Basic commodities are already expensive without a hike in VAT. (Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
Democratic South Africa has never endured a day like Wednesday. For the first time, a national budget was aborted minutes after it had been scheduled to start. Like all of our colleagues in the media we spent the following hours investigating and reporting on the schemes, bust-ups and failures that triggered this unprecedented move.
But after the picture became clearer, and the articles had been published, a more poignant question emerged. What was the thinking behind the now-scrapped budget? More specifically, what was the driving economic plan or philosophy behind the move to increase VAT from 15% to 17%?
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said earlier in the day that he was braced for political and civil backlash. In the wake of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) victory dance after the budget speech was postponed, the ANC scrambled to present the case that their own cabinet members had strong reservations.
The widespread enmity to the idea is not ideological — it is a profound concern of what the hiked taxation would mean for the average South African.
For all the curiosities of a manic day, this issue must be of primary concern. The powers behind our purse strings have conspired to present a plan that would be a liver punch to most South Africans — and without a coherent strategy to mitigate the pain.
Much has already been written trumpeting Wednesday as a mark of a robust democracy. That may be true but it is also a worrying portent of what lies ahead for the government of national unity.
A key selling point of an ANC-DA coalition, before and after last May’s elections, has been its business-friendly aura and promised efficiency. That narrative has served South Africa well. The president and deputy president have taken it to the road, trading on the country’s potential to court foreign investment.
But now we must ask, what mission is it serving?
Credit should be given to the DA for its role in stopping a bad budget. But its churlish rush to take the spotlight betrays that it still looks at policy through a political party lens.
Our fractured nation will not thrive until we are unified in our ambitions and intentions. That message is all the more important as we sail through the diplomatic storm that has blown our way. Flagrant domestic discord can be a dangerous preoccupation in those circumstances.
Where is South Africa headed? Who is steering the ship? We must demand those answers. From all of its elected officials.
