Friday, 14 November 2025

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) wishes to express its disappointment with the way Parliament’s Joint Finance Committees have processed the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement tabled by the Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, on the 13th of November 2025.

The joint committee meeting, comprised of the Standing Committee on Finance, Standing Committee on Appropriations and the Select Committee on Finance and Appropriations, met today to deliberate with the Finance Minister and the officials of the National Treasury, but it turned out to be a waste of time, rubber-stamping the MTBPS and allowing the National Treasury to get away with failures that will impact our lives.

The meeting was attended by all members of these committees who were prepared and ready to engage the Finance Minister and the National Treasury on their misguided revised 3% inflation targeting, influenced by JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), continued austerity, failure to grow the economy and create jobs.

The Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Appropriations, Dr. Mmusi Maimane, who is also part and parcel of the African National Congress (ANC) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) coalition, rushed an important meeting that ended up becoming nothing but a rubber-stamping meeting, giving the National Treasury a free pass on their obvious failures.

The EFF is particularly concerned by the manner in which the National Treasury officials just sat there, did not take any notes, and even when the Members of Parliament implored them, saying they have constituencies that need answers on the failure of the fiscal and monetary policy, they were not moved. These are the very same people who engage and participate in IMF, World Bank and bank-organised events religiously as if their lives depend on them.

We will write to the Committees’ Chairpersons to demand that the Committees reconvene the meeting, and that the National Treasury must come prepared to answer all the questions and provide the necessary information. We cannot sacrifice the livelihoods of workers because the Chairperson of the meeting and National Treasury officials are rushing for a flight.

ISSUED BY ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS

Sinawo Thambo (National Spokesperson) 072 629 7422

Thembi Msane (National Spokesperson) 061 467 8169

Andiswa Madikazi (Parliament Media Liason) 069 516 4924

Thato Lebyane (Media Inquiries) 078 563 1581