The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has called for a national shutdown protest.
This is in response to the government’s decision to increase Value Added Tax (VAT) by 1% over the next two financial years.
Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana announced the increase when he presented the 2025 Budget Speech on Wednesday. He had intended to increase VAT by 2% but had to postpone his speech when parties in the Government of National Unity (GNU) balked at the idea last month.
MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela said his party would align itself with progressive parties, civil society and grassroots activists in the effort.
Attack on the Black poor
He denounced the VAT increase as an attack on South Africa’s black poor majority and struggling small businesses.
“There comes a moment in a nation’s life when it must choose to fight or submit. We believe the time has now come for us to fight,” said Ndhlela.
He criticised the “Ramaphosa administration” for a “reckless economic assault at a time when millions of South Africans are already suffering under rising food prices, unaffordable electricity, fuel hikes, and worsening poverty”.
He said electricity prices have surged by over 25% in the past two years while unemployment reached 42%, with youth unemployment standing at a shocking 60%.
Millions of South Africans unsure where the their next will come from
More than 23 million people, he said, are unsure where their next meal will come from. “Instead of providing relief, the government has chosen to implement policies that further burden the poor, while prioritising the interests of big business and foreign capital,” he said.
Ndhlela accused the administration and its “white coalition partners” of deliberately pushing South Africans deeper into poverty.
He said this increase was unnecessary, as there were clear and practical alternatives to placing additional strain on the poor and working class.
Go after tax dodgers instead
Among the proposed solutions, the party emphasised the need to strengthen the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to recover the estimated R800 billion lost annually to tax fraud, illicit financial flows, and tax evasion.
He also advocated for a Wealth Tax to ensure the richest South Africans pay their fair share, an increase in Company Income Tax to redistribute wealth and fund essential services, and a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model for infrastructure development to relieve financial pressure on the public.
Despite these alternatives, the Ndhlela argued, the government has deliberately chosen to ignore solutions that would hold the wealthy and corporations accountable, opting instead to place the financial burden on the poor and small businesses.
