By Doreen Mokgolo
- Fikile Mbalula said people calling for the finance minister to be fired were just trying to score political points.
- He slammed the Democratic Alliance’s court challenge against equity laws as a “political stunt” ahead of Workers’ Day.
Finance minister Enoch Godongwane still has the backing of the ANC, despite calls for his removal after the backlash to his proposed Value Added Tax (VAT) changes.
ANC secretary Fikile Mbalula said there will be no repeat of the “weekend special” situation, a reference to short-lived ministers, and dismissed the idea of firing Godongwana.
He accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) of using the VAT issue to score political points. Both parties rejected the proposal and went to court over it.
“It can’t be that the moment we face challenges like this budget issue, the first thing is to fire the minister,” said Mbalula.
He said Godongwana’s only “crime” was making proposals that were later disputed and revised.
Mbalula also claimed the DA used the VAT talks to push for unrelated changes. “They wanted a new labour regime where workers can be fired without due process, scrap affirmative action and roll back transformation,” he said.
“We refused to surrender to elitist-apartheid nostalgia or legal posturing,” he added.
Godongwana is expected to present a revised budget to Parliament on 21 May.
Mbalula didn’t stop there. He also criticised the DA’s court challenge against the Employment Equity Act. He called it a stunt meant to gain attention just before Workers’ Day.
The DA is taking the minister of Employment and Labour to court over Section 15A of the law, which they say is a radical shift from earlier equity laws.
Mbalula said the DA’s stance “is aimed at reversing three decades of democratic gains, an affront to workers, the poor and the constitution.”
He also attacked the DA’s actions in the Western Cape, saying employers are being advised to ignore the law and jobseekers are being told not to expect fair treatment.
“This is an illegal and immoral policy that betrays the principles of common citizenship and constitutional redress,” he said.
Pictured above: ANC leaders.
Image source: ANC
