EFF says it's challenging the adoption of fiscal framework to protect 'democratic character' of Parliament
The party filed the court papers on Tuesday at the Western Cape High Court to challenge what it calls the 'unlawful and unconstitutional adoption' of the framework by the National Assembly on Wednesday last week.
CAPE TOWN - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has joined the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the legal fight against the recently adopted fiscal framework and revenue proposals, asking the court to declare it unconstitutional.
The party filed the court papers on Tuesday at the Western Cape High Court to challenge what it calls the "unlawful and unconstitutional adoption" of the framework by the National Assembly on Wednesday last week.
[BREAKING] The EFF has applied to join the legal action launched by the DA that seeks to suspend the report of the Standing Committee on Finance of the 2025 Fiscal Framework pending the finalisation of the Part B application & interdict its implementation. @ZOLEKV_Q pic.twitter.com/7jEZ07hBu2
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) April 8, 2025
The party said it had taken the step to approach the court as an "intervening party" because Parliament cannot continue to "operate as a rubber stamp for the executive".
The EFF's court application comes not long after the DA filed its own papers last week to interdict the value-added tax (VAT) increase in May and to challenge the country's tax laws and how the finance minister tables a VAT proposal without it being considered by Parliament first.
The red berets said their court application was a "necessary and principled" intervention to protect the "democratic character" of Parliament, and to ensure that processes were not reduced to what it called "unlawful and illegal processes by the ruling party".
EFF spokesperson Sinawo Thambo: "The EFF is asking the court to declare the National Assembly's adoption of the 2025 fiscal framework and revenue proposals invalid and unconstitutional. While the Standing Committee on Finance did consider a report on the fiscal framework, the committee failed to adopt this report in a manner consistent with the law and the rules of Parliament."
Thambo said the committee did not make the recommendations required by section 8(5) of the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act, and no deliberations or formal vote on the report took place before it was tabled by the House.
He said if the fiscal framework was adopted through an unlawful process, then all related legislation falls into legal uncertainty.