By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The newly formed Government of National Unity (GNU) is on the brink of collapse as the African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA) are failing to find common ground on number cabinet positions that should be shared among the partners of the pact.
The DA is demanding 11 Cabinet positions and their deputies, along with directors-general in the departments it gains.
The party futher wants the position of deputy president but if that is not attainable, then it is willing to compromise for a Minister in the Presidency and a deputy Minister of Finance.
The 11 ministries include Mineral Resources, Transport, Home Affairs, Public Works and Higher Education.
The ANC does not want to give up any of the economics or security portfolios and wants to keep the Presidency intact for itself.
Justice, Police, Defence and International Relations are among critical ministries in the security cluster, that the DA is also demanding.
The DA believes by refusing to share some of these critical ministries, the ANC was giving them a raw deal.
President Cyril Ramaphosa was expected to announce his Cabinet on Sunday, but this did not happen as discussions are ongoing.
The collaboration between parties from across the political spectrum has thrust the country into uncharted territory, as the ANC will have to share power for the first time in the democratic era.
The ANC has 159 seats in the 400-member National Assembly, down from the 230 it secured in the 2019 election and short of the outright majority it had enjoyed for 30 years.
The white-led Democratic Alliance (DA) won the second-most votes last month, getting 87 seats in the lower house of parliament.
It was among the first to sign up to join the ANC in the unity government, and its support was decisive in ensuring Ramaphosa was re-elected for second term.
In return, the ANC backed a DA candidate for the position of deputy speaker of the National Assembly. The DA has made clear it also wants significant representation in Ramaphosa’s cabinet.
Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille believes the ANC must acknowledge that the DA is a crucial partner and must be given a powerful position.
“We can’t be held to ransom. I mean the DA is a very serious partner in this. We can’t just be a walking stick to help the ANC continue as it has done before. We have to be able to have some real influence and power in the government to make life better for South Africans,” she says.
Zille, who has been vocal on the nature of negotiations behind closed doors since the formation of the GNU, emphasized that her party can’t be used as a “crutch” to support the ANC.
Formed after the 29 May elections, the GNU aims to provide a collaborative platform to address South Africa’s pressing issues, such as poverty, inequality and corruption.
Meanwhile Patriotic Alliance (PA) Kenny Kunene believes the Economic Freedon Fighters (EFF) could have done better by being a neutralising factor in the negotiations and he urged the Red Berets to join the GNU in order to humble the DA.
“This arrogance of the DA is based on knowing the EFF can not be part of this GNU, “he said.
Demanding the parties negotiate in good faith, he added: “The DA has made threats that it will walk away from this GNU. Let them walk away. They are not putting the country first; they are putting their greed for power first.”
Kunene is leading negotiations provincially and described the Gauteng talks between the PA and ANC as jovial and cordial.
He confirmed the PA wanted the Home Affairs and Police portfolios nationally but said they did not make any specific demands at a provincial level.
A priority for the PA in Gauteng is to have a service delivery orientated portfolio that would tackle illegal immigration, with Kunene saying “Mayfair is like Mogadishu”.