South Africa’s leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) party John Steenhuisen attends the first sitting of the National Assembly following elections, at the Cape Town International Convention Center (CTICC) in Cape Town, South Africa June 14, 2024. REUTERS/Nic Bothma/File Photo

JOHANNESBURG, March 12 (Reuters) – South Africa’s Democratic Alliance party said the National Treasury’s proposal to raise value-added tax in a budget tabled on Wednesday, which the DA has refused to support, put the coalition government at risk.

“The people of South Africa will be poorer, and the future of the government is at risk,” DA leader John Steenhuisen said in a statement.

(Reporting by Alexander Winning; Writing by Nellie Peyton; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)