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ActionSA banner at an event
ActionSA is adamant that it cannot support a bill that fuels the illicit economy after the party rejected the Rates and Monetary Amounts Bill in the National Assembly.
During a debate, ActionSA argued that South Africa was a tale of two economies, with a struggling legal economy growing at barely one percent and an illicit market expanding at more than six percent annually.
The party’s Member of Parliament, Alan Beesley, says, “The cheapest legal pack of cigarettes is R35, and the difference is just purely tax alcohol, 37 percent tax on alcohol. So it’s just absolutely crazy. We’re calling a massive, massive own goal. And as Action SA, we say we understand the thinking behind it, but until there’s actual prevention and enforcement of illegal trade.”
“ActionSA cannot support the Rates and Monetary Amounts Bill in its current form.
It empowers the illicit economy while undermining the legal one!” – @AlanDBeesley MP
🔗 Read more: https://t.co/QdJSkMRJ96#ActionSAinParliament pic.twitter.com/PSTeEOr5Pi
— ActionSA (@Action4SA) December 4, 2025
