The ANC's decision to cancel the special national executive committee (NEC) that was likely to decide to eject the DA from the government of national unity (GNU) has caused ructions among NEC members who wanted the axe to fall on the DA.
After cancelling the special NEC on Monday and opting for more talks with the DA, some members are angry and believe that there are those who are working against the party mandate.
The DA's failure to support a vote on the fiscal framework of the budget angered many ANC leaders who felt the DA could not be part of government and yet vote against a key pillar of governance. They had hoped the NEC meeting would lead to severe consequences for the party.
However, the ANC decided to "reset" the GNU and meet with all parties anew. These included a meeting with the DA on in Sandton yesterday to discuss the budget impasse and the future of GNU.
Insiders say the party's leadership was facing a conundrum: whether to cut ties with the DA over the national budget fallout or maintain the uneasy partnership within the GNU.
The internal debate within the ANC has intensified after the DA - a key GNU partner - voted against the adoption of the national budget's fiscal framework in Parliament last week.
The move has sparked widespread frustration within ANC ranks, raising questions about whether the DA should remain part of the multiparty arrangement.
This week, the ANC scrambled to stabilise the situation by holding a series of meetings with various political parties - both GNU partners and others outside the coalition. These included engagements with the IFP, Rise Mzansi, PAC, Build One South Africa (BOSA), Al Jama-ah, the Good Party, the EFF, and the DA itself.
READ: 'DA committed to GNU, but wants genuine power-sharing' - Steenhuisen
A high-level ANC delegation - including Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula, National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe, Treasurer-General Gwen Ramokgopa, second deputy secretary Maropene Ramokgopa, NEC member Parks Tau and legal adviser Andries Nel - met the DA's top brass in Johannesburg on Saturday.
The DA delegation included Federal Council chair Helen Zille, party leader John Steenhuisen, Western Cape Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer, and senior figures Ashor Sarupen, Leon Schreiber, Thomas Walters, and Annelie Lotriet.
After the meeting, Zille described the talks as "constructive", stating:
Both sides spoke respectfully yet frankly about the need to resolve the impasse over the budget and enhance cooperation between the two parties in the context of the government of national unity.
Zille reiterated the DA's objection to the proposed VAT hike contained in the fiscal framework, saying the party viewed it as "unaffordable in the absence of meaningful reforms".
READ: IFP's Hlabisa warns against political arrogance: No leader holds the keys to SA's future
However, the ANC now finds itself at a crossroads. Internally, pressure is mounting to sever ties with the DA. According to two senior NEC members who spoke to City Press, many ANC members were expecting the party to use last week's now-cancelled special NEC meeting to formally remove the DA from the GNU.
"The meeting was the opportunity for the ANC to take that decision," the source said.
When the GNU was formed through the statement of intent, all parties were expected to agree and support collective decisions. In this case, the DA went against that.
Another insider said the DA issue "should have been tabled at the NEC as the highest decision-making body", adding, "it's as if someone is trying to please the DA."
The source said the decision to leave the DA was a clear sign that there were leaders who want to be in government with the party that betrayed them despite signing the statement of intent.
"We understand that the statement of intent is not a legally binding document but a guideline. However, one needs to respect it. The statement of intent is clear that the relationship was to help in passing the budget with 50% plus one," said the source.
READ: 'Vote for the budget, or what's the point of being in government?': Mashatile calls out DA ministers
The NEC member said the DA went against that, which raised questions about why they were still in the GNU.
The source said:
There's a sentiment in the NEC that this is just a meaningless relationship which needs the party to eject.
Mbalula has publicly acknowledged the party is still deliberating on the matter.
"We are going back to understand - maybe the DA doesn't want to be in the GNU anymore," he said.
If they still want to be part of it, how do they then address the issue of the budget impasse? We don't have to second-guess each other.
While internal calls grow louder for the DA's removal, Steenhuisen remains firm that the DA has not wavered in its commitment to the GNU.
"At no point in the last few weeks has the DA met, spoken to, or engaged with any party outside the GNU," Steenhuisen said. "The same cannot be said of the ANC."
READ: ANC to reconfigure GNU amid budget fallout
EFF: Remove the DA and we'll talk
Meanwhile, the EFF has positioned itself as a potential partner - but with conditions. The party has made it clear it will only cooperate with the ANC if both the DA and FF+ are booted from the GNU.
In a statement following its meeting with the ANC, the EFF said:
We reaffirmed our principled rejection of the 0.5 percentage point increase in VAT for 2025. The fiscal framework was adopted through a flawed and irregular process now subject to judicial review. While we are engaging the ANC, we are under no illusion that the VAT hikes can be reversed before 1 May.
EFF leader Julius Malema had previously stated that the party is willing to work with the ANC - but only if the DA and FF+ are removed from the coalition.
Mbalula, however, dismissed the EFF's overtures and conditions outright.
"Julius and his party worked with the DA in Johannesburg and voted for them to govern, including working with Herman Mashaba when he was DA," said Mbalula.
"Even in Pretoria, we went to them and said: 'Let's work together.' They refused. So, this time, we will NEVER beg them. They can make pronouncements, but we will never beg the EFF and that MK Zuma party."
READ: ANC forges ahead with a new GNU after DA, FF+ budget 'betrayal'
On the other hand, uMkhonto weSizwe Party's (MKP) secretary-general Floyd Shivambu revealed that a letter was received from the ANC for a request for a meeting, but they rejected the offer.
"We wrote back to the ANC and told them we won't be used to scare the DA and won't enter the domestic affairs of the so-called GNU," Shivambu said. "We have got the relevant platforms, as the MKP, where we will articulate our conditions."
GNU reconfiguration on the cards
The ANC has since announced it will begin re-engaging both GNU partners and parties outside the coalition to reconfigure the GNU. The process is likely to define the future of the multiparty governance framework - and whether the DA remains a part of it.
In a statement released after the meeting with the DA, the ANC said it held a constructive engagement with the DA leadership as part of ongoing efforts to break the current budget impasse and the reconfiguration of the GNU.
The ANC emphasised that it entered the GNU process with clear intentions: to build a broad-based consensus on rebuilding the country, accelerating service delivery, creating jobs, and tackling inequality. These goals are not negotiable.
