Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa. (@GovernmentZA/X)
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has urged for stability within the government of national unity (GNU) amid tensions over a 0.5 percentage point increase in VAT next month, saying the fallout should not be allowed to fracture the coalition.
Parliament narrowly voted last week for a fiscal framework that allows Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to use the next 30 days to find an alternative to the VAT. The measure passed despite opposition from the Democratic Alliance (DA) — the second largest party in the GNU after President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC — which has gone to court to appeal it.
The VAT debate, while serious, should not be weaponised to collapse the GNU or derail its primary mandate of restoring economic stability and adequate service delivery, IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa told a media briefing on Monday.
“There will be no need to conflate the national issue of VAT with instability in government. If you love your people, you can’t subject them to chaos when there is stability. This difference can still be resolved,” he said.
Hlabisa said there was broad agreement among the 10 parties in the GNU to reconvene urgently and map out alternative strategies to grow the economy and reduce wasteful expenditure — as well as reviewing the VAT increase.
The DA has remained unmoved in its opposition to the VAT increase, with senior leaders saying the hike would disproportionately affect poor households and violate the pro-poor platform the party campaigned on in last year’s general elections.
Last week, DA federal chairperson Helen Zille filed an urgent court application at the Western Cape high court against what she said were procedural and constitutional irregularities in approving the fiscal framework in parliament.
The ANC secured the budget’s approval with support from ActionSA, Build One South Africa, the Patriotic Alliance, IFP, United Democratic Movement and other minority parties. The DA, Freedom Front Plus, Economic Freedom Fighters and uMkhonto weSizwe party voted against it.
On Monday, Hlabisa said although the IFP had voted in favour of the budget and the VAT increase, it would negotiate with its GNU partners for the tax hike to be a temporary measure, while acknowledging that VAT has never gone down before.
“If it never happened, it doesn’t mean it will not happen going forward. I think it’s as simple as that. The difference now, there is a commitment of 10 political parties, not one political party. 10 different political parties with divergent views,” he said.
“We will be coming with strategies as to how to grow the economy. If we are successful in growing the economy by pressing the right buttons at the right time, there’s nothing that will prevent this 0.5 percent increase from being removed.”
He called on the parties in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial coalition government to remain calm while the ANC and the DA tried to resolve their disputes at national level.
“Coalition governments function differently at each level. A fallout at national level does not automatically translate to instability at provincial or local level. If you love your people, you cannot subject them to instability when there is already stability,” Hlabisa said.
He pointed out that the DA had been excluded from the provincial executive in Gauteng but stayed in the national coalition, adding: “There is no reason to conflate national tensions with the running of KwaZulu-Natal.”
The DA holds the finance portfolio in KwaZulu-Natal, with the party’s MEC for finance having already tabled the provincial budget, which the IFP has thrown its weight behind, saying it prioritises service delivery and job creation.
“If any party pulls out or takes a different direction, it would not reflect a love for the people,” Hlabisa said.
As the IFP, we are committed to maintaining a stable government in KZN.”
