Da Bigwig Urges Party To 'do Its Own Post-cabinet Media Briefings'

Democratic Alliance DA advisor and former strategist Ryan Coetzee has called on the party to have its own post-cabinet media briefings.

Coetzee was part of the DAs negotiating team during talks to form the government of national unity GNU last year.

The party is currently at odds with the African National Congress ANC and other parties in the GNU over the proposed 0.5 percentage-point increase in value added tax VAT.

At a post-cabinet media briefing on Thursday 13 March, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni claimed the DAs opposition to the VAT increase - and the budget - was linked to other contentious policies.

Their issue with VAT has nothing to do with their interest in protecting the poor. Their issue with VAT is that they are always interested in making sure that we dont achieve transformation gains, Ntshavheni claimed.

Its about politics. Its about the Basic Education Laws Amendment BELA Act and the National Health Insurance NHI. Its about those gains that have been registered that they want to reverse, and to reverse those, they will start with the Expropriation Act.

In a post on X , Coetzee disputed Ntshavhenis claims.

I think from now on the DA will do its own post-cabinet briefings because the suggestion the DA made the budget about BELA is a straight-up lie, he wrote.

The growth and spending reforms the DA wants would benefit all South Africans but especially the poor and unemployed. Unemployment is up from 22 to 33 under the ANC. Not exactly concern for the poor, is it? Coetzee added in another response to a similar claim by ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula.

Others who have made similar claims include ANC National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana .