While claiming victory for the reversal of the 0.5 percentage point VAT hike, EFF leader Julius Malema yesterday gave his support for any no-confidence motion against President Cyril Ramaphosa.

Malema has also called on the business community to lobby for the axing of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and National Treasury DG Duncan Pieterse for the VAT controversy. 

It is reported that the MKP has also tabled a motion of no confidence against Godongwana over the debacle.

Malema yesterday addressed a press conference after the VAT hike was reversed and set aside by the Western Cape High Court. 

News24 reports that Malema said the entire 2025 Budget, as formulated by Godongwana, is fundamentally flawed.

‘Any motion of no-confidence put against the ANC president, we will support it because he has put us into this mess. He is the man responsible for every mess we are experiencing today, but we are not yet there, as the EFF, to the point where we think we can put a motion of no-confidence because we are still working the ground,’ Malema said.

Malema also said political parties that naively believed they could support the fiscal framework with conditions were exposed for their desperation, ignorance of the Budget process and reckless hunger for positions.

‘Their confusion was made worse by ignorant propaganda such as the absurd nonsense published by some media houses peddling an illusion that Parliament could separate revenue proposals from the fiscal framework and the National Treasury must remain independent to implement irrational fiscal policy without a law,’ he said.

The Cape Times reports that political analyst Siseko Maposa says the judiciary’s involvement in the VAT dispute between coalition partners lays bare a troubling reality; the GNU’s Statement of Intent and its Clearing House Mechanism are proving woefully inadequate as instruments of governance, unable to mediate conflicts effectively or maintain coalition stability.

Full News24 report

Full Cape Times report