MK Party calls for Finance Minister Godongwana's resignation amid economic turmoil

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) has joined the growing list of organisations calling for Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's resignation. 

The party has also formally tabled a motion of no confidence against Godongwana in Parliament, citing his tenure marked by fiscal mismanagement, contempt for the poor, and loyalty to discredited neoliberal dogma. 

"South Africans deserve leadership that rejects austerity and market fundamentalism. They deserve a bold, caring, and people-driven economic future, one led by the MK Party," it stated.

The party's call comes after the Western Cape High Court's decision to suspend the “unlawful” VAT increase announced by the ANC and DA-led Government of National Unity (GNU).

The MK Party is the latest party to call for his resignation after the EFF and the DA. 

It described the GNU's economic policies as an "austerity dictatorship" that has brutally imposed suffering on South Africans. 

In a statement, the party's spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela highlighted the failures of the GNU's Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan (ERRP), which it claims is a blueprint for mass impoverishment.

The MK Party criticised the ERRP, saying it is built on savage austerity, anti-worker reforms, and stifling monetary policy that has destroyed any prospect of meaningful recovery. 

"The so-called 'differences' between the ANC and DA are pure theatre, a choreographed spectacle between ideological twins committed to deepening inequality and looting the country," Ndhlela said.

He renewed the party’s call for a bold, people-centred economic programme that invests in infrastructure, job creation, and re-industrialisation.

The party also called for guarantees of social protection, food security, and economic justice, and for strengthening the developmental role of the state.

The MK Party also proposed the nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and mandating it to prioritise growth, employment, and development alongside inflation management. 

"The SARB has fuelled this assault through aggressive interest rate hikes, refusing to cut rates amid worsening economic hardship." 

According to the party, Godongwana's call for resignation comes amid a deepening economic crisis in South Africa. The country is facing high levels of unemployment, poverty, and inequality, with many citizens struggling to access basic services like electricity, water, and transport.

The MK Party's call for Godongwana's resignation adds to the growing pressure on the Finance Minister to step down.

 EFF’s president Julius Malema, on Monday called for Godongwana’s resignation after the court’s full bench set aside the adopted 2025 Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals and suspended the implementation of the 0.5 percentage point VAT increase which was set to come into effect on May 1.

The EFF and the DA had approached the court to have the VAT increase announcement by Godongwana as well the adoption of the finance committees' report by both Houses set aside.

After the matter was argued, the Finance Minister announced that the VAT increase would not be implemented, saying his legal team had settled the matter outside of court with the DA.

Despite defending his initial Budget proposal, Godongwana welcomed the court decision.

However, he said the proposal was constitutional and appropriate given the limited options at his disposal to find the R75 billion shortfall. 

The ANC said the court provided legal certainty affirming the decision already taken by Godongwana.

"Parliament is now expected to pronounce on the way forward on the processing of the envisaged changes to the revenue proposals and the expenditure adjustments,” the ANC said.

mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za