The DA is pinning its hopes on its representation within the government of national unity (GNU) to lobby for a change in policy towards the health promotion levy (sugar tax), which it believes should be scrapped entirely, or at least not increased. 

The levy was introduced in 2018 to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks in a bid to deal with SA’s obesity problem, which results in a range of non-communicable diseases such as type 2 diabetes. It is estimated 68% of women and 31% of men in SA are overweight or obese, the treatment of which costs the health system billions of rand annually. ..

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