EFF Leader
By Thabo Mosia
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has warned that the South African government could collapse if it fails to table a credible budget by July 2025. Speaking at a press briefing on 28 April 2025 (Monday) at Winnie Madikizela-Mandela House in Johannesburg, Malema’s warning follows a dramatic ruling by the Western Cape High Court. On 27 April 2025, the court suspended a planned 0.5% Value-Added Tax (VAT) increase and set aside the 2025 fiscal framework, plunging the nation’s budget process into uncertainty. This landmark decision has sparked heated debates, legal battles, and political tensions, with Malema placing the blame squarely on what he calls an “incompetent” Minister of Finance and National Treasury leadership.
A Nation at a Crossroads: The Court’s Ruling Shakes the Budget Process
The Western Cape High Court’s decision on 27 April 2025 sent shockwaves through South Africa’s political and economic landscape. The court ruled that the 2025 Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals, adopted by Parliament on 2 April 2025, were illegal. It suspended the VAT increase from 15% to 15.5%, which was set to begin on 1 May 2025, and granted the EFF permission to intervene in the legal challenge initially brought by the Democratic Alliance (DA). Costs were awarded against Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, the Speaker of the National Assembly, and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces.
The ruling stemmed from a fierce legal battle over the budget process. The DA and EFF argued that Parliament had failed to follow the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act, particularly Section 8(4), which requires a lawful fiscal framework before a budget can be passed. The court agreed, setting aside the framework and halting the VAT hike. This victory was celebrated by both parties, with the DA calling it “a win for every household, every breadwinner, and every South African,” while the EFF hailed it as a triumph for the poor and working class.
The African National Congress (ANC), however, took a more reserved stance. National spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said on 27 April 2025 that the ruling provided “legal certainty” to Godongwana’s earlier decision on 24 April to reverse the VAT increase. The ANC noted that Parliament would now need to chart the way forward, adjusting revenue and expenditure plans to address a projected R75 billion shortfall over the medium term.
The decision has far-reaching implications. South Africa’s economy, already battered by low growth, high unemployment, and rising inequality, now faces added uncertainty. Businesses, which had spent billions preparing for the VAT change, are left frustrated, while the public braces for potential cuts to critical services like healthcare and education as the government scrambles to fill the revenue gap.
Malema’s Speech: A Call for Justice and Accountability
At the press briefing on 28 April 2025, Malema delivered a powerful speech that went beyond the budget crisis. He began by paying tribute to the late Pope Francis, who had recently passed away. “The Economic Freedom Fighters extends its heartfelt condolences to the Vatican, to the Catholic Church, and to Catholics around the world on the passing of His Holiness, Pope Francis,” Malema said. He praised the Pope’s humility, his rejection of lavish traditions, and his outspoken stance against poverty, inequality, and colonialism. Malema highlighted Francis’s visits to war-torn African nations like Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as his condemnation of the “genocide unfolding in Gaza.”
Malema also reaffirmed the EFF’s solidarity with Palestine. “As we remember his life, let us never forget the people of Palestine and their resistance against the Apartheid Israel regime,” he urged. “Our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the people of Palestine and as South Africa we must never retreat from our solidarity with Palestine, even in the face of intimidation by the USA.”
Turning to the budget crisis, Malema unleashed a scathing attack on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and National Treasury Director-General Duncan Pieterse. “The EFF has long warned that the current Minister of Finance and the leadership of the National Treasury are incompetent, untrustworthy, and incapable of tabling a credible, believable, and lawful budget,” he declared. He accused them of being “detached from the economic realities faced by ordinary South Africans” and demanded their immediate resignation.
Malema traced the crisis back to Godongwana’s initial budget on 19 February 2025, which proposed a 2% VAT increase and no inflationary adjustment to income tax brackets. The EFF rejected it outright, arguing it ignored the depth of South Africa’s economic struggles. When Godongwana returned on 12 March with a revised budget, lowering the VAT hike to 0.5%, the EFF dismissed it as a “shallow political compromise” designed to appease financial markets rather than address unemployment and stagnation.
The EFF proposed an alternative vision: rejecting the VAT increase, adjusting personal income tax brackets by 4.5% to prevent bracket creep, raising corporate income tax from 27% to 28.5% in 2025/26 and 30.5% in 2026/27, introducing a Wealth Tax on luxury landholdings to raise R7.5 billion annually, and launching a R512 billion fiscal stimulus programme over three years. These measures, Malema argued, would build a developmental state focused on jobs and growth without burdening the poor.
Political Drama and Legal Showdowns
The budget crisis escalated into a political firestorm when the ANC, lacking a parliamentary majority, allegedly colluded with parties like the Inkatha Freedom Party, ActionSA, BOSA, Rise Mzansi, the Patriotic Alliance, and others to push the fiscal framework through on 1 April 2025. Malema accused them of “undermining democracy” and ignoring legal requirements. The EFF responded swiftly, sending a letter to the Speaker on the same day and raising objections in the National Assembly on 2 April. When the Speaker refused to act, suggesting a “conditional adoption” of the framework, the EFF turned to the courts.
On 26 April 2025, the EFF filed supplementary papers in the Western Cape High Court, joining the DA’s challenge. EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo explained on the same day: “This intervention is grounded in the EFF’s firm commitment to uphold constitutional principles, protect Parliament from unlawful political manipulation, and to protect South Africans from unjust taxation.” The court’s ruling the next day vindicated their stance, suspending the VAT increase and resetting the budget process.
Meanwhile, other parties weighed in. The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK Party) submitted a Motion of No Confidence against Godongwana, accusing him of betraying the poor by opting for a VAT hike instead of taxing the wealthy. The DA, led by Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille, celebrated the reversal as a result of their legal pressure, though they awaited a formal settlement offer from the Minister.
The ANC, however, framed the situation as a triumph of collaboration. On 25 April 2025, Bhengu-Motsiri highlighted a meeting with the DA and other parties, emphasizing “dialogue, nation-building, and consultation.” Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli added that the VAT reversal allowed focus to shift to “pro-poor and expansionary aspects of the budget,” like social support and infrastructure investment.
The Clock is Ticking: July 2025 Deadline Looms
Malema’s warning about a government collapse hinges on the urgent need for a new budget. “South Africa now faces an urgent task: a credible 3rd budget for the 2025/26 financial year must be tabled by no later than July 2025,” he said. “The current government must either deliver a lawful budget within this time frame or accept that its failure to do so will trigger a constitutional crisis leading to its collapse and fresh elections.”
The stakes are high. A R75 billion revenue shortfall looms, and National Treasury has warned of potential cuts to frontline services. Yet, the DA’s Karabo Khakhau rejected this, pointing to alternatives like reducing government advertising, freezing non-essential hiring, and auditing “ghost employees” in the public sector. The EFF, meanwhile, insists on a complete overhaul, rejecting austerity and neoliberal policies that Malema says cater to the “white capitalist establishment.”
Economic experts caution that failure to act could deepen South Africa’s woes. With unemployment at 32.9% in early 2025, GDP growth sluggish at 0.6% in 2024, and food inflation soaring, the budget crisis risks pushing the nation into chaos. Political instability, market panic, and even social unrest could follow if the July deadline is missed.
A Broader Vision: EFF’s Role in the Crisis
The EFF positions itself as a champion of the people in this saga. Malema highlighted the party’s track record—its “Back to School” campaign, leadership in exposing corruption, and introduction of the Student Debt Cancellation Bill—as proof of its commitment to economic freedom and social justice. “The EFF will continue to act with strategic clarity, revolutionary discipline, and unwavering commitment to the poor and working class,” he vowed.
The party has called on civil society, trade unions, and academics to join them in rebuilding the budget process. They envision a plan that prioritizes industrialisation, mass employment, and public services over cuts and regressive taxes. This stance contrasts sharply with the ANC’s multi-party talks and the DA’s focus on fiscal discipline and growth.
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