Dr Reneva Fourie
SOUTH Africans are being held hostage in a game of political point-scoring. Parliament barely passed the National Budget due to the shenanigans of a few self-serving parties.
Those defeated in Parliament are threatening court action, seeking to plunge our country into a fiscal crisis. It would bode them well to appreciate that behind the political manoeuvring and budget numbers are real people whose lives hang in the balance while they indulge in pettiness.
For most South Africans, these political games have substantive negative consequences in terms of delayed services, infrastructure development, and social support.
The tensions around the budget highlight structural and ideological crises within South Africa’s political landscape. As South Africa grapples with growing inequality, high unemployment, and persistent poverty, the failure of coalition politics to produce coherent, impactful governance represents more than just political dysfunction – it represents a betrayal of the promise of post-2024 government to serve the interests of the people of this country better.
When political parties use essential fiscal processes for point-scoring, it is invariably the most vulnerable that suffer the consequences of delayed decision-making and policy implementation.
Instead of prioritising the people, political leaders are using the budget process as leverage in their ongoing disputes. The ANC, DA, MKP, and EFF remain gridlocked, unable to reach an agreement on a budget that should serve all South Africans.
Their failure to secure a consensus on the budget indicates that governance is no longer about serving the people. While the government proceeded to push through the budget, the ANC continues to try to appease Western powers and the DA rather than expelling them for the so-called Government of National Unity (GNU).
The DA, a party historically aligned with neoliberal policies, tried to once again create a budget impasse in an endeavour to reverse legislation meant to address systemic inequalities.
The DA’s refusal to support the budget after participating in its formulation is proof that their political interests supersede national priorities. Despite having a Deputy Minister sitting in the Treasury, who engaged directly in drafting budgetary plans, the DA’s refusal to support the budget demonstrates a deliberate strategy to sabotage meaningful legislative progress.
It wished to leverage the budget process to drive privatisation and undermine essential transformative legislation while hypocritically pretending to be concerned about the South African populace.
This includes blocking vital initiatives like the National Health Insurance, the Basic Education Laws Amendment, and the Land Expropriation Acts. It is also vehemently opposed to wealth and corporate taxes.
The ongoing debacle around the budget is a direct attack on the country’s majority, who are left to bear the consequences of elite political games. Each of these initiatives holds the potential to bridge systemic inequities, yet the DA continues to resist them, revealing a deep-seated agenda that prioritises the preservation of privilege over uplifting the marginalised.
Then, in an admission that encapsulates the political dysfunction gripping South Africa, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana revealed recently that the former proposed 2 percentage points VAT increase was introduced simply because he was tired of people complaining about austerity.
This shocking statement underscores the disconnect between government leaders and the realities faced by South Africans.
Such a significant VAT increase would have disproportionately impacted people experiencing poverty, who already struggle with the high cost of living.
The careless remark by the Minister also undermined his credibility, as South Africans can no longer accept that his egotistical opting for an easy, regressive tax hike is a necessary intervention.
The coalition’s failure to secure a consensus on the budget exposes the cracks in the GNU. South Africans were sold the idea that an ANC-DA coalition would ensure stability, yet it operates more like a ship adrift without a captain where policy-making is hijacked by political manoeuvring.
The overall paralysis in governance means that crucial programmes hang in limbo, further entrenching the suffering of those who depend on state intervention.
The DA cannot drive departments allocated to them when they are unwilling to support the budget. Their failure to support a well-structured budget delays essential interventions meant to drive development.
The refusal of coalition partners to align on core issues suggests that this GNU is fundamentally unsustainable.
Tactical alliances devoid of ideological congruence create a landscape hostile to transformative change. South Africans will not be able to bear four more years of DA obstructionism.
South Africa cannot afford a political class that prioritises power over people. The public must demand accountability from all parties involved. The ANC must clarify whether it is committed to the transformational policies it once championed or is beholden to Western powers and the domestic bourgeoisie.
The DA must stop its duplicity. It cannot participate in budget formulation and then turn around to block its passage for political gain. The EFF and MKP must rise above personality clashes. If they claim to represent the interests of the marginalised, they must engage in constructive negotiations rather than ideological grandstanding.
This incessant political posturing is turning the government’s cloak of unity into something far less palatable: a cloak that offers little comfort to the millions of South Africans struggling for basic necessities.
When tensions and political gamesmanship overshadow accountability to citizens, it leads to governance paralysis where transformational programmes languish in limbo. The tensions around the National Budget are not just a political inconvenience; it is an indictment of a government that has abandoned its people in favour of political expediency.
The only beneficiaries of this gridlock are those in power who enjoy their parliamentary and Cabinet seats while their constituents suffer. Until South Africa’s leaders prioritise governance over power, the people will continue to pay the highest price for their political games.
Dr Reneva Fourie is a policy analyst specialising in governance, development and security and co-author of the book ‘The Art of Power: Pursuing Liberation and Nation-building’.