'do Your Worst:' Defiant Da On Anc's Eff Trump Card In Budget Crisis

The Democratic Alliance DA has dared the African National Congress ANC to do your worst as the budget deadlock in the government of national unity GNU deepens.

On Sunday 2 March, Sunday Times reported that the ANC had accepted a National Treasury proposal of a 0.75 percentage-point increase in value added tax VAT.

However, the DA reportedly rejected the proposal, which was lower than the 2 percentage-point hike mooted earlier. According to the publication, the ANC threatened to approach Economic Freedom Fighters EFF for the required votes to pass the budget.

It is a shame that the ANC is willing to risk South Africa's economic stability in a desperate attempt to force a tone-deaf 0.75 VAT increase down the throats of South Africans, DAs finance spokesperson Dr Mark Burke said in a statement on Sunday.

The DA refuses to be held hostage or intimidated by the ANC's blatant threat to approach the EFF to pass this VAT-based budget. This is not responsible or collaborative governance-it is reckless and places further strain on the economy.

Burke said the DA is pushing for pro-growth, pro-jobs and actual alternatives, including spending smarter and capacitating the South African Revenue Service.

The DA stands for responsible financial leadership that does not sacrifice the future of our nation for short-term political gains. Our message to a backdoor ANC and EFF deal is to do your worst. We will do our best, he added.

The EFF opposed the 2-percentage point VAT increase. If they succeed in increasing VAT, it will trigger the most powerful wave of tax resistance and boycotts South Africa has ever seen in the democratic dispensation, its leader Julius Malema said recently .

The cabinet was set to meet on Monday to finalise a revised budget, which is scheduled to be presented to Parliament on 12 March.