By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the party will press the reset button on the Government of National Unity (GNU) and open talks to other parties to join.
This follows the party’s NWC meeting on Monday to discuss the future of the coalition government.
Among other issues, the meeting dealt with the conduct of the Democratic Alliance (DA), the second-biggest political party in the GNU, which not only voted against the Budget but has taken the issue a step further by challenging it in court.
Fullview had earlier reported that the ANC resolved to revisit negotiations with all GNU partners and those who helped pass the fiscal framework last week.
This is mainly to tackle the impasse over the 2025 budget that has emerged.
EFF, MK Party, Freedom Front Plus (FF+), and ACDP, including the DA, voted against the adoption of the fiscal framework.
Mbalula said the NWC was now “deeply concerned” by the conduct of the DA, which he said continues to act as an opposition force.
He said that when the GNU Cabinet drafted the Medium-Term Development Plan “the DA acted as an opposition force, opposing the Bela Act, the NHI”.
“It seeks to divide government, confuse the public and claim credit without assuming responsibility. This dishonesty undermines the very essence of collective governance.”
Mbalula said it was natural for parties in the GNU to have fundamental disagreements but they ought to rise above them in the interest of South Africans, which the DA failed to do.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got another mission to serve, beyond our own self-interest, and serve South Africa. And what is that interest? It is called stability.”
Mbalula said: “The Working Committee has resolved that we will reset the button, to engage with all political parties in the GNU as well as those who are not in the GNU, to address the impasse with regards to the Budget.
We intend to do that within a period of five days to conclude the period of negotiations on the Budget.
“We have not taken any decision on any party, we have taken a decision to reset the button of the GNU and there must be rules that govern it apart from the statement of intent.”
He added: “We have got our own position as the ANC which we will not pronounce for now.”
While Mbalula avoided stating the ANC’s definitive position on the DA’s future in government, he said, if the party was no longer aligned with the GNU framework, it should “file the papers” and exit.
“I’ve never been in a divorce, but in a divorce, you file the papers. They must file the papers. If they decide to stay, then how do they stay? That’s the question. We remain loyal to the GNU and we are not playing chess.”
He also rubbished claims that the ANC was running a “parallel process” through backdoor talks or that its leadership was divided on the GNU strategy.
This comes after the reports that Mbalula had been running a parallel budget negotiations team, sparking furious reactions from his top seven colleagues when they found out.