For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Shomolekae.    

Making headlines: MKP says VAT increase a ‘declaration of war’, calls for national shutdown; IEC urges 192 inactive parties, including SACP, to renew registration or face cancellation; And, EU to sanction nine people over Congo violence

MKP says VAT increase a ‘declaration of war’, calls for national shutdown

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party termed the proposed value added tax increase a “declaration of war” against the black working-class and poor, and black small business owners, and said it is engaging with “progressive forces” to mobilise a national shutdown.

On Wednesday Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabled his delayed Budget that included lower, yet still controversial, increases to the VAT rate, as he sought to hold the fiscal-consolidation line amid rising spending pressures.

The proposals have to be voted on before being adopted by Parliament by the end of March, with various political parties, including Government of National Unity partners, vowing to not support it.

Earlier this week, the MKP marched in Pretoria, voicing its concerns, and it is now urging “aligned formations” across South Africa to prepare for mass resistance.

IEC urges 192 inactive parties, including SACP, to renew registration or face cancellation

The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa has given notice to 192 political parties of its intention to cancel their registration, unless representations are made by March 24.

The IEC said the inactive parties, not represented in any legislative body, have not contested general elections since they were registered and had not renewed their registration by January of this year.

The South African Communist Party was one of the parties served with a notice.

The IEC said it was important to correct the size of the voting register to avoid unnecessary confusion for voters.

It said given increased contestation in elections and the ever-increasing entrance of new political parties, it is crucial that the register of parties is kept current and those parties with no intention of contesting future elections are de-registered.

The IEC explained that the cancellation will free the usage of names, abbreviated names and colour schemes for the logos of aspirant electoral contestants.

And, EU to sanction nine people over Congo violence

The European Union is expected to sanction nine individuals in connection with violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, two EU diplomats said today.

They did not identify the people set to be listed, in keeping with the practice of not revealing such details before the sanctions are officially approved. EU foreign ministers are expected to approve the sanctions in Brussels on Monday.

Rebels of the M23 group have seized east Congo's two biggest cities since January in an escalation of a long-running conflict rooted in the spillover into Congo of Rwanda's 1994 genocide and the struggle for control of Congo's vast mineral resources.

Congo is currently considering whether to send representatives to peace talks with the M23 group that Angola plans to host next week, government sources said on Thursday.

Rwanda is accused of backing the Tutsi-led M23 rebels, a charge it denies.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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