By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Government of National Unity’s (GNU) Clearing House Mechanism has finally adopted its Terms of Reference (TOR), after a year it was established.
President Cyril Ramaphosa set up the Clearing House as a platform to resolve fundamental differences within the GNU.
In the 2024 general elections, the ANC lost its three-decade-long majority, receiving 40% of the vote.
It formed a coalition, or ‘GNU’, with the DA, IFP, PA, VF Plus, and five other smaller parties.
Together, they occupy 287 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly. The ANC and the DA, which received 22% of the vote, hold 85% of the seats of the coalition bloc.
A working group was assembled to put together the terms of reference, consisted with members from the Democratic Alliance (DA), Rise Mzansi, Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), and chaired by the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, the ANC’s Andries Nel.
Comments on the resolution process were also submitted by the GOOD Party, Al Jama-Ah, the Democratic Alliance (DA), and the United Democratic Movement (UDM).
In a statement on Wednesday, 29 October, the chairperson of the clearing house, Deputy President Paul Mashatile, announced the adoption of the ToR, after draft ToR were first tabled in October 2024.
“The GNU clearing house mechanism meeting today received a report from the working group that was mandated to review and finalise the draft terms of reference, “said Mashatile.
“The draft ToR document was first presented in October 2024. Due to disagreements, the secretariat engaged Professor Jaap de Visser for legal refinement, with key disagreements centred around deadlock-breaking mechanisms and clauses from the GNU Statement of Intent (especially clauses 18 and 19.3).”
These clauses deal with the need for consensus on issues in the GNU. The Statement of Intent provides that “in instances where sufficient consensus is not reached”, parties should raise disputes within the deadlock-breaking mechanisms created for this purpose, i.e, the clearing house.
According to the final ToR, the “agree to disagree” resolution, which arises when consensus fails, does not constitute a decision of the political parties in the GNU in respect of the specific matter referred to the clearing house.
“It is simply an outcome of the consideration of that matter by the clearing house, and a report regarding such outcome is to be submitted to the political leaders’ forum … for further consideration of the matter.”
Dissatisfaction with the functioning of the GNU appears to be growing. A recent report from Afrobarometer highlighted that only four in 10 South Africans believe the GNU has been effective at solving the country’s most pressing issues.
Seven in 10 respondents added that they are dissatisfied with the way that democracy works in South Africa, with dissatisfaction highest among the poor and unemployed.