The ANC’s imminent “reset” of the government of national unity (GNU), as previously announced by the party’s Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, aims to update the coalition’s founding “statement of intent” and possibly add new protocols to manage disagreements and ensure more effective collaboration across party lines.
According to party Chief Whip Mdumiseni Ntuli, in an interview with Sunday World, the reset involves several things. One of those is to look at the statement of intent in its current form. “Is it sufficient? Do we need to have an appendage to it? And what should that appendage be about?”
Coalition partners to blame
Ntuli said conduct by the coalition partners in the DA forced this review, as it took the governing party by surprise.
“There are things that we never expected that the DA would quickly court when they are not happy with this or that without really exhausting internal conversation. So, when we say the statement of intent would need an appendage, it is to deal with those issues and how to manage differences,” he said.
“The issue about relooking at the statement of intent has to respond to those issues. The reset of the GNU has to be concerned with those issues. We need to work in a different way.”
Ntuli does, however, believe that the two parties can move forward on condition that the DA changes the way it relates to the ANC.
Difficult to sustain relationship
“They are opposing all legislation which is intended to help us transform society. If they continue to oppose laws, it is going to be difficult to sustain the relationship,” he said.
He concedes that the ANC was not “innocent” in its conduct either. This as the party could have considered its GNU partners when compiling the budget.
The DA and ANC have been at loggerheads over the value-added tax (VAT) increase. It was introduced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in the first version of the budget in April.
New budget next week
Godongwana is wrapping up discussion with all stakeholders. He is expected to deliver what has been dubbed as Budget 3.0 in Parliament next week Wednesday.
“The mistake which was committed, from which the ANC cannot be absolved, is that in this financial year, we had to handle the situation differently, with various parties, not just the DA,” he explained.
>Ntuli believes the GNU should be spending more time on dealing with contentious issues.
