By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has accused the leader of Democratic Alliance (DA) John Steenhuisen of “moving the goalposts” in negotiations with the African National Congress (ANC) and wanting to set up an illegal “parallel government, which would operate outside the parameters of the Constitution.
Ramaphosa believes the party has jeopardized the foundation of setting up the Government of National Unity (GNU) negotiations.
Negotiations between the two parties took a turn for the worse after Ramaphosa altered the terms of an earlier offer to the DA on Wednesday night.
Fullview understands that this has angered the DA’s leadership which has now threatened to walk away from the GNU unless Ramaphosa sticks to his original offer.
According to a letter in possession of Fullview, the ANC has proposed to give the DA six Cabinet Ministers and seven deputy ministers. The DA is rejecting the ANC’s proposal, and the party’s Fedex will decide whether to pull out of the GNU or not.
According to Steenhuisen, the DA has been offered six cabinet portfolios: Home Affairs; Basic Education; Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC); Public Works and Infrastructure; Communications and Digital Technologies; and Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment.
Additionally, the party has been offered deputy ministerial positions in Finance (with full cabinet committee rights), Energy and Electricity, Small Business Development, and one other to be determined.
Steenhuisen expressed cautious satisfaction with the offer, stating, “In terms of the quality of the portfolios listed above – both in Cabinet and in terms of Deputy Ministries – the DA is satisfied and regards these as a serious offer.”
However, he noted concerns within the party regarding the allocation.
Fullview understands both parties have reached a stalemate over the Department of Trade and Industry portfolio.
The DA also wants critical economic ministries, including governance, social protection, communications and internal relations.
Ramaphosa has further accused the DA of demanding that the ANC give the party two more portfolios, which would bring the Cabinet positions to eight.
The DA initially had its eyes set on 11 Cabinet positions, their deputies and director-general portfolios; including a demand for the deputy president post.
This means the remaining of the Cabinet positions to be dished out will be given to the ANC’s opponents.
Agreement with the DA on the composition of the cabinet will be a critical step towards establishing a GNU. It has the potential to calm markets, which have been jittery in recent days on worries that the give-and-take negotiations over the past week have exposed deep-seated ideological differences among GNU members.
Constitutionally, appointments to the national executive are the sole prerogative of the president.
Ramaphosa is expected to meet with individuals taking up the portfolios he allocated to them, including ANC’s alliance partners, before announcing his executive.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said that the president will make his announcement after consultations with GNU partners and ANC leadership.
“He will apply his mind and exercise his prerogative as vested in him under Section 91(2) of the Constitution. At this stage, we are unable to give any timelines as to when he will announce his cabinet appointments.”
Traditionally, the cabinet is appointed soon after the inauguration, but there is no constitutional requirement on the time frame.
The DA will hold a Special Federal Executive (Fedex) meeting later on Thursday to deliberate on the ANC’s proposed plan for the sharing of Cabinet Ministers.