Namibia’s lean cabinet is a wake-up call for SA

This year’s budget speech has broken all sorts of political records and by the look of things, the drama will continue for some time to come.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and Treasury succeeded in tabling a motion to increase value-added tax (VAT) by one percentage point over the next two years. For it to be implemented, it will have to be agreed to by parliament, which will be tricky for the ANC.

Its current biggest partner by parliamentary seats, the DA, remains opposed to an increase in VAT. So, the ANC has threatened to seek the support it needs outside of its government of national unity (GNU) agreement.

Naturally, because this has been the case for both these partners since day one of the GNU, any disagreement is resolved with threats to leave the GNU, or seek other partners that are not part of the GNU.

The DA also threatens to walk away when it is not with AfriForum on overseas tours to seek support for itself against its unity partner.

This budget impasse has always been coming and how it is resolved will be a huge step of maturity for South Africa’s democracy.

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ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula was at pains to explain that the VAT increase was necessary because the fat had been trimmed, ministers’ budgets for cars had been cut from R1 million to half of that and they fly economy class on local trips instead of business class.

Sadly, he could not understand how off-key he was because for many years, he was a beneficiary of the same Ministerial Handbook.

But most importantly, Mbalula, the ANC and the president are arguing that rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic should have been enough to stop the ship from sinking.

It is not cosmetic changes like changing the brand of cars that ministers get transported in that will reduce the government wage bill and spending, but the removal of all deputy ministers and unnecessarily split Cabinet posts.

News that the incoming first female president of Namibia, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, is reducing her Cabinet to just 12 ministers and no deputy ministers should wake the ANC from its slumber. Trimming the fat is not going to be enough going forward, it is cutting the steak in half that is required.

The DA might feel somewhat justified in digging in its heels about exploring other ways of ensuring the government coffers stay healthy without increasing taxes.

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But it happily provided deputy ministers in all the positions it was offered in the GNU, to the extent that there are more deputy ministers than there are ministers in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet.

It fell into the ANC’s trap of placating dissenting voices with perks and positions without giving any consideration to the fact that each deputy minister is R1 too much for the distressed taxpayer.

The budget will eventually pass through parliament, with or without DA support.

VAT will be increased and some money will be collected to fund the National Health Insurance scheme and Covid grant in the short term. But what happens in two years, when there isn’t enough money for government programmes?

Economic growth and efficient tax collection cannot be replaced by taxing citizens to death.

A bloated Cabinet and civil service cannot be wished away by trimming the fat. Overburdened citizens will only grow more restless and resentful if they feel they are the only ones who are made to sacrifice for the greater good.

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