South Africa plans to spend more on health and defense after US cuts aid

South African lawmakers plan to increase value added tax by 0.5% to boost health and defense budgets, with an additional 28.9 billion rand allocated for health spending to offset U.S. aid cuts. The move aims to support the health system’s response to HIV, which has 5.5 million people on antiretroviral drugs, while also allocating 5 billion rand to strengthen military forces. The government also plans to raise VAT by another 0.5% annually to fund various sectors, sparking criticism from political and civic groups but seen as necessary to maintain social welfare programs and avoid further spending cuts.

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