The African National Congress (ANC) has rejected and condemned the Democratic Alliance’s (DA’s) political approach following the withdrawal of the value-added tax (VAT) increase, describing the DA’s ideology as dangerous racial superiority.

ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri claimed that the DA’s politics seek to entrench the legacy of “exclusion, not dismantle it”.

On Wednesday, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana wrote to Speaker of the National Assembly Thoko Didiza to inform her that he would be withdrawing the Appropriation and Division of Revenue Bills.

These will now include spending adjustments to close the revenue gap left by the cancelled VAT increase.

Parliament will revisit expenditure to ensure fiscal sustainability without burdening the poor.

Bhengu-Motsiri pointed out that this outcome was not a victory for any one party, but a victory for citizens and for responsible, progressive leadership.

“It must be stated without ambiguity: the DA did not win in Cabinet, in Parliament, or in the courts. What they seek to brand as a ‘victory is in fact the result of ANC-led consultations and consensus-building,” she said.

Bhengu-Motsiri added the DA's “typical opportunistic attempt to claim victory is a continuation of their typical insult to South Africans whom they consider voting cattle with no sense of thinking or reasoning”.

She said this further demonstrated the party’s “incapacity” to understand principles of collaboration, persuasion and engagement, and stated that the DA continued to fashion themselves as "the baas in the room".

“If the DA was genuinely concerned with the well-being of the South African people, it would not have tied its Budget support to demands that roll back the gains of democracy—such as scrapping the National Health Insurance Act, the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, and the Expropriation Bill,” she explained.

Bhengu-Motsiri noted that these demands reflected a party beholden to the interests of the privileged few.

Meanwhile, the ANC asserted that the proposed 0.5% VAT increase was never its position, noting that it had never supported a regressive tax policy that burdened the working class and the poor.

The party reaffirmed its longstanding commitment to “transparent, inclusive, and people-centred governance.”

“Faced with a changed parliamentary landscape, the ANC rose to the occasion by leading an unprecedented process of inclusive engagement—both within the Government of National Unity and with opposition parties who demonstrated a sincere commitment to nation-building.

“This moment has ushered in a new chapter in our democratic evolution—one where principled cooperation, not narrow political point-scoring, shapes the national agenda,” she said.