Fiscal Betrayal: Budget 2.0’s GNU Stamp of Approval Masks South Africa’s Rotting Leadership”
The Anatomy of Fiscal Betrayal—Leaders Feast While the Poor Starve
South Africa is bleeding. The veins of this nation, once rich with promise, are now drained by the very hands sworn to protect them. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government wears the guise of a “Government of National Unity” (GNU). It stands accused not of leadership but of larceny. While the Treasury scrambles to slap a hasty “stamp of approval” on Budget 2.0 fiscal betrayal, the truth is clear. This administration would rather tax the crumbs off a beggar’s plate than recover the billions looted by its own elites.
The numbers don’t lie. South Africa’s debt-to-GDP ratio teeters at 75%. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s “solution” is to borrow more. This borrowing is primarily from foreign entities eyeing our minerals like vultures circling carrion. Meanwhile, the SIU estimates over R1.5 trillion has been siphoned from state coffers since 1994.
Much of it is tucked into Dubai property portfolios. It is also laundered through shell companies. While Ramaphosa talks about “growth” at G20 summits, his own Cabinet members are implicated in the Zondo Commission’s reports. They purchased luxury SUVs with funds meant for schoolbooks, clinics, and electrification programs.
This is fiscal betrayal. Not incompetence. Betrayal.
They take from us every day—VAT on paraffin, VAT on bread. But when will they take the Mercedes from the minister who stole my child’s school money?
VAT Hikes and Hollow Promises—The GNU’s Stamp of Hypocrisy
The GNU’s Budget 2.0 saga reads like a tragicomedy. Cabinet infighting forced the budget’s postponement. The ANC’s “compromise” was to float a 2% VAT hike. This move would shatter households already spending 40% of their income on food. DA leader John Steenhuisen called it “economic genocide.” COSATU’s Zwelinzima Vavi warned, “This isn’t a budget; it’s a death sentence for the working class.”
But why VAT? Because it’s easy. Because taxing the poor requires no courage, no confrontation with the Gucci-clad thieves hoarding public funds. Consider this: a 2% VAT increase would claw in R60 billion annually. Meanwhile, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has recovered just R5.9 billion from state capture cases since 2018—a drop in the ocean of stolen wealth. The message is clear: punish the vulnerable, protect the powerful.
Even the GNU’s “progressive” alternatives reek of hypocrisy. The ANC’s sudden interest in a wealth tax is a move the DA fears is a smokescreen. It ignores the fact that South Africa’s elite have perfected the art of tax evasion. Johan Rupert, South Africa’s richest man, pays an effective tax rate of 3%. In contrast, a domestic worker earning R3,500 a month surrenders 15% to SARS. Where is the GNU’s “stamp of approval” for closing these loopholes?
A Nation Held Hostage—Corruption’s Stranglehold on Tomorrow
The Zondo Commission’s 5,000-page report was supposed to be a roadmap to redemption. Instead, it collects dust while the rot metastasizes. Consider the RAF scandal. Godongwana warns of its “collapse.” R18 billion in fuel levy funds vanished in 2023 alone. These funds were diverted to bogus claims and connected intermediaries. Or consider the 500+ state entities—many redundant, all bloated—that guzzle R200 billion annually. The GNU’s answer? More committees. More delays. More betrayal.
Ramaphosa’s plea for “3% growth” is a pipe dream when investors flee a sinking ship. Moody’s recent downgrade warning cites “policy paralysis and persistent corruption” as key risks. Foreign direct investment has plummeted to 0.3% of GDP, yet the ANC clings to cadre deployment like a life raft, stuffing SOEs with unqualified loyalists. Meanwhile, SAPS struggles to combat gang violence. They have broken radios and empty tanks. At the same time, ministers’ private security bills exceed some towns’ annual budgets.
The People’s Fury—“We “Are Tired of Being Your ATM”
In Khayelitsha, single mother Nomthandazo Mkhize expresses the despair of millions. She says, “They take from us every day—VAT on paraffin, VAT on bread. But when will they take the Mercedes from the minister who stole my child’s school money?” Her anger echoes nationally. Black Sash protests have erupted in six provinces, with crowds chanting, “Tax the rich, feed the poor!” Even ANC strongholds like Limpopo report dwindling patience. One party stalwart anonymously admitted, “We’ve lost the moral right to govern.”
Yet the GNU’s response is tone-deaf. Ramaphosa calls the budget delay “unfortunate,” as if discussing a misplaced file, not a nation gasping for air. The EFF’s call for state-led infrastructure investment rings hollow. This is due to its own tender fraud scandals. The SACP’s demand for “worker-friendly policies” ignores its complicity in ANC graft.
This isn’t a budget; it’s a death sentence for the working class.
The Road Ahead—Reclaiming South Africa from the Abyss
The solution is no secret. As former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo pleaded, “Recover the stolen billions. Now.” The SIU hire 100 top forensic auditors tomorrow, funded by a fraction of the recovered loot. The DA’s anti-corruption bills, languishing since 2021, be fast-tracked to create an independent commission. Instead, the GNU fiddles, trapped in a web of its own making.
Privatise SAA. Dismantle Eskom’s monopoly. Slash the cabinet by half. These are not radical ideas—they’re survival tactics. Yet Budget 2.0 offers none of this, opting instead to debate which foot to shoot next.
Conclusion: A Future Stolen, A Nation Mourning
South Africa stands at a precipice. The GNU’s fiscal betrayal isn’t just a policy failure; it’s a generational theft. Every rand squandered on Nkandla upgrades or blue-light brigades is a university seat denied, a clinic shuttered, a dream deferred.
The ANC and its GNU partners are indecisive. Meanwhile, the poor are left to ask, If our leaders won’t save us, who will? The answer, etched in the tears of a hungry child, is a whisper lost to the wind.
FAQs on Fiscal Betrayal
What is “Fiscal Betrayal,” and why should I care?
“Fiscal Betrayal” is the systematic looting of public funds by South Africa’s leaders. Their greed forces the poor to suffer through higher taxes and crumbling services. You should care. Every rand stolen means a schoolbook is not printed. It means a hospital is not built. It also shows a future stolen from your children.
Why is the GNU pushing for VAT hikes instead of recovering stolen money?
Because taxing the poor is easier than confronting the corrupt elites who fund their campaigns and luxury lifestyles. The GNU’s “Fiscal Betrayal” exposes their cowardice—punishing the vulnerable while protecting the thieves in their ranks.
How does “Fiscal Betrayal” affect ordinary South Africans?
It means you pay more for bread, paraffin, and transport while watching politicians drive luxury cars bought with your taxes. It means your children sit in overcrowded classrooms while billions meant for education vanish into offshore accounts.
What can be done to stop “Fiscal Betrayal”?
Recover the stolen billions by empowering the SIU and fast-tracking the DA’s anti-corruption bills. Hold every corrupt official accountable, from the minister stealing tenders to the mayor buying a mansion with public funds.
Why should I trust the GNU to fix this mess when they created it?
You shouldn’t—the GNU’s “Fiscal Betrayal” proves they’re more interested in power than justice. Real change will only come when citizens demand accountability and vote out every leader who prioritises self-enrichment over service.
