Knives are out for the Democratic Alliance (DA), a party increasingly accused of doing everything possible to return Apartheid, and doing everything possible to protect white interests.
Just recently, the controversy over the budget process exposed the DA in South Africa. After the 2025 Budget Speech, Minister in the President and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s most trusted aide Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said the Democratic Alliance (DA), which opposed the VAT increase, was “pursuing personal interests.”
For the first time in the history of democratic South Africa, the budget speech was postponed due to disagreements within the Government of National Unity (GNU) over the proposed 2% VAT increase.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana presented a revised budget that includes a 1% VAT increase to 16% by the 2026/27 financial year, starting at 0.5% in 2025/26.
DA has expressed its negative attitude towards the increase and said it will not support it. Ntshavheni responded to these accusations by claiming that DA is playing political games and is not concerned about the poor but is only trying to hinder the achievements the government is striving for.
She added that DA has problems with the BELA and NHI laws and wants to undo the achievements made. Ntshawheni emphasized that all parties agreed on the VAT increase and that DA is now trying to hold the country hostage to undo the achievements of the Expropriation Act.
“The DA wants to hold the country [at] ransom because they want to reverse the Expropriation Act,” Ntshavheni stated. “That would [be] the fundamental sin to the struggle to free South Africa. They tell you about VAT but in reality their issue is expropriation, they want to say we will support the budget if you scrap the expropriation act. The two has nothing to do with each other,” said Ntshavheni.
However, for the EFF, this is the moment for black political parties to unite.
“DA Exposed For Agreeing to 0.5% VAT Increases Over The Next Two Years In Exchange For Scrapping Of BELA Act and Expropriation Act!
The DA Does Not Care For The Poor And Is Using The Budget As A Bargaining Tool At The Expense Of South Africans,” said the Economic Freedom Fighters following the revelations by minister Godongwana that the DA had written to Ramaphosa.
The ANC is holding its National Executive Committee meeting this weekend and Secretary General Fikile Mbalula reiterated that the party remains willing to work with the EFF should the need arise.
Mbalula also confirmed the ANC was talking to other parties regarding the budget.
He slammed the DA’s attempt to use the budget process to force a reversal of the expropriation act.
“As expected, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has once again revealed its anti-transformation agenda by opposing this progressive budget proposal. Their opposition is not based on concerns for fiscal responsibility but is instead a desperate attempt to undermine transformation, protect white monopoly capital, and roll back the democratic gains made over the past three decades.
The DA seeks to use the budget process as leverage to renegotiate its role within the GNU, not because it has the interests of the people at heart, but because it is determined to advance an agenda that prioritises privilege over progress,” said a disturbed Mbalula.
The DA’s anti transformation approach has caused discomfort even among its representatives in the GNU who, in their ministerial positions, are tasked with implementing the very laws the party is opposing.
Mbalula agreed with both cabinet ministers Godongwana and Ntshawheni saying “as expected, the Democratic Alliance has once again demonstrated its anti-transformation agenda by opposing this progressive budget proposal. Their position is not based on a concern for fiscal responsibility but a desperate attempt to undermine transformation, protect white monopoly capital and roll back the democratic gains made over the past three decades,” he said.
“DA seeks to use the budget process as leverage to redefine its role in the GNU, but not because it has the interests of the people at heart, but because it intends to push an agenda that prioritizes privilege over progress,” Mbalula pointed out.
Mbalula also said the DA had not been honest about why it rejected the VAT increase. He accused the party of wanting South Africa to return to the “good old days” of apartheid economic privilege. “We do not believe that these are policy issues for which the budget should be used to block change. Their opposition to raising VAT is not about protecting the poor. It is about ensuring that economic policies serve corporate interests at the expense of working-class South Africans,” he argues.
“The ANC-led government has prioritized the expansion of the zero VAT basket of goods to protect the poor from the rising cost of living. The expansion of this basket ensures that staple foods remain affordable, which directly addresses food insecurity among the most vulnerable,” Mbalula added.
Analysts said the Democratic Alliance is facing growing internal divisions in this regard. This is due to a series of setbacks on key policy issues in the government of national unity. Some party leaders have questioned the appropriateness of DA’s participation in the coalition, expressing concerns about long-term strategy and influence.
Since joining the GNU after the 2024 elections, the DA has failed to advance its priority initiatives, causing frustration among party members. A senior DA official, who wished to remain anonymous, characterized the party’s current position as “weak and ineffective.”
In their desperation, DA seek to create an Israeli-Gaza-type situation using the Western Cape as their political salvo—a scenario in which African and Coloured people of the province would be treated as subhuman in the land of their birth, added Mbalula, adding that this is the reason behind their insistence on Cape Town’s port being conceded—an attempt to carve out an economic enclave where the interests of the privileged are protected at the expense of the majority.
“They have further demanded changes to labour laws that would allow employers to fire workers at will, without due process or legal recourse, effectively returning the country to the draconian conditions that allowed apartheid to thrive on the exploitation of black workers,” he said.
Political analyst Dr. Levy Ndou said disunity in the Government of National Unity (GNU) regarding the budget will give other political parties a reason to start mobilising communities.
“You should expect this kind of other activities from other political parties because when there is no unity in the GNU it is a good chance for those that are outside the GNU to act and to start mobilising communities around such issues.”
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