he said.
The Budget was postponed last month due to concerns by Cabinet members about increasing VAT by two percentage points.
MK Party Chief Whip Mzwanele Manyi said that if Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented a Budget with a VAT increase on Wednesday, the party would exercise its opposition in accordance with the Constitution.
“If [government passes the VAT increase], we will find a way of voicing [our discontentment]. We will take to the streets, we will do a mass action, we will protest because we will have exhausted all the legal means to do this. So, therefore, mass protest is a legal means – a peaceful protest, but we will do a serious protest. Our people will come out in their millions on the streets to make sure they are not plunged into poverty under the watch of the MK Party,” he said
MK Party regional organiser Mpho Morolane told Inside Politics that despite rumours of the VAT hike being lowered from 2% to 0.75%, it was firmly opposed to any increase.
“The MK Party says no to any increment because the poor cannot afford anything at this juncture. And if you bring any increment whatsoever, it means that you are relegating them to a state of poverty and slavery because they will be working just for survival,” he said.
Morolane said just by implementing a system that dealt with illicit financial flows would help the government recover millions for the national Budget.
South Africa loses more than $62 billion a year in illicit flows.
“There is tobacco illicit flow wherein to the tune of R20 billion is not going to the coffers of the country.
“Those are the things that we are putting in place to say that if you have a serious government, it is a government that will ensure that it procures a system that will be able to then detect these monies that are leaving our country,” he added.
The party delivered its memorandum of demands to both the SARB and the National Treasury.
It called on the government to prioritise the creation of a state bank that was independent of commercial banking monopolies.
“The continued exclusion of black-owned bank financial institutions from the commercial banking sector is unacceptable. A state bank will ensure financial services reach historically excluded communities and drive inclusive economic growth,” the document said.
INSIDE POLITICS