Eff Threatens To Interdict Budget Vote Over 'procedural Illegality'

The Economic Freedom Fighters EFF has threatened legal action to stop the tabling of the budget report adopted by Parliaments standing committee on finance on Tuesday 1 April.

The report accepts the fiscal framework tabled by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his budget speech last month.

The acceptance is subject to a strict condition that National Treasury and the committee work towards an alternative revenue proposal instead of a 0.5 percentage-point increase in value added tax VAT and a lack of adjustment of personal income tax brackets in line with inflation.

ActionSA tabled the recommendations, which were backed by the ANC and Inkatha Freedom Party, leading to the reports adoption. The Democratic Alliance, EFF and uMkhonto weSizwe Party voted against the report.

The National Assembly is scheduled to vote on the committees report on Wednesday afternoon after another vote in the select committee on finance.

However, in an urgent letter to National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza, the party requested the withdrawal of the report from the order paper, citing procedural illegality.

It claimed members of the standing committee on finance were never asked to either accept or amend the fiscal framework and revenue proposals as required by Section 83 of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act of 2009.

Instead, members were asked to vote on whether they adopt the report, reject the report or reserve their right to vote, EFF claimed in its letter.

It further claimed that a final version of the committees report inserted the word accepts after the reports adoption.

Such a practice opens the door to administrative abuse, misrepresentation of the committees decisions and illegality, the party argued.