All South Africans want is a decent life: to have a job, to be safe, to be healthy, and to know that their children have a future. The ANC has failed to deliver and must go
22 May 2025 - 05:00
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Finance minister Enoch Godongwana leaves a pre-budget press conference in Cape Town, February 19 2025. Picture: REUTERS/Esa Alexander
The first budget (1.0) with its VAT increase, and the incessant message that “it was the only option”, raised many questions. Why was this the only option? Surely, in a budget of nearly R2-trillion it would be possible to find a paltry R50bn or so? Stopping the huge “wasteful and unauthorised expenditure” quoted annually by the auditor-general would help.
Budget 2.0 still wanted an increase, so the message — “stop screwing the people of South Africa” — obviously hadn’t got through. The people of any country want the same things. They want a decent life: to have a job, to be safe, to be healthy, and to know that their children have a future.
By no stretch of the imagination has the ANC provided these for us. For the cadres, yes; for the people, no.
Service delivery has collapsed. Lack of education has a devastating effect on the youth. Unemployment is at 40%.
Money is not the problem — about R550bn has been given to state-owned entities in the past 15 years. Remove the graft and corruption and there would be lots more to go around.
The problem is how it has been spent: patronage to benefit the ANC. The public service is bloated and overpaid. The wage bill for public servants is 63% of our total cost, and there are 12,000 of them earning more than R1m a year.
The patronage extends to everybody, even insignificant political parties, as shown with budget 2.0, which Build One South Africa and ActionSA voted for. ActionSA needs a new name because it showed it was going, going, gone to the highest bidder. Rather call it AuctionSA.
Then we should not forget the scandals: Travelgate, the arms deal and state capture. Politicians helping themselves to public money continues unabated.
Actions speak louder than words. All our problems arise from choices made by the ANC. It must go.
If you value your freedom under the constitution, be wary of the ANC and its tripartite alliance. They want centralised control of not only the economy but also of you. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s term will end soon. Possible successors are Fikile Mbalula, Paul Mashatile and Panyaza Lesufi. What a ghastly thought!
Let us have a government “of the people, by the people, for the people” instead of “for the ANC”. Put South Africa first for a change, not last.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: Put South Africa first
All South Africans want is a decent life: to have a job, to be safe, to be healthy, and to know that their children have a future. The ANC has failed to deliver and must go
The first budget (1.0) with its VAT increase, and the incessant message that “it was the only option”, raised many questions. Why was this the only option? Surely, in a budget of nearly R2-trillion it would be possible to find a paltry R50bn or so? Stopping the huge “wasteful and unauthorised expenditure” quoted annually by the auditor-general would help.
Budget 2.0 still wanted an increase, so the message — “stop screwing the people of South Africa” — obviously hadn’t got through. The people of any country want the same things. They want a decent life: to have a job, to be safe, to be healthy, and to know that their children have a future.
By no stretch of the imagination has the ANC provided these for us. For the cadres, yes; for the people, no.
Service delivery has collapsed. Lack of education has a devastating effect on the youth. Unemployment is at 40%.
Money is not the problem — about R550bn has been given to state-owned entities in the past 15 years. Remove the graft and corruption and there would be lots more to go around.
The problem is how it has been spent: patronage to benefit the ANC. The public service is bloated and overpaid. The wage bill for public servants is 63% of our total cost, and there are 12,000 of them earning more than R1m a year.
The patronage extends to everybody, even insignificant political parties, as shown with budget 2.0, which Build One South Africa and ActionSA voted for. ActionSA needs a new name because it showed it was going, going, gone to the highest bidder. Rather call it AuctionSA.
Then we should not forget the scandals: Travelgate, the arms deal and state capture. Politicians helping themselves to public money continues unabated.
Actions speak louder than words. All our problems arise from choices made by the ANC. It must go.
If you value your freedom under the constitution, be wary of the ANC and its tripartite alliance. They want centralised control of not only the economy but also of you. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s term will end soon. Possible successors are Fikile Mbalula, Paul Mashatile and Panyaza Lesufi. What a ghastly thought!
Let us have a government “of the people, by the people, for the people” instead of “for the ANC”. Put South Africa first for a change, not last.
JE Harwood
Somerset West
ALSO READ
JUSTICE MALALA: There can’t be a fourth budget attempt
EDITORIAL: VAT … the actual heck!
DA ‘optimistic’ but Budget 3.0 still a work in progress
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Most Read
Published by Arena Holdings and distributed with the Financial Mail on the last Thursday of every month except December and January.