MK and EFF dismiss GNU government, claiming it’s hobbled by ANC-DA disputes

7 Oct 2024

While the government of national unity marks its first 100 days, parties in the Progressive Caucus claim it’s done little for the country while the ANC and DA have had a number of disputes.

The uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party remains resolute – it does not believe the seventh administration can be termed a government of national unity (GNU) and says the partnership between the 10 political parties involved is just a means for the DA and ANC to collaborate.

Speaking to Daily Maverick on Monday, 7 October 2024, MK party national spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela berated President Cyril Ramaphosa and his 33-member Cabinet, which includes a majority of ANC members as well as six DA ministers, two IFP ministers and one each from the Patriotic Alliance, Good, Freedom Front Plus and Pan Africanist Congress of Azania.

“There is no GNU in South Africa. There are 25% of parties who are outside of this so-called GNU. For the next five years, the country is doomed. This partnership will not even last for five years,” Ndhlela said.

Ndhlela said debates around policy have taken centre stage over the past few months, distracting the coalition from its work in government.

“I rate the government [a] minus one. They have done nothing except for them debating on policy, with the DA and ANC being at each other’s throats,” he said.

The most recent policy fallout between the ANC and DA involves the highly contested Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Act. This led to Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube not attending the signing ceremony for the bill, saying it should be sent back to Parliament to be amended since it does not represent millions of pupils across the country in its current form.

Read more: Ramaphosa signs Bela Bill into law, but presses pause on two controversial clauses for three months

Ramaphosa has strenuously defended the GNU, likening it to the post-1994 GNU.

“Ten political parties have coalesced around a common agenda for economic growth, job creation, poverty eradication and sustainable development,” he told the UN General Assembly recently.

“South Africa is in a new era; an era of great promise.”

EFF dismisses GNU, with scorn for Steenhuisen

In a statement on Sunday, 6 October 2024, the EFF labelled the GNU a “DA-ANC coalition” which has failed to offer a practical direction for South Africa.

“The reality is that there is a general decay under the DA-ANC government and as the EFF correctly predicted, it is a neoliberal government that will only serve the interests of those who bought these political parties before elections,” it said.

The EFF also criticised DA Cabinet ministers for claiming victories that were achieved by the previous administration.

Read more: New Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber’s report card after picking up the poisoned chalice of ‘Hell Affairs’

The red berets took aim at DA leader and Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen over his office’s recent appointments.

“This self-serving character is seen across ministries run by DA members, as the leader himself, John Steenhuisen, reached 100 days of office without having fully appointed staff for his office because of his insistence of elevating his uneducated cadres.

“By pushing for the employment of people who are clearly unqualified, the DA-ANC coalition has demonstrated that it is willing to fill high-ranking government positions with their white illiterate friends,” the EFF said.

Steenhuisen’s first 100 days were marred by controversies over appointments. First, there were reports over the appointment of his chief of staff, alt-right podcaster Roman Cabanac. Steenhuisen made headlines again when he applied for a deviation to appoint unqualified DA administrators, which was rejected.

Phala Phala test

Former president Jacob Zuma’s MK party, the EFF and African Transformation Movement (ATM) are among the opposition parties falling under the Progressive Caucus. These parties were unable to reach an amicable agreement with the ANC to join the GNU. The UDM, Al Jama-ah and PAC were initially aligned with this caucus, but ended up switching sides.

Speaking to Daily Maverick just days after the seventh administration reached 100 days in office, ATM leader Vuyo Zungula expressed concerns about the composition of the GNU Cabinet, saying it was “bloated” and claiming the national executive had so far not been able to make significant changes.

Before the elections, Ramaphosa’s Cabinet included 30 ministers. It grew to 32 to accommodate all the parties who are signatories to the GNU.

“It is really difficult to rate the Cabinet because people were appointed so that they can stay loyal to President Cyril Ramaphosa. Cabinet is bloated despite Ramaphosa in 2018 promising to reduce the number of members and the DA strongly giving the ANC backlash because of the size of Cabinet,” Zungula said.

“There is nothing extraordinary which they have done so far, as the victories claimed by DA ministers was work done in the previous administration. So, it is difficult to have a positive sentiment.”

Zungula also noted that it might be to hold the executive accountable that GNU party members have taken Cabinet, deputy minister or Parliament committee head positions.

GNU members’ commitment to accountability could be tested in how they navigated the Phala Phala forex scandal involving the theft of an undeclared $580,000 from Ramaphosa’s Limpopo farm.

The EFF approached the Constitutional Court in February 2024, challenging the legality of a December 2022 vote in which Parliament decided against instituting a full impeachment inquiry into Ramaphosa.

The ATM filed a notice to intervene in support of the EFF and the ConCourt will hear the matter on 26 November. The DA supported the impeachment inquiry motion in Parliament but has since suggested it was unlikely to support a motion that sought to “bring down a government”.

“We will see if they are in the GNU for the greater good or just to secure positions if the matter goes back to Parliament,” Zungula said. DM

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EFF dismisses GNU, with scorn for Steenhuisen

Phala Phala test