The Inkatha Freedom Party president said the VAT debate should not be weaponised to derail the coalition government’s primary mandate of ensuring economic stability and service delivery
Both parties are mindful of the magnitude of a split as South Africa faces more economic turmoil
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This is a moment that calls for strong leaders and a united nation. Right now, we don’t have either
In its court papers filed on Thursday, the party said the fiscal framework that will lead to the tax increase was pushed through unprocedurally
The Democratic Alliance now plans to challenge the fiscal framework in court, further raising the tension around its future in the ruling coalition
But the presidency said on Wednesday the crunch vote on the fiscal framework was a test of the party’s commitment to the GNU
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The agreement came thanks to a lifeline ActionSA threw the ANC
The ANC has so far rejected conditions on which the DA would agree to support Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s 0.5 percentage point VAT increase for the coming fiscal year
The ANC secretary general also said there was no truth to rumours that it and the DA had reached an agreement
The ANC’s coalition partners demand changes, citing the financial burden on residents
The ANC secretary general said the ANC would not water it down to ‘Kiss the Boer’, nor would it prescribe to other parties what they must sing
The president’s choice in selecting a new ambassador amid a historic downturn in diplomatic relations also speaks to an existential dilemma for his party
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Divisions in the party have emerged over VAT hikes, coalition negotiations, and fiscal policy strategies
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The presidency said the SA-US relationship was in flux and Ramaphosa would not rush to name a new ambassador
The South African Communist Party is among 192 political parties that had not met the deadline to register with the Electoral Commission of South Africa
A hostile response signals the start of the treasury’s struggle to avoid amendments to the 2025 budget
This move is in line with the Economic Freedom Fighters’
plan to survive beyond the 2026 local government election
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Budget approval hangs in the balance and resistance to it is set to play out in the legislature’s finance committees
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The Democratic Alliance said the budget would struggle to pass in parliament, given the ANC’s lack of a majority
His party would have yielded if any increases were guaranteed to be temporary and tied to an overhaul of state spending patterns
The finance minister suggests that much of the opposition wrangling is part of a broader political battle
The minister conceded that the measure did not have support across the political spectrum
Members of the government of national unity and opposition parties have raised concerns that the ongoing impasse between the ANC and DA could trigger the need for fresh elections
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The president is taking a transactional approach to resolving a diplomatic tempest
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Any VAT increase is probably off the table, leaving the treasury to look for revenue without bringing the coalition to the brink
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The South African Municipal Workers Union said it would not march but would ask for a meeting with the president when he visited the city
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They criticised the Gauteng premier’s water and electricity solutions as misguided
When the municipality allocates its budget, it spends proportionally far more on the rich than the poor areas
Analysts say the budget became a cliffhanger because it was written as though the ANC still governed on its own
The DA has upped the ante in its demands for consultation on every point of government policy, although ANC ministers also opposed a planned VAT increase
The rand depreciated after the postponement of the budget speech to 12 March
Last year, the finance minister hinted there would be tax increases in 2025