South African Canegrowers call on Parliament to get sight of Treasury's sugar tax policy-making

Sugarcane industry organisation SA Canegrowers has written to the chairperson of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance requesting oversight into the National Treasury’s policy-making regarding the Health Promotion Levy (HPL), which is also known as the sugar tax. The organisation says this request comes after the Treasury failed to respond to a request under the Promotion of Access to Information Act to provide the reasoning behind the ongoing implementation and the planned increase of the levy. The sugar industry has struggled for close to five years under the yoke of an unsubstantiated health intervention with no evidence whatsoever of its effectiveness. However, there is ample evidence regarding how the continued implementation of the levy threatens the future sustainability of the industry and the one-million livelihoods it supports, says SA Canegrowers chairperson Andrew Russell. "This request has also been made ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana delivering his ...