- Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced a minority government on Wednesday night that does not include the ANC's GNU partner, the DA.
- The four parties that form part of the government in Gauteng have 33 of the 80 seats in the provincial legislature.
- Political instability in Gauteng will affect the country as the province is the economic hub, thus market sentiment will be negative and service delivery issues are expected to get worse.
In Gauteng, Premier Panyaza Lesufi has announced a minority government that does not include the ANC's GNU partner, the DA.
This means only in Gauteng, is the DA on the opposition benches and not with its GNU partners.
Lesufi's 10-member cabinet includes seven ANC members and one each from the IFP, PA and Rise Mzansi.
We asked Dr Tracy Ledger, a senior researcher at PARI and Dr Ross Harvey, a director at GGA, about Gauteng's minority government.
What is a minority government?
A government that is formed by a party without a majority of votes is known as a minority government.
The ANC has less than 50% of the vote but has more votes than any other party. This means they can set up a government.
READ | 'Existing government policies remain in effect without exception': ANC clarifies GNU policy
The four parties that have formed a government in Gauteng have 33 of the 80 seats in the provincial legislature. This means, collectively, the opposition would be able to shoot down any vote if it wanted to and vote together.
In Gauteng, the DA has 22 seats, EFF 11, MK Part eight, ActionSA three, and FF Plus two, while BOSA and the ACDP have one each. The ANC has 28 seats, while its partners, the PA two, IFP one and Rise Mzansi one make up three.
So, this coalition is not stable then?
Yes. There is no certainty to the legislative programme of the ANC-led government because whenever something must be voted on, it cannot guarantee it will get enough votes to put it through.
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It also means a vote of no confidence in the premier or a vote of no confidence in the government can go through because the government would not know if it will be able to get together more than 50% of the votes.
Why did the ANC choose this form of government?
The ANC and DA'stalks to secure a majority government through coalition collapsed, with the DA choosing to take up seats as the official opposition. This was mainly due to a disagreement on the number of MEC positions the DA would get in the cabinet.
The DA wanted a proportional split as indicated in the statement of intent signed at a national level.
READ | 'Existing government policies remain in effect without exception': ANC clarifies GNU policy
The ANC accused the DA of bullying it and acting like a "spoilt brat" during negotiations, while the DA claimed the ANC had negotiated in "bad faith".
After stalling the announcement of the Gauteng cabinet multiple times, the ANC opted to go with other GNU parties.
What can residents and the electorate expect in Gauteng?
More political instability and rough ride.
There is already instability at local government level, and this new provincial instability will compound the unstable political situation in the province.
If there had been a stable provincial government, some of the service delivery issues that affect residents in Gauteng may have been alleviated, however this is unlikely to happen due to the hung provincial legislature.
Are there any benefits to a minority government?
Not at this early stage.
In other provinces like KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape, the GNU coalition includes the DA and the ANC working together. Which means there is a majority of votes that can pass decisions and legislation.
Due to Gauteng being the economic hub, political instability in the province will also lead to a drop in market confidence nationally and ultimately a weakened rand.
