Is the IFP’s VAT vexation selling out or saving face?
The IFP’s sudden love affair with VAT hikes has left many scratching their heads, wondering if the party’s “pro-poor” anthem has been swapped for Oppenheimer’s orchestra.
Accused of selling out for a seat at the GNU table, IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa hit back, dismissing critics as grandstanders “with a God complex”. Hlabisa insists the IFP’s support of the budget despite opposing the VAT hike – is about saving SA from becoming a “failed state”. Hhayi bo! Since when did fiscal responsibility equal squeezing the poor?
The party claims it’s a “short-term pain for long-term gain”, yet their defence reeks of compromise. While they wax lyrical about closing Sars loopholes and infrastructure billions, the optics are dire: a party once rooted in rural advocacy is now backing a tax that hits the vulnerable the hardest.
And what of their “pro-poor” credentials? Hlabisa touts expanded zero-rated foods and grants as a balm for the masses, but can the IFP really police GNU corruption to ensure VAT rands don’t vanish into tenderpreneurs’ pockets?
