The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) has welcomed the Western Cape High Court’s decision to suspend the Democratic Alliance (DA)- led government’s planned increase in Value Added Tax (VAT), but warns that the ruling is merely a temporary fix in the face of what it describes as a deeper economic and governance crisis.

MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela says the VAT suspension, while necessary, “addresses only a symptom of a deeper crisis” and accuses the so-called Government of National Unity (GNU) of pursuing a brutal program of austerity, privatisation, and anti-poor policies.

At the centre of MK’s critique is President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP), which the party calls a “brutal blueprint for mass impoverishment.” Ndhlela said: “Cloaked in technocratic language, the ERRP is a war against the poor, built on savage austerity, anti-worker reforms and suffocating monetary policy that has destroyed any prospect of meaningful recovery.”

The MK Party dismissed perceived policy differences between the ANC and DA as “pure theatre,” calling them “ideological twins committed to deepening inequality and looting the country.”

It also took aim at the South African Reserve Bank, accusing it of exacerbating the crisis through aggressive interest rate hikes that have ballooned the state’s debt burden and further eroded fiscal space.

Criticising the government’s priorities, the party condemned ongoing plans to privatise key state assets, including Eskom, Transnet, and water boards, arguing these moves will deny millions of South Africans access to essential services and dismantle the developmental role of the state.

Ndhlela warned that South Africa is “on the brink of governance collapse,” citing the GNU’s failure to lawfully adopt a budget for 2025/2026, which he said has plunged the economy into instability and tax chaos.

Reaffirming its opposition to current fiscal policies, the MK Party called for Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s immediate resignation and announced it has tabled a motion of no confidence in Parliament.

“His tenure has been marked by fiscal mismanagement, contempt for the poor, and loyalty to discredited neoliberal dogma,” said Ndhlela.

Positioning itself as the only political formation with a genuine alternative, the MK Party renewed its call for a bold, people-centered economic program aimed at reversing austerity, rebuilding the state’s capacity, and securing energy independence through investment in coal and nuclear, while scrapping the independent power producer (IPP) program.

“South Africans deserve leadership that rejects austerity and market fundamentalism.

“They deserve a bold, caring, and people-driven economic future, one led by the MK Party,” Ndhlela said. 

hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za 

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