The ANC and the DA are in a bind: each desperately needs the other, yet they are more often than not at daggers drawn in the newly forged government of national unity (GNU).
President Cyril Ramaphosa, at a media briefing on Friday, repeated many times that the alternative to the GNU was “too ghastly to contemplate”. The day before, DA leader John Steenhuisen, at the Cape Town Press Club, used the same line to describe a GNU-less South Africa.
Despite the noise and hand-wringing from both sides, what was clear from their spoken and unspoken messaging is that the GNU is the last hope for the ANC and the DA, and its failure would spell disaster for them.
Their latest contretemps is over the Basic Education Laws Amendment (Bela) Bill, signed into law by Ramaphosa on Friday in the absence of the DA’s Siviwe Gwarube, who is minister of basic education.
The DA has long opposed the legislation and, ahead of the signing, declared it would consider quitting the GNU if the bill was implemented.
The DA’s constituency is put out by clauses that divest school governing bodies of the authority to set the language medium and admission policy and vest it in the provincial education MEC. The DA believes this would place Afrikaans-medium state schools at risk.
To appease his GNU partners, Ramaphosa has delayed implementing these contentious elements of the legislation to allow for further consultation. At the same time, the DA is heading to court over the act, arguing that it is unconstitutional.
Here is the rub: the DA’s participation in the GNU could boost its support come the next national elections in 2029. The GNU provides it with an opportunity to show it can govern outside the Western Cape and that it can govern well.
For Ramaphosa’s ANC, the GNU provides the political stability needed to give the myriad reforms he has put in place since 2018 time to bear fruit. And the ANC’s downward electoral spiral has been far more dramatic than anyone expected.
My constituency is the people of South Africa; I rather focus on the people of South Africa than party interests
— President Cyril Ramaphosa
Ramaphosa was clear about his commitment to the GNU on Friday, saying the collapse of the accord would be “quite ghastly for South Africa”.
“The establishment of the GNU is what has lifted confidence and the spirits of many in our country ... The risks will be high should the GNU fail,” he said.
“Those who want to leave, it’s wishful thinking ... They are very alive to the exigencies of the current moment. We have no other choice but to work together.
“My constituency is the people of South Africa; I rather focus on the people of South Africa than party interests. Any party that says it’s leaving ... is actually leaving the people of South Africa.”
Both Ramaphosa and Steenhuisen are having to finely balance their party interests with those of the country. Last week Steenhuisen told journalists (and supporters) that the DA won’t always get its way in the GNU.
“I want to be very clear about something. With 22% of the vote, the DA cannot get everything our own way inside the government. Actually, it would be undemocratic if we did. So I want our supporters, old and new, to accept that. It’s how democracy works,” he said.
But he maintained that his party holds “the balance of power in the GNU”.
“Without the DA’s support in parliament, the government does not have a majority in parliament. So, fair is fair. We can’t get it all our own way, but neither can the ANC get it all their own way.
“It is of critical importance to understand that conflict over policy in a multiparty government like the GNU is normal and indeed necessary in a democracy. And it is not necessarily an existential threat to the government.”
Fair is fair. We can’t get it all our own way, but neither can the ANC
— DA leader John Steenhuisen
Ramaphosa for his part told journalists that a “processing committee” for the GNU was on the cards, but it is still in its early stages. But this committee would “not supplant the role of the cabinet”.
In seeking a dispute resolution mechanism for the GNU, the DA has to accept that its ministers serve at the pleasure of the president. Ramaphosa is the head of the cabinet and as such remains the final arbiter in any dispute. What helps the minority parties in the GNU is that the president is by nature consultative, which is why, almost two weeks ago, he diarised a dinner with his GNU partners, which took place on the eve of the Bela Bill signing ceremony.
While Ramaphosa may not compromise on Bela in the end, he may do so on the National Health Insurance Act — another source of tension between the partners. He told journalists he is meeting business leaders about their concerns this week.
To exact maximum mileage from the GNU, parties should refrain from constant warnings about jumping ship, which everyone knows are empty threats. Steenhuisen admitted as much, saying only a clear menace to the economy and the constitution would cause the DA to actually do so.
A more strategic approach for parties would be to focus on communication with their constituencies.
The ANC’s strategy is already becoming clear. Ramaphosa keeps saying, to appease his internal critics, that the door remains open to the EFF and MK Party to join the GNU — though it is clear from the statement of intent signed by participants that this will not be possible. The DA’s leaders should stop whining and take a leaf out of his book.
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