Following the withdrawal of the controversial value-added tax (VAT) increase, ahead of planned implementation on May 1, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is calling for the resignation of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, for supposedly posing a threat to South Africa’s economy.

VAT will remain at 15%, following Treasury consultations with political parties. The Democratic Alliance and the EFF took government to court over the proposed VAT hike of 0.5%, after which Godongwana presented both parties with out-of-court settlements.

Treasury says, without the VAT increase, the estimated revenue will fall short by about R75-billion over the medium term.

The EFF said the Budget was misguided, ill-conceived and reckless and failed to recognise South Africa’s economic circumstances and said, as a result, Godongwana and the Treasury director-general should resign.

“The Budget failed to respond decisively to the crisis of unemployment and poor economic growth that now threatens a national economic collapse. South Africans need jobs and economic growth urgently, and the State is the only institution with the capacity to respond — yet the National Treasury remains obsessed with an unscientific fiscal anchor strategy that will only plunge South Africa into a deeper crisis,” the party said.

With the withdrawal of the Budget, the 2025 Fiscal Framework is redundant, the EFF pointed out, noting that, legally, Godgongwana did not comply with the Budget process.

The EFF wants Parliament’s National Speaker to call a meeting with all political party leaders and to release all correspondence with Godongwana.

“Effectively, the country does not have a Budget, and the Finance Minister failed to table a lawful Budget by the 31st of March 2025, as required by Section 27 of the Public Finance Management Act. This entire Budget fiasco should be a reflection for the Minister of Finance and his director-general that they are out of depth and pose a threat to the economic stability of the country and, by consequence, are a threat to the livelihoods of South Africans,” the EFF said.

The party said it would consider the Minister’s out-of-court settlement but wanted to see the Budget process reset, arguing that it was currently illegal and unconstitutional.