Actionsa Ready To Join Government If Anc Invites It: Herman Mashaba

ActionSA is ready to join the government of national unity GNU if the African National Congress ANC and President Cyril Ramaphosa invite it, its leader Herman Mashaba says.

Mashabas revelation comes after ActionSA and the ANC reached an agreement on Tuesday 1 April to resolve the impasse on the budget.

Under the deal, ActionSA tabled a proposal in Parliaments standing committee on finance to scrap the proposed 0.5 percentage-point increase in value added tax VAT .

The proposal also reverses the National Treasurys decision not to adjust income tax brackets in line with inflation. Further, it mandates the National Treasury to come up, within 30 days, with alternative proposals to raise the R28 billion budget shortfall that would have been covered by these tax measures.

The committee, including members from the ANC, voted to accept ActionSAs proposals in its budget report. The select committee on finance was similarly expected to back the report, setting the stage for the National Assembly to vote on it on Wednesday.

In an interview with Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday evening, Mashaba was asked if this deal could lead to his party joining the GNU.

How are we going to get into GNU at this stage because it is in place, and it is up to the ANC to decide. But if they do feel that they want to invite us into government, then absolutely, ActionSA will accept that, he said.

Its the presidents decision to put together a cabinet. If it does happen that he invites ActionSA to be part of government, we would gladly participate in ensuring that we keep our country stable.

If approved by the National Assembly, the compromise gives the National Treasury additional time to crunch the numbers and potentially make sweeping changes to the budget Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana tabled in March.