Written by: Errol Naidoo
Article source: familypolicyinstitute.com
Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana’s revised Budget tabled on 12 March was roundly rejected by the DA in the Government of National Unity (GNU) as well as the MK and EFF opposition parties. The ANC’s alliance partners, COSATU and the SACP also opposed it.
The ANC’s pro-corruption budget rules out state spending cuts including fraud, waste and abuse of tax-payers money. Instead, the revised Budget proposes a VAT hike of 0,5 percent in 2025 and again in 2026. In addition, personal income tax is not adjusted for inflation – which is a form of stealth tax – to generate the revenue shortfall in the Budget.
This means the ANC intends passing the burden of its governance failures onto the tax-payer. President Ramaphosa’s administration has failed to grow the economy as a result of rampant corruption, incompetence and job-killing policies. South Africa’s debt has soared. Economists stress, “22 cents of every rand raised in revenue goes to service debt.”
Thankfully, the ANC lost its Parliamentary majority in 2024 and cannot pass the Budget solo. This means it must be amended to advance in Parliament. You must urgently write to the ‘Standing Committee on Finance’ and insist it rejects tax increases including stealth tax and raise the budget shortfall by cutting fruitless and wasteful state expenditure.
Please write to the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Finance, Mr. Mkhacani Joseph Maswanganyi at jmaswanganyi@parliament.gov.za Also copy Committee Secretary, Allan Wicomb at awicomb@parliament.gov.za Or WhatsApp at 0834121475.
Economist, Dawie Roodt warns, “South Africa’s debt is unsustainable and must be considered a ticking time bomb.” The ANC has mismanaged the country’s finances to the extent that South Africa pays R13,473 every second in debt interest (not debt capital).
Church and civil-society leaders must speak up and act to avert economic disaster. Rampant ANC facilitated corruption is what’s driving SA to the brink of economic collapse. The country’s debt stands at a staggering 76,2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Billions of tax-payer funds are looted by ANC cadres with impunity. A top cop steered a R360 million tender to an individual who receives dodgy state tenders. The City of JHB’s City Power fraudulently spent R335 million in six months on failed maintenance projects.
Tender-fraud, theft, and money-laundering by ANC officials are relentless. President Cyril Ramaphosa has done little to stop the rot. To make matters worse a R100 billion “Transformation Fund” is being proposed “to provide black-owned businesses access to funding.” The majority of citizens know most of this money will be stolen by ANC cadres.
In addition to the loss of billions in revenue – as a direct result of state corruption and gross mismanagement of public resources – the ANC’s inability to make the transition from its liberation movement past to its governance role in a modern democracy has bogged it down in foreign policy blunders that must now be regarded a threat to the nations survival.
The ANC regime refused to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 because of its ties with the former Soviet Union. This angered its biggest trading partners, the US and European Union (EU). The ANC’s historic and continued close ties with Iran – the world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism – does not help SA’s strategic economic objectives.
But the ANC is stuck in the past. Its foreign policy significantly undermines SA’s efforts at economic turnaround. Consequently, it is ANC foreign policy that harms the nation – not what should be South African foreign policy that best serves the interest of its citizens.
Ramaphosa recently assured MPs in Parliament – concerned about the strained US/SA relations – that SA ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool was “on the ground” in Washington, engaging with stakeholders to “underscore the importance” of deepening economic, cultural and political relations between the US and South Africa.”
Following this assurance, Rasool was expelled by US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio and declared “Persona Non Grata” as a result of inflammatory statements made during a webinar in which he referred to Donald Trump’s MAGA movement as (white) supremacist.
ANC stalwart, Rasool is schooled in the art of blaming ANC failures on either, “the legacy of apartheid,” “white economic capital” or worse, “white supremacy.” He now holds the dubious honour of being the first SA diplomat to be expelled for insulting a US president.
Rasool’s first appointment as US ambassador in 2008 was probably made to extricate him from the growing “brown envelope” scandal in which he, as W/Cape premier, bribed Cape Argus journalists with public money to write positive articles about his government.
As a result of ANC domestic, and foreign policy and the inane rantings of its inept cadres, SA’s relations with the US is in full blown crisis. Despite this, the out-of-touch and delusional Ramaphosa “is confident tensions between the US and SA will be resolved.”
But even as Ramaphosa says this, his party, the ANC have led efforts in the JHB City Council to rename Sandton Drive after a Palestinian terrorist, Leila Khaled – so that the US Consulate located on that street will be forced to include a Palestinian terrorist’s name on its letterhead. Mr Ramaphosa and the ANC are playing dangerous games indeed.
South Africa must reject the race-based politics, rampant corruption and mismanagement of the ANC. Church and civil-society leaders must speak up boldly for the sake of the nation. But every citizen has a role to play. Pray, speak up and act for South Africa’s sake.
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Date published: 18/03/2025
Feature image: Image for illustrative purposes only. Artwork adapted from www.flickr.com
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But now I see the UN ( evil in my opinion ) have backed Ramaphosa ANC with 5 Billion US dollars. This is so called for Green energy and vaccines to be produced locally. The plot thickens.