With households already stretched thin, a VAT increase would have been a punishing move. OUTA is relieved - though not surprised that government held off. Not because they suddenly got fiscally responsible, but because public pressure, economic reality, and political shifts left them little choice.

We’ve said it before: government doesn’t need more money. It needs to manage what it has more responsibly. Holding VAT steady isn’t a favour - it’s basic economic justice.

But make no mistake: this decision proves that civil society pressure works. And we’ll keep applying it.

 

Read OUTA’s take on the decision here