Tensions within President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government of national unity (GNU) have escalated sharply, with partners voicing mounting frustrations over the DA’s governance approach, leading to calls for structural reforms and potential reconfigurations of the multiparty coalition government.
The PAC’s Jaki Seroke launched a blistering critique this week, accusing the DA of fostering “anarchy” and employing bullying tactics to sidestep collective decision-making, a sentiment echoed by Al Jama-ah leader Ganief Hendricks, who demanded a reshuffle in the finance portfolio to boot out DA deputy minister Ashor Sarupen.
“The tensions between the ANC and the DA are unfortunate. We have had them for a while now. They bring up the stubborn tendency to bully and one-upmanship instead of cooperation in the interests of the majority of the citizenry who are at the bottom of the pyramid.
“The DA is guilty of anarchy, always wanting to go it alone or go outside the GNU mechanism of decision-making when they don’t get it their way,” said Seroke, a member of the PAC’s negotiating team.
He warned the ANC to awaken to the fact that “there are options to beef up the GNU if the destabilisation from the DA is relentless”.
“The ball is squarely in their court. They cannot be half in and half out. That only happens in a circus.”
Hendricks held the view that the DA’s Sarupen ought to relinquish his role as deputy minister of finance. He said Sarupen was privy to the fiscal framework before it was presented to the executive but failed to show his party why the VAT increase was introduced.
Rise Mzansi, while reaffirming support for the GNU, urged unity among partners, rejecting the perception of ANC-DA dominance and condemning public infighting as counterproductive.
“There is one government with one executive. We also wish to caution against a dangerous and narrow narrative that implies that only the DA is equipped to work within the GNU to advance economic growth, end corruption and ensure that services are delivered,” according to a
party statement.
While the party has reiterated its support for the GNU, like the ANC, they believe the rules of engagement in the pact need to be adjusted. This comes after Rise Mzansi’s meeting with the ANC about the budget impasse.
“All GNU partners, especially those in the executive, need to sing from the same hymn sheet on executive matters. The petty insults, contradictions and media leaks are not helpful and do not show the kind of leadership that South Africans seek,” the party said.
The sentiments underscore growing frustration among smaller GNU partners over the DA’s assertive tactics since joining the unity government after the ANC lost its parliamentary majority in last May’s elections. The DA has repeatedly clashed with the ANC over policy direction, with disputes erupting over issues like fiscal austerity, public sector appointments and land reform.
Members of the ANC national working committee and national executive committee, who said all ANC leaders are unanimously in agreement that the DA is a bully and unpredictable to continue with, added that the debate to accommodate the MK Party or EFF was equally not necessary.
In their perspective, the parties in the GNU, excluding the DA, hold 201 out of the 400 seats in the National Assembly. So, they said, if the ANC kicked out the DA or the DA quit the GNU, EFF or MKP were not necessarily needed.
According to this school of thought, an arrangement without the DA, EFF and MKP was the most viable and likely to be effective. “The reality is that the ANC does not have to work with either the DA, MK or EFF. Our numbers with the rest of the parties in the GNU without the DA give us a simple majority as things stand,” said one senior leader.
Another NEC member concurred, saying the EFF and MK were too erratic to even consider bringing them into the GNU, as much as the ANC insists that they are “talking to everyone”.
The person added that the 201 MPs would be bolstered to make it a comfortable majority by bringing in ActionSA, which this leader believes is less risky than going to bed with the EFF and MK if the DA is dumped.
“But besides, while others say it is risky to have all DA, EFF and MK outside the GNU, the fact is that it is almost impossible to have Julius Malema, Jacob Zuma and Helen Zille working together in an organised fashion given their big egos and exaggerated sense of self-worth personalities. It would be a disaster,” the insider said.
