GNU spat: Is the honeymoon over?
Everyone expects marriages to have their ups and downs.
Those expectations are more heightened in a marriage of inconvenience, such as the one that happened after the May 2024 elections when the ANC was forced to set up a government of national unity (GNU) with the DA and eight other parties after its dismal performance.
Promises were made and a statement of intent signed, making the beginnings of what many knew would be a difficult undertaking.
With seven months under its belt, the GNU has not always put up a unified front.
In September 2024, Minister of Basic Education Siviwe Gwarube snubbed the signing of the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill. In January this year, tensions rose once more after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Bill, leading to DA leader John Steenhuisen declaring a formal dispute.
The National Health Insurance Act, which Ramaphosa signed before the elections, was always going to be a sticking point.
The leaders presented a more united front on Wednesday with Ramaphosa and Steenhuisen both adamant there were no tensions, despite earlier indications in the week that the arrangement was on shaky ground, after the DA publicly threatened to quit.
Perhaps its time to bring in some marriage counsellors? For one, the public nature of the spats do no favour to parties hoping to win back the approval of the electorate, which is already jittery over coalition chaos in the country's metros.
In this week's Friday Briefing, we consider if the honeymoon is over, and what the prospects of success are for the GNU.
In our first submission, Wits University's Professor Susan Booysen examines the inventive, yet contentious, strategies employed by the ANC and DA. She delves into the intricate dynamics, conflicts, and collaborations within the GNU, as parties navigate governance while vying for political power and influence.
In his contribution, UJ's Professor Mcebisi Ndletyana argues there was never a honeymoon, claiming the GNU was competitively charged from the onset, which could affect governance if it persists.
In-depth writer Muhammad Hussain also interviewed Wits School of Governance's William Gumede, who was chair of the Multi-Party Charter (MPC) in the lead-up to the election. Gumede tells Hussain that while the MPC laid the ground for the current GNU, the ANC was not part of those discussions and is continuing to govern as a majority party despite the arrangement.
Finally, we have our weekly satire column, My F*k Mzansi, to lighten up a hectic week marked by unsettling events at home and abroad.
Best,
Vanessa Banton
Opinions editor.
Unity or uncertainty? Unravelling South Africa's coalition chessboard
Conflicts, contradictions, frequently contrasting party agendas, proxy wars, grandstanding for internal factions and broader electoral target markets are in vogue for SA's coalition politics, writes Susan Booysen.
There was never a honeymoon for the GNU
While seeking to reassure its supporters over the Expropriation Act and BELA Act, the DA has failed to read the ANC carefully and, consequently, adopt a more realistic strategy, writes Mcebisi Ndletyana.
Q&A with William Gumede | ANC, DA and others were unprepared for GNU coalition dynamics
The ANC and DA were thrust into an unexpected coalition facing a new political landscape, with neither party prepared. Wits Professor William Gumede, who was chairperson of the Multi-Party Charter, worked on coalition discussions with six parties before the May elections last year tells Muhammad Hussain parties must stop seeing themselves as enemies but partners.
My F*k, Mzansi | Kagame vs Ramaphosa and a Trumpian freezing fiasco
In this week's edition of My F*K, News24's satirical column, Paul Kgame and Cyril Ramaphosa get out their phones to become co-menaces; Dudu sees us but we also see her; and Trump the Divine seals the fountains.
