Mandela Threatens Protests Over South Africa Food Tax

Nelson Mandela said Friday the white government should have consulted the African National Congress before deciding to tax basic foods, and vowed to fight the plan with mass protests.

Accusing the government of being insensitive to black needs, Mandela said his ANC must protect the poor from the tax, “even if we destroy the economy.”

Starting March 31, the government plans to add a 10 percent tax to basic foods such as beans, milk, rice and lentils. This is a follow-up to the implementation in October of taxes on most goods and services, including medicine and many foods.

Critics of the new tax said it hurts the poor, and the ANC called a nationwide protest strike that virtually crippled the economy for two days in November.

If the additional tax goes through, protests will be even stronger, Mandela told about 300 pensioners, most of them black, at a rally.

When government leaders make decisions such as imposing new taxes, they should not only consult the ANC, “they must get our express approval,” Mandela said.

Earlier in the week, white voters unanimously approved the continuation of government talks with black leaders to end apartheid and give blacks political power.

Even though the government is discussing reforms, however, it remains “insensitive” to the needs of black people, Mandela said. “They are thinking of the interests of whites.”