Godongwana’s (almost) budget offered SA air and despair
Welcome to the greatest show in town, The National Treasury Fumble, starring Enoch Godongwana and his Band of Budgeteers!
For the first time since democracy, the annual budget speech was postponed.
Yes, you read that correctly. Postponed! Because when the economy is in shambles, why not just delay the one thing that might give people a tiny bit of clarity?
Isgaxa, indeed!
Now, let’s take a moment to appreciate the unexpected superheroes of the hour – the DA (and friends), who, for a fleeting moment, appeared to be the only ones with common sense.
It’s almost poetic, the very people who are usually accused of being out of touch swooped in to save the country from a financial disaster, and what a disaster it would have been!
A VAT increase from 15% to 17%!
Ah yes, nothing says “economic recovery” like making sure the poor can no longer afford a head of cabbage.
Why stop at electricity price hikes when you can also make food unattainable? It’s called a balanced diet, eat air for breakfast, despair for lunch, and financial ruin for dinner.
Let’s not forget small businesses, the fragile little lifeboats barely afloat in the stormy sea of economic chaos.
A VAT hike would have been like punching a hole in their rafts and watching them sink while the government casually looks on, sipping imported champagne at an undisclosed retreat.
It’s not funny but you could not sip on a mere malt beer because it would have increased immediately.
Meanwhile, journalists in Pretoria found themselves in what seemed like a hostage situation, held captive in a media lock-up by National Treasury staff who apparently took “lock-up” a little too literally.
This is as they avoided us leaving simply because the speech delivery was “running late” … sometime later it was then called off.
So, where does this leave us?
Well, besides being grateful that common sense barely prevailed, we’re left wondering what the next act in the treasury circus will be.
One thing’s for sure, if Enoch and the National Treasury keep this up, the only budget South Africans will have left to manage is the one where they decide whether to buy food or pay for electricity. A real-life survival game, courtesy of our dear leaders. We’ll hear the rest on March 12.
