The DA’s internal cracks came to the forefront at the party’s federal council (Fedco) meeting held in Joburg on Monday when a Gauteng lobby’s push to exit the government of national unity (GNU) was vehemently rejected by other members led by party leader John Steenhuisen.
The dissenting group, which included Gauteng MP Crezane Bosch, advocated for the DA’s withdrawal from the multi-party coalition with the ANC, following unresolved tensions and a failure to reach favourable negotiations at the provincial level.
Bosch was at the forefront of advancing this offensive. Bosch, Sunday World has been told, went as far as inviting provincial leaders to a Zoom meeting to lobby them on the matter ahead of the Fedco meeting. However, despite Bosch and crew’s efforts, their bid to sway the party’s direction was ultimately defeated.
A highly placed source explained that the push by the Gauteng leaders to withdraw from the GNU stems from their own “bitterness” after failing to reach an amicable agreement with the ANC in the province, according to a source.
“You can get the sense but it was their responsibility to negotiate an outcome. If in KZN Dean [Macpherson] was able to pull it off, what stopped them in Gauteng?” another insider insisted.
The initial idea was that the ANC and DA’s coalition partnership at the national level trickled down to provinces, and while this materialised in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng leaders were at loggerheads about how to govern harmoniously.
Negotiations went on for weeks on end, but instead of working with the DA, the ANC opted for a minority government with the IFP, PA, and Rise Mzansi with informal support from MKP and EFF.
Party insiders who attended the meeting at the DA’s headquarters in Bruma, Gauteng, mentioned to Sunday World that it was Steenhuisen who led the charge for the DA’s continued participation in the GNU, despite continuously complaining about the DA ’s exclusion on key decision-making.
Concerns were raised about the effectiveness of DA ministers in the cabinet. Steenhuisen defended these ministers, highlighting their departmental goals and the need for compromise due to the lack of an outright majority. He stressed realism within the GNU, recognising both victories and concessions. Said a source, “He held his own. The leader said that we are not going to get everything we want as the DA, and we did not get an outright majority… we did not sign up to be an opposition forever.”
The meeting was held to adopt the DA’s 2026 local election candidate councillor’s selection guidelines but Steenhuisen’s feedback about the party’s work in the GNU prompted a discussion about their standing in the matter. Steenhuisen’s speech to the party’s top brass was centred around putting South Africa first by remaining members of the coalition pact and fighting for their policies from within.
This sentiment is said to have resonated with the majority of those who were in attendance, except for the leaders of the DA in Gauteng. “The general conclusion at the federal council was that we stay as long as we can insist that there is a red line, and if there is no compromise on this, then we leave,” a source said.
Owing to the latest fallout between ANC and DA, Steenhuisen has lodged a dispute by invoking clause 19 of the statement of intent. The clause codifies the procedure to be followed when differences on issues arise between parties to the GNU: “Sufficient consensus exists when parties to the GNU representing 60% of seats in the National Assembly agree…”
The DA insists that only the ANC and them constitute 60% of the NA among parties in the GNU.
DA leaders believe the party has been lenient on a few matters, including the Bela Act but the buck stops with the (National Health Insurance (NHI). At this point the DA has deemed the implementation of the NHI as the one issue that will lead to them breaking away from the GNU.
“For us, if there is no compromise on the NHI, we are gone. The party will revolt if there is no halting NHI.”
Fedco chairperson Hellen Zille said the party does not discuss internal party issues with the media.
