Manyi emphasised that the country cannot continue to tolerate fruitless wasteful expenditure without consequences.

He opposed the idea of zero-rating foodstuffs as a trade-off for a VAT increase.

“Yes, we can zero rate the foodstuff, but that must not be a trade-off to increase VAT at any level,” Manyi said.

He added that increasing VAT would immediately lead to inflation and hurt the poor, who continue to pay for essential services, like transport, and electricity even if their food is zero-rated.

“We're not interested in that. We are saying this government must exercise political will and be pro-poor.”

Manyi called for a wealth tax on South Africa's richest citizens.

“All those people living in Camps Bay must pay wealth tax and they won't even feel it,” he argued.

“Corporate tax could go up by one percentage point. It's not going to kill anyone, but it will solve the problem. So, we are saying the solutions are on the table.”

He accused the government of lacking the political will to assist the poor and said it is out of touch with the realities of poverty and inequality in the country.

“We have the highest poverty and inequality in the whole world, a government that won’t move an inch to solve that problem,” Manyi added.

He warned that if Godongwana continues with the VAT increase on Wednesday, protests will intensify.

“If VAT goes up by two percentage points or by 0.75, it would result in more protests,” Manyi said.

“Picket lines, that's all we're going to do. We're going to make South Africa come to a standstill. We're going to bring our message and do a peaceful protest,” he said.

Meanwhile, the party has also slammed the liquidation of Ithala Bank, arguing that the issues surrounding the bank's closure were solvable.

“We are saying the technicalities around Ithala Bank are not matters that could not be resolved. Ithala Bank for all these years has been servicing our people diligently,” Manyi said.

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