Mark John Burke | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the National Assembly of South Africa | |
| Assumed office 25 June 2024 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mark John Burke 1989 Free State, South Africa |
| Political party | Democratic Alliance |
| Spouse | Talia Simone da Silva Burke |
| Occupation | Member of Parliament |
| Profession | Politician |
Mark John Burke is a South African politician who has been a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa for the Democratic Alliance (DA) since 2024.
Burke was born in 1989 in Free State and is a native speaker of Afrikaans. [1] He earned two bachelor's degrees in Computer Science and Language Technology from the Potchefstroom campus of North-West University. [2] During his time at North-West University, he founded the Debate Society. [3] He also earned a master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Cape Town, [4] a master's degree in Technology Policy and a PhD both from the University of Cambridge on a scholarship from the Mandela Rhodes Foundation. [5]
Burke is the founder of ExpandRand, a company providing money transfer services for expatriate South Africans, and a cofounder of Kastelo, a fintech company. He is married to Dr. Talia Simone da Silva Burke. [6]
Burke stood as a DA parliamentary candidate on the Western Cape list in the 2024 national elections and was subsequently elected to the National Assembly of South Africa. He was sworn in on 25 June 2024. [7] He is a member of the Standing Committee on Finance and is an alternate member on the Standing Committees on Appropriations and on Public Accounts. [8]
2025 National Budget Contestation
In his capacity as the DA’s spokesperson on finance, Burke was prominent in voicing the DA’s opposition to the value-added tax (VAT) increases proposed by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in the first two versions of the 2025 national budget. [9] [10] [11] He instead advocated for enhanced expenditure efficiency through a comprehensive review of government spending arguing that South Africa doesn’t have a revenue problem but instead has a problem prioritising spending programs and growing the economy. [12] [13]
During deliberations of the Standing Committee on Finance in drafting a report on the 2025 Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals on 1 April 2025, Burke introduced a motion to amend the fiscal framework by removing the proposed 0,5 percent VAT increase. [14] [15] The motion was defeated in favour of an ActionSA proposal, supported by the African National Congress (ANC) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), to support the VAT increase. [16] The report and the VAT increase were subsequently set aside by the Western Cape High Court on the 27th of April. [17] [18]