Moeletsi Mbeki Criticises Proposed 2% VAT Hike, SA Laughs As He Claims ANC Aren’t Pro-poor Anymore
- Moeletsi Mbeki weighed in on the 2% VAT hike that was proposed as part of the original budget speech
- The political analyst claimed that the African National Congress (ANC) no longer cared about the poor
- South Africans disagreed with Mbeki's stance, adding that the ANC only cared about its own members
Source: Getty Images
Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has spent a decade reporting on the South African political landscape, crime and social issues.
Moeletsi Mbeki believes that the African National Congress (ANC) has stopped caring about the poor people.
The political analyst made the comments during an interview with the SABC, during which he discussed the proposed 2% Value Added Tax (VAT) increase that forced the postponement of the budget speech.
The budget speech was scheduled for 19 February 2025 but was postponed after all the parties within the Government of National Unity could not agree on all aspects of the proposed budget.
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Source: Getty Images
While the Democratic Alliance originally claimed some credit for forcing the speech's postponement, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said that the ANC members rejected the VAT increase first.
Mbeki weighs in on proposed VAT increase
During the interview, Mbeki was asked whether he was surprised that the ANC was considering the hike considering that they were a “progressively, pro-poor party”.
The brother of former state president Thabo Mbeki then made the admission that the ANC were no longer worried about the poor.
“The ANC was pro-poor. It is no longer pro-poor. It’s pro-middle class,” he said.
He added that it explained why huge salaries were paid to the middle class in the public sector and why the party could casually impose a huge cost on the poor.
“You must remember who took the ANC from being a majority party to a minority party. It’s the poor who have abandoned it, who have stopped voting for it.”
He added that as a result, the ANC didn’t see the poor as its constituency anymore because they didn’t get votes from them anymore.
South Africans don’t agree with Mbeki
Social media users weighed in on the political analyst’s comments, saying that the ANC was never pro-poor.
@mark_wuger said:
“The ANC has never been pro-poor.”
@ASZulu asked:
“When has the ANC ever been pro-poor?”
@Markosonke1 added:
“Moeletsi Mbeki is being too kind. This government isn’t pro-poor, pro-middle class, or even pro-progress. They’re just pro-wallet, as long as it’s theirs.”
@Monde616 stated:
“ANC is pro-greed.”
@TGrifiths said:
“ANC is pro-tenderpreuners.”
@havdh4024 added:
“No, he lies. The failed ANC is pro their own cadres. Voetsek ANC propaganda.”
@grumpy_African stated:
“The ANC is pro the leadership of the ANC. They do not care about any other South Africans.”
Mbeki says the ANC will loot more before elections
Despite being the song of ANC stalwart Govan Mbeki, Moeletsi has often been critical of the party recently.
On 28 February 2023, he claimed that the ANC would ramp up corruption the closer it came to losing power.
Mbeki claimed in the 15 months leading up to the 2024 election, party members will try to loot as much as possible.
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Source: Briefly News
