The ANC and DA have had a series of discussions regarding the much-talked-about national budget. However these talks collapsed on Friday afternoon when the two parties could not reach a compromise.
The failed talks do not appear to be the only strategy for the ANC though. The founding member of the government of national unity (GNU) is also courting the EFF and MK Party. All of this work is behind the scenes to ensure that the budget gets the necessary votes in the National Assembly.
ANC confident the budget will pass
ANC leaders at the national executive committee (NEC) meeting in Boksburg this weekend are confident that the budget will pass “with or without the DA”. Most believe that the DA is going nowhere and that the ANC’s experience in negotiations will eventually triumph.
The ANC’s ace card is the DA’s opposition to the EFF and MKP joining the GNU bloc. They anticipate this will push it to change its stance on the VAT increase in the name of “putting the country before the party”.
Sources close to the matter told Sunday World that the ANC was speaking to the MK Party. The latter however rejected a budget due to the VAT increase. The EFF is still discussing if it will vote with the ANC to secure a space in the GNU.
Using its fear of EFF, MKP to whip DA into line
But ANC head honchos are confident both its splinters, the EFF and MKP, will jump over all their red lines. This to seize an opportunity to join the GNU if the DA threatened to pull out, which is highly unlikely.
“Well, the EFF and MK have publicly rejected the VAT increase. But remember both have been itching in the wings to join the GNU. Some in their ranks feel they negotiated wrongly at the beginning, which left them outside,” said an ANC leader with intimate knowledge of the negotiations led by ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli.
Another mole in the ANC’s NEC said in his political overview at Birchwood on Friday afternoon, party president Cyril Ramaphosa said the DA was using the budget as a bargaining chip.
Just theatrics
“The president told us that the DA was behaving as if it does not want a VAT increase because it is pro-poor, but this was not the sentiment it shared during discussions. It basically went into discussions to show its constituency that it is fighting. In the end the DA will vote for the budget to show that it wants to make the GNU work,” according to the source.
A highly ranked informant said by being represented in the national Cabinet, the DA had gained significant political mileage so it would be difficult for it to leave the GNU at this stage.
“Their PR machinery has been working overtime to show their ‘achievements’ in government, and they have realised that it is better to fight issues from within,” the source reiterated.
Without worries
The ANC is believed to be bouncing like a tennis ball and stinging like a bee, stress-free ahead of the week in which voting on the national budget is expected to take centre stage.
Some believe that having MKP and EFF outside the GNU has worked wonders for their parent ANC, which uses that as the stick to beat the DA into line whenever it throws tantrums over issues.
“This is why the ANC has so far managed to pass everything that the DA opposes, because in reality we know they are going nowhere because opening a gap for MK and EFF is what they fear the most,” said an NEC member.
The leader was referring to Bela and the Expropriation Act, both of which the GNU administration passed in spite of the DA’s vocal opposition.
