In a stunning display of political sleight-of-hand, ActionSA and its leadership have plunged into a quagmire of their own making, voting for a 0.5% VAT increase in South Africa’s 2025 Budget while simultaneously crowing about their supposed triumph in halting it. This brazen contradiction, coupled with their subsequent attempts to rewrite the narrative through misleading X posts—some of which were quietly deleted—exposes a party more concerned with optics than integrity. ActionSA’s leaders, including Herman Mashaba and Athol Trollip, have not only betrayed the trust of South Africans but have also revealed a troubling lack of understanding of the legislative processes they claim to navigate. This is a story of incompetence, duplicity, and a desperate attempt to dodge accountability.
The Vote That Wasn’t What It Seemed
On April 1, 2025, ActionSA threw its weight behind the ANC’s fiscal framework in Parliament, a move that effectively greenlit the 0.5% VAT increase set to take effect on May 1, 2025. The party’s support came with a caveat: a non-binding recommendation that the National Treasury find alternative revenue sources within 30 days to avoid the hike. This recommendation, as critics swiftly pointed out, was little more than a fig leaf—a toothless gesture with no legal weight, as the fiscal framework’s passage locked in the VAT increase unless the entire Budget process were restarted, an unlikely prospect given the tight timeline.
Yet, ActionSA’s leaders wasted no time patting themselves on the back. On April 1, the party issued a triumphant statement on its website, declaring a “major victory” in scrapping the VAT increase and income tax bracket creep. The claim was echoed by MP Alan Beesley, who insisted ActionSA had protected South Africans from “regressive and unsustainable tax increases.” These assertions were not only premature but fundamentally misleading, as the VAT hike remained firmly in place, with no guarantee the Treasury would—or could—reverse it before the May 1 deadline.
X Posts: A Trail of Lies and Deletions
ActionSA took their victory lap to X, where they and their leaders amplified the narrative that they had heroically stopped the VAT increase. Posts from party accounts and prominent figures like Mashaba and Trollip celebrated their “fiscal victory” and framed their vote as a stand for the people. One such post, widely circulated on April 1, boldly claimed, “ActionSA has ensured the VAT hike is scrapped, protecting South Africans from economic hardship.”
But as public backlash grew and commentators exposed the hollowness of their claims, ActionSA’s X feed began to look suspiciously sparse. Several of these boastful posts vanished, deleted in an apparent attempt to scrub the evidence of their overreach. X users were quick to call out the disappearing act, with one noting, “ActionSA’s deleting their VAT ‘victory’ posts faster than you can say ‘we got played by the ANC.’” Another user,
@JacquesMaree73, warned followers to brace for ActionSA’s “24/7 gaslighting” as the party tried to spin their vote into something it wasn’t.
The deletions didn’t erase the damage. Screenshots and archived posts kept the truth alive, fueling a wave of ridicule and distrust. “You can’t delete your way out of a betrayal,” quipped
@madaboutmarkets, capturing the sentiment of a public fed up with ActionSA’s duplicity. The party’s attempt to control the narrative only deepened the perception that they were more interested in saving face than owning their mistake.
Leadership’s Role in the Farce
At the helm of this debacle are ActionSA’s leaders, whose actions and words have only compounded the party’s embarrassment. Herman Mashaba, the party’s president, has been particularly vocal, insisting ActionSA’s support for the fiscal framework was conditional and that the ANC would face consequences if the VAT hike wasn’t reversed. Yet his tough talk rings hollow when juxtaposed with the reality: ActionSA’s vote enabled the very tax increase they claim to oppose. Mashaba’s refusal to acknowledge this contradiction, coupled with his threats to withhold future support, smacks of posturing rather than principle.
Athol Trollip, ActionSA’s parliamentary leader, has fared no better. His defense of the vote as a strategic move to buy time for revenue alternatives ignores the legislative reality that the VAT hike is now gazetted and all but inevitable without a Budget overhaul. Trollip’s claim that the party will “own any mistake” if the ANC reneges feels like a preemptive excuse rather than a genuine commitment to accountability. Meanwhile, Alan Beesley’s repeated assertions that ActionSA’s recommendations secured a victory for taxpayers only underscore the party’s disconnect from the practical outcomes of their actions.
The Public’s Verdict: Betrayal and Incompetence
The backlash on X has been relentless, with users accusing ActionSA of everything from naivety to outright collusion with the ANC. “They voted FOR the VAT hike because they were dribbled by the ANC,” wrote
@Paldron, echoing a common sentiment that ActionSA was outmaneuvered by a savvier ruling party.
@Recon1_ZA, didn’t mince words, calling the party’s leadership “literally that stupid” for accepting a meaningless recommendation in exchange for their vote.
The DA, a vocal opponent of the VAT increase, has capitalized on ActionSA’s misstep, accusing them of “betraying South Africans” and condemning the poorest to a higher cost of living. While the DA’s rhetoric carries its own political agenda, it resonates with a public grappling with the prospect of higher prices on everyday goods. ActionSA’s insistence that they’ve protected South Africans rings increasingly hollow as the May 1 VAT hike looms.
A Party Unmoored
ActionSA’s handling of the VAT vote reveals a deeper malaise: a party unmoored from the realities of governance and overly reliant on populist rhetoric. Their claim to champion the downtrodden clashes starkly with their vote for a regressive tax that disproportionately burdens low- and middle-income households. Their deletion of X posts suggests a party more concerned with managing perceptions than addressing the fallout of their decisions. And their leaders’ refusal to admit error—opting instead for defiant spin erodes any pretense of authenticity.
South Africans deserve better than this political theater. ActionSA had an opportunity to stand firm against a tax hike that will squeeze an already struggling populace. Instead, they voted for it, celebrated as if they hadn’t, and then tried to erase the evidence when called out. The party’s actions are not just a betrayal of their supporters but a damning indictment of their readiness to govern. As
@RyanCoetzee aptly put it on X, “They think people are too stupid to see what they have done. They are wrong.”
ActionSA’s leaders must now face the music. If they truly believe in putting South Africans first, they’ll stop the spin, own their mistake, and fight tooth and nail to reverse the VAT hike before it’s too late. Anything less is just noise loud, dishonest, and utterly unworthy of the trust they seek.
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