THE Western Cape’s R269.5 Budget, 95% of which comes from the national government, has been described as false promises and political posturing in light of the DA’s decision to vote against and legally challenge Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s proposed budget.

During the provincial budget debate on Friday, Finance MEC Deidré Baartman noted they had tabled a R269.5 billion budget to be implemented over the next three years, of which “95.4 per cent of our total provincial budget will thus come from the national government, with the rest amounting to own receipts”.

However, opposition parties questioned how realistic this is when the DA voted against the fiscal framework in the national assembly last week and then filed papers in court to challenge the parliamentary process that adopted it.

The DA’s move came after the ANC did not agree to its terms. They would have voted to accept a VAT hike of 0.5% or 1% over two years in exchange for certain conditions being met which included privatising the ports, as well as cost-cutting measures and other demands, contained in a 13 page document.

Premier Alan Winde said: “Faced with lackluster national economic growth and an unwillingness to prioritise spending on service delivery and kickstarting the economy, compounded by the ever increasing cost of living, marked by soaring electricity tariffs and shrinking tax revenue, the national Finance Minister is resorting to wildly unpopular moves such as hiking VAT, to balance the books. This is a flagrant display of a national administration completely out of touch with the reality that many ordinary residents must live in.”

In response to Winde’s speech, ANC leader in the provincial legislature Khalid Sayed said the ANC has publicly committed to finding alternative revenue to deal with the 0.5 % VAT increase and bracket creep adjustment which impacts negatively on personal income taxpayers from the working and middle class.

“There is now a resolution of the National Assembly to this effect…So I ask the Premier: What were you really offering in your provincial budget - when the resources you depend on were ones your party voted against? We have false promises and political posturing - not a plan for growth. It’s a political blueprint to protect privilege. It prioritises reserves over basic services, bureaucracy over delivery, and marketing over impact. For example, while communities cry out for housing, education, and jobs, your government earmarks R1.7 billion for 'unforeseen and unavoidable' expenses - with no clarity.”

But Winde maintained that the ANC lost all trust when their vote actually went to charge citizens more tax.

“We need to make sure that we don't charge VAT to our citizens. We find those alternatives. That’s what the whole debate has been about, let’s find the alternative, let’s put the cuts on the table...”

Political analyst, professor Sipho Seepe said it was true that all government institutions depend on the national budget allocation.

“The question people in the ANC are raising is if you were opposed to this budget, you can’t then remain in the steering wheel of a budget that you did not support. Hence some people in one faction of the ANC are saying, the DA is opposed to this budget, they can’t be invited to discuss how that budget is going to be managed because they never supported it in the first place.”

Cape Times