Inkatha to join government of national unity — it’s ‘the will of the people’

Inkatha Freedom Party leader Velenkosini Hlabisa on Wednesday evening said the IFP had decided to join a government of national unity (GNU) as proposed by the ANC. 

He said the decision was made by the party’s highest structure for the sake of the country and its people.

“The IFP will join a government of national unity that includes the ANC and the DA. In reality, the only options are to become part of the government or part of the opposition. The mandate we received from the electorate is for the IFP to contribute to the effective governance of South Africa. We recognise the responsibility this bestows on us to participate in government, based on the will of the electorate,” he said. 

The party said it had also engaged with the ANC to determine the path towards forming a government in KwaZulu-Natal, adding that the IFP’s Thami Ntuli would be the premier candidate if a government of provincial unity was formed. 

Speaking to Daily Maverick, DA national spokesperson Solly Malatsi was vague about the party’s involvement in the GNU. He did, however, say it would engage in further talks at a Federal Executive meeting on Thursday. 

“We have continued to interact with political parties and will make an announcement once our negotiations have concluded and consultations with our internal structures have been finalised,” he said.

Meanwhile, in a letter from Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to UDM leader Bantu Holomisa, the Chief Justice questioned why the judiciary should be involved in coalition talks.

Referring to the Codesa 1 talks of the early 1990s, he said, “The judges were Chief Justice MM Corbett, Judge Ismail Mohamed, who later became Chief Justice of the Republic, and Judge Schabbort. However, I believe that in that case all the parties had agreed that the three judges play that role. 

“In any event, some may argue that those were very extraordinary circumstances when it was critical to do everything possible to end the apartheid rule and usher in democracy and that, although the current situation may be unprecedented since the dawn of democracy, it is not exactly the same as the situation before 1994.”  

He declined the request made by Holomisa, Build One SA, the African Transformation Movement, the Pan Africanist Congress, the African Christian Democratic Party and United African Transformation for him to convene a meeting between all parties represented in Parliament to discuss the GNU — instead of allowing the ANC to decide alone.

“I, therefore, regret that I am unable to accede to your request. However, it is my hope that all political parties will play a constructive role to ensure that South Africa has a government without any undue delay and that there is stability.

“Lastly, I wish to express my appreciation for the decision of the parties listed in your letter to approach me to see if I could assist in the current situation,” the Chief Justice wrote.

These new developments came just two days before the first parliamentary sitting of the seventh administration.

There has been ongoing strife regarding the sitting, with former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party choosing to boycott the sitting and launching a court bid to interdict it. 

Alternatively, it has appealed to the Constitutional Court to suspend the decision to convene the sitting.

The Constitutional Court has ruled that the MK party’s bid to halt the sitting has been dismissed.

“The application must fail on the merits. The applicant has not made out a case for the granting of an interim interdict as it has neither shown that it will suffer irreparable harm if the interdict is not granted, nor [that] the balance of convenience favours the granting of the interdict,” the judgment reads.

The MK party was one of about 20 organisations that claimed, without offering any evidence, that the 2024 general elections were rigged and unsuccessfully called for the Independent Electoral Commission of SA to postpone the declaration of the results.  

The MK party questioned why the IEC was in a “rush” to declare results, as section 57(2) of the Electoral Act stipulated it had three more days to do so.

Without the presence of MK party members, the sitting in the Cape Town International Convention Centre will be attended by 342 MPs if all the other parties have their members present.

Parliament needs only around 133 members to form a quorum and vote in a President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker. DM