Johannesburg – The Umkhonto Wesizwe Party (MK Party) has announced that it has formally submitted a “non-confident motion” to the Minister of Finance to the chairman of the National Assembly.
“The MK Party hopes that South Africans will follow the decisive call from the party leadership to the resignation of Minister Enoch Godonwana over the reckless and false misconceptions of the VAT issue, the MK Party officially has submitted a motion to the Minister of Finance to Parliament speakers,” the party said on Friday (April 25, 2025).
The day before, on April 24, 2025, Minister Godonwana announced that the proposed VAT rate hike would be reversed, maintaining the current 15% from May 1, 2025.
He said an amended version of the Budget Bill and Revenue Division Act will be introduced within weeks.
Related: Finance Minister Enoch Godonwana calls for an increase in VAT and seeks a settlement from the court.
However, the MK party said: “Minister Godonwana's failure to provide clarity and leadership to the issue of VAT has created chaos in the market, panic among poor SMEs and embraced even more entrenched uncertainty in an already fragile economy.
The MK Party said the Minister's conscious decision to ignore advice on introducing wealth taxes and raise taxes to luxury consumption indicates his negligence in the NDP agenda to stimulate productivity and job creation.
“Instead, the minister chose the most regressive and poor option of increasing VAT, a measure that disproportionately punishes the working class, the unemployed and the poor majority,” the party led by former President Jacob Zuma said.
“The Treasury cannot be entrusted to individuals and his GNU representatives who show such a ignorance of progressive financial alternatives that should address the socioeconomic realities our people face.”
The MK party said that Minister Godongana's contradictory official statement, lack of transparency and apparent disconnection from the living experience of the majority has made him unacceptable for his continued presence in the Cabinet.
“The MK Party is marginalized to support this move that is lacking in confidence when brought into front of the home by all lawmakers of the working class, unemployed and economically marginalized parliament,” the statement said.
“South Africa deserves a Minister of Finance who prioritizes the interests of people over those with capital interests.”
