The Democratic Alliance (DA) and African National Congress (ANC) have failed to reach an agreement on the allocation of portfolios for the Gauteng cabinet.
The announcement for the Gauteng executive members was postponed for the second time in on Monday. It remains the only province that is yet to announce its cabinet.
Helen Zille, DA chairperson of the federal council, explained that the postponement was due to the ANC’s greed. She blamed the ANC for demanding the majority of seats without leaving any more for the DA or other political parties.
Zille said the announcement would have been that the ANC received seven seats plus the Premier. The DA would have been left with three seats. This regardless of the two parties’ disagreements, she said.
The DA insists that the Clause 16 from Statement of Intent of the Government of Provincial Unity should be respected. It said the clause states that the seats should be shared proportionally.
DA wants seats to be shared proportionally
“We, as the DA, are prepared to enter the government of provincial unity in Gauteng. This on the basis of a power-sharing partnership to reflect the will of the voters in Gauteng. But we are not prepared to be co-opted by the ANC in their terms alone. [They are] acting as if the ANC still has an overall majority in Gauteng,” said Zille.
“We cannot be taken hostage in a government of provincial unity in which only one party dictates the terms,” she added.
Zille explained that it was revealed in a meeting on Tuesday that the ANC wanted to keep seven seats for themselves. This after they long questioned what would happen to the rest of the seats if the DA was allocated three.
Zille accuses ANC of greed
She said with further negotiation, the ANC was willing to drop two seats. One seat to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and another to Patriotic Alliance. However, this was still considered proportionally incorrect.
“As far as chairs in the Gauteng legislature are concerned, the proposal was the DA will take six out of a total of 17. And we were willing to accept this allocation despite a significant shortfall. [The shortfall] would be on the basis of the executive reflecting the letter and the spirit of the statement of intent.
